Social Media

BEA to debut new networking tools for attendees; NBCC award winners announced; Inaugural Walter Awards for diverse YA presented; James Patterson to launch BookShots

After a pipe burst at The Drama Book Shop and damaged a good portion of its inventory, Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda encouraged his more than 269,000 Twitter followers to support the store: the result has been record sales and widespread media attention for the store.

More than 400 bookstores across the U.S. will be hosting Indies First celebrations on November 28, Small Business Saturday. Here are some final tips for booksellers, as well as photos of authors who helped kick off Indies First during last weekend’s Miami Book Fair International.

There will be an explosion of activity on social media when Banned Books Week launches this Sunday, September 27. To help get the ball rolling, the event’s sponsors have announced several ways in which everyone can use the Internet to promote the freedom to read.

BookExpo America is presenting a wide array of educational programming and special events at next week’s industry-wide convention, including several sessions specifically developed with indie booksellers in mind.

Flowh, a platform designed to turn an online events calendar into a marketing tool, is offering a free year of its premium service exclusively to ABA member stores.

Flowh is a more social version of the traditional event calendar. The online platform can turn an independent bookstore’s calendar into a marketing tool that connects with customers in new ways.

NYT article on indie bookstores shared with millions of Twitter followers; SFWA announces 2014 Nebula Award nominees; Poets & Writers introduces mobile app; PEN releases 2015 Literary Awards calendar; Young people prefer print books to digital, Washington Post reports; May 2 announced as first Canadian Authors for Indies Day; Lerner Publishing Group acquires Egmont USA’s list

“How to Create an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy and Track the Results,” presented by JB Media Group's Sarah Benoit at Winter Institute 10, provided booksellers with tips and tricks to make the most of social media.

2014 Carla Furstenberg Cohen Literary Prize goes to Lish, Stevenson; Poet Amy King to receive 2015 WNBA Award; Fujii sales rep Ted Heinecken to retire; Chronicle Books launches Third Great Tumblr Book Search; Council Oak Books signs distribution deal with IPG 

The Bookworm of Edwards has launched the Wiggle Worms story time channel on YouTube, featuring Children’s Director Franny Gustafson reading aloud new and classic picture books.

The Asheville Internet marketing firm JB Media Group will present a session on the ABCs of social media strategy and analytics on Tuesday, February 9, at the Winter Institute.

For the second year in a row, Indies First on Small Business Saturday was a strong day for independent bookstores, which saw unit sales of books rise 4.6 percent over 2013 for the week.

Booksellers are invited to take a look at the many conversations happening in BookWeb’s Bookseller Forums, where members go to discuss topics ranging from social media best practices to IndieCommerce to plans for the upcoming Winter Institute.

Here are tips to help booksellers spread the word via social media about their upcoming Indies First plans and Upstream partnerships.