Are you on Facebook? If you aren’t yet, you should really signup now. This social networking site has over a billion users worldwide, and if you just published a book, wouldn't you like to promote it by targeting even just a small percentage of these users?
If you are already on Facebook (i.e., with a personal account), you just need to create a page that's either focused on you as the author or on your books. You can choose “Artist, Band, or Public Figure” and then the category “Writer.” Give your page a name, and as soon as you’re allowed to, personalize the username so that it becomes memorable. It serves branding purposes too. For more tips on creating a Facebook fan page, check out this post: Five Ways to Promote Your Book through Facebook.
However, don’t think you're done when you finish creating a fan page. It’s actually just the beginning. What’s more challenging is getting fans and engaging with the people who liked your page. It’s not just a matter of posting promotional materials day in and out. Facebook, like any social media tool, is a community where engagement wins over advertisement any day, and "Buy my book" posts certainly don't work!
Here are some things to remember when you are just starting out in using a Facebook fan page.
- In getting new fans for your page, the easiest way is to ask your existing Facebook friends to like it. Post something like this on the wall of your personal profile:
Hi friends! I just started a page for my recently published book on solo travel. If you like reading books, or traveling, or if you like me, please also like my page, Solo Female Travel. (Remember to tag "Solo Female Travel," so that it hyperlinks to your page and is easier for your friends to like.)
- If you want to build your fan base first, here are 50 more ways to get more likes for your fan page.
- Post one to two status updates per day, in the morning and in the afternoon. These updates will appear on your fans’ wall, so make sure to be selective in what you post and how often you post them. Having too many updates a day would make it seem like you’re spamming them and could cause you to lose fans rather than gain some.
- Come up with status updates that are not all self-serving. If the book you’re promoting through the page is about travel, you can use travel tips as your status update, or travel quotes, helpful tips on traveling from bloggers, news bits about the industry, among other things.
- When sharing content with your fans, though, don’t limit yourself to text. You can create videos and post it as well. For example, if you have events for book signing or promotion, create a video where you can “personally” invite your them.
- Statistics have shown as well that posting photos get more clickthroughs than just posting texts. You can use pictures of your book cover but you can use others as well that are related to your book’s niche.
- Engage with your fans. When they write a comment on your status update, make sure to respond, and don’t forget to tag them so that they know you’re responding directly to them.
- Another way to encourage engagement is by asking questions. A sample one would be:
Hey, fellow writer! Have you ever experienced writer’s block? When I have it, I usually stop pressuring myself to write and go to the mall to enjoy myself. Pretty soon, I usually find that when the stress is gone, I get my writing mojo back. How about you? How do you deal with writers’ block?
- Most of all, don’t forget to have fun with your page. While you are using Facebook to drum up sales of your book, the people who have liked your page don’t want to be sold anything. When they feel that you are advertising and self-serving, they can easily click "Unlike."
