By Misha Manani and Tanvi Jaiswal
As one of the earliest social media platforms, Facebook has seen the first of many groups being made by publishing enthusiasts. The #publishing garners over 58k posts, while #bookworm has over 253k posts. Just like other platforms available, Facebook is another great source that can help and guide you when looking to expand your knowledge about the day-to-day updates within the industry. For this article, we have curated a list of the most useful courses, tips and accounts to follow, which can give you a head-start today!
Advice from the Upskilling Team
Join a publishing group: Facebook is the place for support, encouragement and sharing your concerns. If none of the current groups suit your needs and interests, feel free to create one!
Follow and like public pages for publishing-related companies: this will also allow you to see how social media posts adapt and differ across various platforms. This is particularly useful for those who want to work in editorial, marketing and communication roles.
Look out for publishing events on the menu tab: you can search for publishing events and narrow down the location to see if there are events happening nearby. You can also see who is interested and who will be attending.
Check out the books, films and music marketplace: see which books are being sold, what is trending and receive bargain deals. Add this to your shopping interests page on Facebook. Make sure you click on the notification and save button.
Groups to Join
Facebook has different groups for publishing hopefuls and employees. These are supportive and inspiring communities where people share industry insights, news and their personal experiences. Make sure you join today!
Publishing Hopefuls: this is a popular Facebook group for those aspiring to break into the industry. Created by Christina Storey and Emma Ronan in April 2021, this is the virtual place to be. Every month there is a thread with a list of jobs, posts about events and those who have secured a job are even willing to share their experiences, CVs and cover letter templates.
US Publishing Hopefuls: this was actually inspired by the UK version of the Publishing Hopefuls group above. For those of you who want to pursue publishing in the US, or have recently moved, this is the group for you, with jobs located in New York City, Boston and Chicago to name a few. They also share bookshop and book recommendations, and top tips for applications.
Assistant in Publishing: once you have joined the publishing industry, the next step is progression. This group is created by Elizabeth Burrell, who is currently an Editorial Assistant at HarperCollins. It can be daunting when you first start your publishing journey, so this is a wonderful group to connect, rant and make friends. They even organise meetups, so join soon!
People of Colour in Publishing: exclusively for those who work in the industry, from full-time, interning to freelance. The publishing sector is working towards increasing inclusivity in the workplace and ensuring that those from different backgrounds have an equal chance of getting a job. This is a good way to meet people in a similar boat.
Online Courses
Facebook Marketing Course: it is designed for people who are looking to grow their business and its presence on Facebook. With a total of five lessons, it will teach you how to grow your Facebook reach, through paid and organic ways, and maximise your outreach to the audience. This comes with quizzes to test your knowledge. It is becoming a quick and efficient course for anyone who wants to start their professional journey in the publishing industry.
Facebook Advertising for Beginners: this offers a guide into the basics of Facebook marketing, and teaches the preliminary stages of setting up and attracting your target audience. In addition, it also shows you how to use adverts as a way to increase traffic for your business and minimise the risk of getting your account banned. The course covers a large number of topics, such as Getting Ready to run Facebook Ad Campaigns, Customer Conversations and Defining Your Audience.
Facebook Marketing and Advertising: this free course provides you with essential skills, which include the Facebook algorithm, advertising, privacy and security, and marketing. In the five hours of self-paced video lessons, you will learn how to establish an online presence, create engrossing posts for the platform and efficiently manage social media accounts. This is engaging and would benefit any beginners wanting to grow their business or brand through Facebook.
Thanks for reading Issue Forty-Two, the third article in our social media series! Join us again for Issue Forty-Three, the fourth instalment, where we will be covering Upskilling Tips for TikTok.