Summer is here. The kids are out of school, vacations have commenced, and your Facebook page has officially made it's way to the back burner, because let's be honest - our Facebook Author Page is the last thing on our minds while we are poolside with a few extra hours of free time. Sometimes we start to feel like since we are in between projects and seasons, that social media updates can wait since we don't have much to share right this second. Sound familiar? After this 5-minute Facebook face lift - you will feel ready to conquer the next item on your to-do list.

Swap Out that Facebook Header

Regardless of what you are working on, try to aim for a design that is more seasonal. Snap a professional photo (with a camera, rather than your iPhone) with a styled back drop. This can be a wooden table with a vase of flowers or glass of lemonade. Give your audience something new and exciting that matches the season.  If you are gearing up for a book promotion - consider hiring a designer to create a branded graphic for you that creatively showcases your book cover and publication date - this will help to keep everything cohesive on your platform as you are in promo mode.

Update Your Profile Pic

Author headshots take all of the difference these days. When is the last time you updated your profile picture? Don't have time to coordinate a headshot shoot? Swap out your head shot for a different angle from your initial headshot shoot (this is why it's important to have a handful of options). Author Profile pictures are key to branding your Facebook page. Spruce up your page with it's key component. Stray away from selfies, blurry photos, and family pictures. Although those are all very precious - we want this page to be as clean and clear as possible.

Keep Posts Consistent & Remember to Interact

Although you might have your hands full this summer, create a rough social media outline or posting plan for the month. This will help you organize your posts and will help you stay away from the tedious social media time suck. Sprinkle in fan reviews, reader's shots of the cover, and maybe a freebie book contest. Once you have these scheduled you only have to worry about interacting with your audience. Encourage your followers to comment on your post for a chance to win a signed copy of your book and share the giveaway with their book club or friends - let the post perform on it's own. This helps your audience to stay connected and excited about you and your platform (plus it's an awesome organic way to grow that overall page reach number!).

Need some additional pointers for your social media channels?
Here are 5 Fast Fixes and stay tuned for another Twitter Touch Up post in the near future! Meanwhile, here's a guide to Twitter to hold you over.

What is your social media goal for the summer? Tell me in the comments below and let's talk about how to get there!