Happy New Year!!
It's so lovely to be back here on this blog! And I do want to apologize for the ridiculously long blog absence I've taken - I have had the worst case of pregnancy brain this time around. Oy.
So, Alicia asked a few questions about marketing this last week and I figured I'd tackle the Facebook fan page question!
Facebook is actually a fantastic tool for helping people learn about you as an author. It's also SUPER convenient because they've made it way easy to link your Facebook account with any other social media accounts you have - Instagram, Twitter, etc. Which means that with one click, you can post on all of your sites. It's lovely way to cheat and not be spending every waking moment updating all of your sites. ;)
What is the best way to attract fans??
I always get a little cautious when people start asking this question. Mostly because I think we're overlooking why readers are trying to connect with us. I try to make my Facebook page very personal to ME - that means pictures of my son, updates about this new baby, funny stories from my day, things I found on Pinterest or whatever that I think is humorous, something that God has been teaching me lately...whatever would be important to me is what I post.
Which means that I'm not constantly posting about new releases, book quotes, Amazon stats, whatever. Occasionally is fine. But I try to look at the people I love reading updates from and seeing what it is about their statuses that make me smile or look forward to reading it. And it always starts with their personality shining through. Because 90% of the time, I don't follow someone on Facebook because I want updates about what they are selling - I follow people because I like hearing updates about their life.
Now, that being said, there are a few things you can do to up your readership:
1. Boost your posts. If you have a post that you think is particularly engaging or maybe is advertising a new book, you can pay Facebook a set fee and they'll advertise it on either friends of fan's news feed or on the news feeds of a selected range. You can set this range SUPER specific, so I'd suggested playing around with it a little bit!
2. Spread the word. Mention on your real Facebook page that you have an author page and kindly ask for people to "like" you. Direct people who friend you who aren't your friends in real life to your author page instead. Let your family know. Provide a link on the side of your blog. And if you do speaking engagements, publicity, etc, be sure to mention your Facebook page as a way to find out more about you.
3. Don't overdo it. The thing that makes me block people in my news feed faster than almost anything else is people overselling themselves or their products. If you are constantly mentioning your book or posting pictures of the cover or pasting quotes from the book, it starts to be a little redundant. Make your posts diverse. Is there a funny picture you could post? A cute quote by someone? A Bible verse that you're mulling over? A sarcastic one-liner you could add to a photo from your day? Look up celebrities and authors you admire on Facebook and see what their posts consist of and which ones get the most views and the most likes. That's what you want to be emulating there.
I'm still learning the Facebook fan page ropes the same as all of us - anyone else have any tips?? What are some things that you appreciate in the fan pages you follow?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very, very helpful! I just joined FB and started a business page a week ago (yes, woefully overdue). I was wondering about how much book/business stuff and personal/fun stuff there should be. The balanced approach you mentioned seems the best. I "liked" you, by the way..... :)
ReplyDeleteThese are some great tips. Thanks. :) I use my author FB page as a platform to communicate to my readers when I don't have a current new release. Posting updates on my writing, publishing, and promotion endeavors interspersed with fun quotes, book deals for similar authors, discussions of characters (mine and others) and new sentences from my current WIP. Keeping it personal, fun, and interactive is a difficult balance, but worth it.
ReplyDeleteExtremely helpful!! Thank you for sharing this. I just recently joined FB as an author, and, although I'm not allowed to actually have a FB personal page (accept friends and whatnot), I still want to make it a personal thing, not JUST about my book. I want to promote other people's books, share articles, etc. So thanks for the encouragement that it's ok to do that!! =)
ReplyDelete