Julie BroadYour Non-Fiction Sidekick for Writing, Publishing & Marketing a Book That Builds Your Brand and Grows Your Biz

The Social Media Lie Authors Keep Believing

22 Apr 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:27

In this YouTube monologue, Julie Broad challenges the prevailing belief that social media alone can drive book sales. She argues that social platforms function primarily as discovery engines and are not reliable sales closers. Broad highlights a 501% surge in library demand through services like Hoopla, emphasizing that this growth stems from structural distribution rather than viral social media content. She advocates for authors to adopt a distributed ecosystem that includes international markets, regional store alliances, and multiple formats. While acknowledging that consistent, quality social media content can build an audience, she warns that followers do not automatically convert into buyers because social media encourages scrolling, whereas reading requires commitment. Broad recommends authors find where readers congregate and engage through alternatives such as podcast interviews, livestreams, and in‑person associations and groups, sharing her own success using these channels.

Chapters

Today we're talking about the social media lie. Social media is massive, but it's a discovery engine, not always a great sales closer. Some authors are obsessing over TikTok and they are seeing some results. Many of them are missing the fact that library demand through platforms like Hoopla just surged 501%. That's not driven by a viral dance, it's driven by structural distribution. The surge in book sales isn't happening because every author got a TikTok account. It's happening because authors are moving into a distributed ecosystem and they're getting into things like international markets, regional store alliances, and they're doing multiple formats. It is an exciting time to be an author. And if you hate social media, I have some great news for you. All those followers, well, they are not guaranteed to convert. The uncomfortable truth of social media is that it trains people to scroll. And books require people to commit. And if you use social media and you're consistent and you do a good job of creating content, well, you can build an audience that likes you, but that doesn't always mean they're going to buy your books. Find where your readers are hanging out and get yourself in front of them in a way that works for you. Podcast interviews, livestreams, in-person associations and groups. I've had wonderful success selling books and meeting potential authors to work with book launchers by being active in groups and associations.