The social media game plan you need
An interview with Brianna Davey - Four Paws and a Book
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This interview was requested by one of my subscribers, and I’m here to deliver 😊 I’m genuinely excited that Brianna agreed to share so much of her wisdom - no exaggeration, this interview is a gold mine. Get ready for honest truths, practical hacks, and the kind of “aha!” moments that could level up your indie author game.
How did Four Paws and a Book begin?
I started talking about books on the internet in 2017. I did a lot of different things before finding TikTok, and really resisted going to this platform for the longest time. I started on Instagram, then started a BookTube channel on January 9th 2018. My oldest videos are pretty cringe (and now private!) with just a little stack of library books on my desk behind me in the videos. My channel name came from my love of my dogs. My husband and I have 5 big dogs (4 of them being over 100 pounds!) and I love having them in my videos when I can.
You can find Bri here: https://fourpawsandabook.com ✨ YT: Four Paws and a Book ✨IG: https://www.instagram.com/4pawsandabook/ ✨ TikTok: @4pawsandabook_
Share a recent client win.
I don't usually have access to sales numbers or anything like that, but it's so fun to help an author see their vision come to life. They've spent years in this world writing and editing, so helping them find ways to visually connect with readers, it's a cool "light bulb" moment. As far as a concrete win, one of my authors just wrapped up a kickstarter project that ended up earning over $30,000 for special editions. I was only a small part of that process, but it was a great thing to be a part of.
Why invest in social media? With limited time and resources, why shouldn’t indie authors focus on other marketing efforts instead?
The future of publishing and marketing IS social media. More and more people are starting their careers self publishing their works, and sometimes, if they hit the jackpot, their works get picked up from there. But there's one thing in common with all these series getting traditionally picked up. People are talking about their books on social media. Booktok, BookTube and Bookstagram are HUGE when it comes to selling your books, and getting the attention of the big 5 publishing houses. Even getting an agent, or your foot in the door is starting to rely on how big of a following you have.
Smaller, niche presses like Bindery are popping up, that are directly connected to bookish influencers. And, while this might just be me hoping, I do not foresee TikTok going away or getting banned in the US. I think the administration will continue to kick the can down the road indefinitely.
What social-media belief should every indie author drop today?
Your book isn't "for everyone" and if you try to market to everyone, you're casting too wide of a net and your promotion is too vague, meaning you're actually attracting no one.
What’s the most frequent misstep you see, and how can authors fix it fast?
STOP using AI to market your book. This includes the artwork for your TikToks.
2025 snapshot: Which two or three social-media trends should indie authors watch this year, and why?
This is hard because trends change SO quickly, especially on TikTok. But I think the most important thing to keep in mind is authenticity. People are craving connection
If a beginner can manage only one platform, which should they choose and why?
I'm biased and want to say TikTok. I think that it has the potential for authors to grow the fastest. There is also the ability to have a TikTok shop there if you have physical copies of your books to sell.
Do authors really need to post every day to succeed?
At the end of the day, consistency and sustainability is the most important thing. If you CAN post every day, even something quick like a quote or review, then yes, you increase your exposure. But posting consistently 3-4 times a week is better than posting every day for a week, burning out and then letting your account collect cobwebs.
Your three golden rules for beginner posts.
Sell the vibe before you sell the plot.
Tell readers WHY they should care about this book or your characters.
Don't overthink it. Posted is better than perfect.
A simple 7-day starter schedule (post types plus rough captions) that needs no fancy gear.
Photo carousels are really popping off right now and are easy to make. You could do 2-3 of them in a week. (5 star reviews, quotes from your book that revolve around a theme, tropes, etc.) Page flipping and then showing the cover is an easy faceless content piece with text overlay that has a strong hook as the pages are flipping. I love the videos that start out like a story time where you're the main character "One time I..." but that takes a little more energy because you're in front of the camera and have to come up with a quick script.
One trend-driven but low-stress way to try TikTok/Reels or YouTube Shorts.
7 second video clip with text overlaid on top. Put enough text on the screen that it takes a viewer longer than 7 seconds to read it. Because then the video replays and really pushes up your retention rate.
Should beginners boost posts? If so, how often and under what guidelines?
I've seen some success with boosting posts, but it's by no means necessary. Get your SEO right, put the right words in your caption and in your video and the algorithm will find your audience.
Free or low-cost apps for filming, editing, scheduling, or analytics.
The two subscriptions I use daily for my authors is Canva Pro and Shutterstock. If you can only afford one, get Canva Pro. You get the license to profit from your designs (which means you can even make your book cover in Canva if you need to) but it also gives you more access to the art in its library and lets you resize projects to be able to cross post. You can film and even edit within the TikTok app, and the algorithm actually likes it more when you edit and add sound within the app. (hypothetically anyways. There isn't any confirmation of this, but the stats don't lie). Also download the TikTok studio app. It gives you more detailed analytics about your video performance and tells you what your audience is searching for
How to batch or repurpose one idea across platforms so posting doesn’t steal writing time.
I think what a lot of people don't realize about TikTok, is that your audience usually doesn't see every single one of your videos. So don't be afraid of repeating your content. You can edit or format it a little different, so that the app still sees it as new content, but use the same idea. Or do one video where the tropes pop up as text overlay as you're doing a page flip, and then the next day do a photo carousel with a "if you like (these tropes) then I have the book for you!
Growing a community (not just numbers)
Be in your comments section. Don't just post and ghost. As a reviewer, I LOVE having conversations with authors about books that I've read and loved. You talk to your readers when you go to events, this is the same thing. And interact with other authors and also readers on BookTok. And by interacting, I don't mean dropping your book title in people's comments. Build connection.
Beyond likes and follows, which three metrics do you track most closely during a launch sprint?
Amazon metrics are always important as those are what push the book up the homepage on the Amazon homepage. I also keep an eye on hashtags related to the book, especially if we've created specific hashtags for the street team. I try to recommend authors DON'T look at Goodreads, especially during release because anything less than a 5 star review can shake your confidence and make your launch week less than the most exciting week of your life. So I'll keep an eye on the goodreads reviews for them because I can be objective when I look at them and be aware of anything that needs to be noted (perhaps missing TWs for example) Once your book is launched, you can't really change anything about the story, so the reviews aren't for you as the author :)
Very informative and just the kind of thing I've been looking for! Thank you
I loved everything about this post, thank you for sharing it. You are such a wealth of knowledge!