Facebook pages... is there a point anymore?

merrihiatt · Jul 11, 2012

Anne Lyle said:
AW is a perfectly legitimate place to include in your online presence, but I've found that the best way to promote yourself here is just to be helpful to other writers. A discreet link or two in your signature is then all the promotion you need.

I completely agree. I was referring to coming to AW with the intention of selling books without participating in the community in some way.

Point well taken.

Anne Lyle · Jul 11, 2012

Oh, totally - this is not the place to post lots of promo material and nothing else. in fact the mods will come down on you if you try

Starchaser3000 · Jul 12, 2012

Anne Lyle said:
A discreet link or two in your signature is then all the promotion you need.

Shameless plug here.

catband1 · Jul 30, 2012

I've been wondering this exact same thing. My facebook page almost never gets any movement even when I comment on other pages/profiles.

MMcDonald64 · Aug 23, 2012

I have links in the back of my books and that seems to be where I get the most likes from. Many also ta
end to post on my wall about how they just read my book. I get the most comments when I post random musings about my books and then ask a question.

HLWampler · Aug 23, 2012

I'm in the middle about Facebook pages. The one for my blog does very well, my author page...not so much.

I still use it though. The few likes I do have on the page at least get a few people reading my upcoming news, books, posts, and what not.

Mark Moore · Sep 2, 2012

I have both a Facebook page and a Twitter account (not linked to each other), and the feeds from both appear on my blog countesy of widgets. I stopped announcing new stories a few stories ago, and it seems to have made no difference; indeed, my "best-seller" is something that I've promoted on neither Facebook nor Twitter.

PublishMyself · Sep 15, 2012

Anne Lyle said:
One thing worth noting is that your reach can exceed your "likes" - posts can go "viral" by appearing in the feeds of friends of people who comment or like a post. The other day I posted some photos from my trip to Hampton Court Palace, and it reached about half of my followers and twice as many non-followers.

This is such good advice.

On the flip side, I notice that posting a silly picture of a pet dog or Internet meme gets a lot more shares than any "meat and potatoes" posts I make - which is reality on the Internet, but sort of frustrating.

WeaselFire · Sep 17, 2012

The secret may be simply feeding Facebook, and even Twitter, from your blog. In my experience, most people will like a page/book/whatever if requested, but often don't ever return.

Jeff

Kevin Brennan · May 15, 2013

I read a blog post recently that looked at the Facebook pages of five famous writers. The upshot is that not many "famous" writers use FB properly, i.e., they let their publisher/publicist run it. For us "unfamous" writers, FB strikes me as a lot of work for minimal payoff. Then again, most social media falls into that category, eh?

Kevin Brennan · May 25, 2013

csorensen said:
I know this sounds lame, but then what? It would just be empty. Anybody have any experience on driving traffic to your "fan" FB page without being pushy? Reading around, it seems like I would want my Twitter to link there, if I have a blog...that would link too - anything I'm missing?

I'm wondering the same thing. On Twitter at least you can be "seen" by others when you Tweet, but on FB people either have to be looking for you specifically or you have to solicit them through other media to visit your page and like it.

Maybe I'm just unclear on the concept.

Kevin Brennan · Jun 2, 2013

I've gone ahead and launched a Facebook page in spite of myself. If it's anything like Twitter, I'll obsess over it until my self-esteem takes a powder. ;-)

Mclesh · Jun 2, 2013

I have mixed feelings about my Facebook page. The different posts seem to be seen by a varying number of people. It seems random to me. That being said, I do sell the occasional book after putting up a link. I'll continue to use it to post updates on my writing projects, but I do so knowing that only a portion of my audience will see them.

AKMartin · Jun 8, 2013

Personally i think Facebook has had its day, too many fake accounts and too hit and miss.

Yes you end up having one because you almost feel you have to but really for the time and effort that goes in to getting likes the rewards very rarely match up.

For me twitter is great for getting traffic and getting your work out there, much easier to grow than Facebook combine this with a nice pinterest and you’re on your way

Anthony

gingerwoman · Jun 8, 2013

The fact that you are discouraged from adding strangers to Facebook is an impediment in terms of using it as a sales tool.
That being said I do nothing to promote my Facebook author page whatsoever, but people I don't know do randomly like it from time to time. I think those must be people who have bought my book already and then maybe googled me. Not sure.

JournoWriter · Jun 9, 2013

I have mixed feelings about my Facebook page. The different posts seem to be seen by a varying number of people. It seems random to me.

Your reach depends on a variety of factors, including time of day and whether you have an image. I do social media for my employer, and have found that 6 am is a great time to post, while posts with photos get far more views than those without. Posts on weekends (again, early morning) are also popular.

Like any other form of media, content is king. If you have interesting things to say and don't annoy people, you'll find an audience.

I would NOT recommend linking FB to Twitter, or vice versa. That gets really annoying quickly for fans of both platforms.

Max Vaehling · Jun 9, 2013

JournoWriter said:
Your reach depends on a variety of factors, including time of day and whether you have an image. I do social media for my employer, and have found that 6 am is a great time to post, while posts with photos get far more views than those without. Posts on weekends (again, early morning) are also popular.

Like any other form of media, content is king. If you have interesting things to say and don't annoy people, you'll find an audience.

I would NOT recommend linking FB to Twitter, or vice versa. That gets really annoying quickly for fans of both platforms.

If you're like me and thus unlikely to post anything readable at 6AM, other good times seem to be late noon and 6PM. It depends on your audience, too. If they're the kind of people who connect from work, they'll do that after their lunch breaks. If they aren't, they might wait till they're home. If you're a YA writer, though, your best bet is whenever your readers are back from school.

And, yes, totally don't cross-post to Twitter from Facebook. I'll happily follow a link from a tweet, but if it's a link to a Facebook post that only consists of a link itself, I might lose interest quickly. Tweeting to FB can work if you don't automate it and only cross-post tweets without hashtags or links. Hashtags will look awkward in a FB post, and links just won't display the way you want them to show, with a thumbnail image and all.

robertbevan · Jun 9, 2013

I love my Facebook author page. It doesn't do me much good as a promotional tool (actually, it kind of does when I have a new release), but it's great for knowing that I actually have fans out there who are hungry for more of my work, and for interacting with those fans. I post links to reviews when I get them, and updates as to how my current WIP is coming along. If I write a particularly funny line that makes sense out of context and doesn't give any of the plot away, I'll post that too. I find it keeps my readers from forgetting about me in the long gulfs between releases.

JournoWriter · Jun 9, 2013

If you're like me and thus unlikely to post anything readable at 6AM, other good times seem to be late noon and 6PM. It depends on your audience, too.

With the Schedule feature, you don't even have to be conscious to post! I can take an hour or so and take care of several weeks' worth of posts easily, setting them to go live any hour, any day. It's a lifesaver.

Agree it depends on your audience. What works for me - going after an audience of working adults often away from computers during the day - will be horrible for others. Try it out and see what works.

Jamesdomus1066 · Jul 9, 2013

CrystalCierlak said:
or Gen-Xer.

I resemble that remark.

I use Facebook only very sporadically and have collected only a few "Likes" on my author page. Mostly friends and a few people I have no idea which among them (if any) have even looked at one of my books.

Personally, I think most of the social media are a waste of time. I don't think I've ever sold a book to anyone because of a FB or Twitter post.

It's quite discouraging, since I have almost no $ to spend on publicity and word of mouth isn't really working for me.

kyocrisis · Jul 9, 2013

That reminds me, if you only have one book or one WIP, would you be using an Author FB page, or a Book FB page? I've been wondering this.

As for thoughts, I don't have any experience with this, but I imagine it helps if you already have a decent web presence (FB, Twitter, Blog, w.e).
Then of course you would be sharing this page with your main pages which would reach the people that already follow you.

As for actually helping to sell, it will be hard. Of all of the people that do follow and do see it, few to none may be convinced to buy it. But if you can make your posts interesting enough and not annoying, maybe they will like or share it which will spread it to their friends and eventually you may make some sales!

In theory, of course.

williemeikle · Jul 10, 2013

I have over 6000 fans on the Facebook page, and over 70,000 followers on Twitter.

I sell a -lot- of books through these channels and won't hear a bad word said about them

The main seller has been a "Featured Book" tab on Facebook that I rotate with a new book appearing there every month that I can advertise across the social media. It works for me.

https://www.facebook.com/williammeikle

paulcosca · Jul 10, 2013

I enjoy Facebook because it gives people an opportunity to interact with me, which for me is the whole point. The only thing I advise is please do not open a Facebook or twitter account for just your book. I hate these. I don't want to follow a single book. I want to follow an author.

JournoWriter · Jul 10, 2013

I use Facebook only very sporadically and have collected only a few "Likes" on my author page.

I can't guarantee you that if you use it more often and post regular content, you'll get more likes.

But I can guarantee that if you use it only sporadically and don't post regular content, you'll only have a few likes.

ClarissaWild · Jul 20, 2013

JournoWriter said:
I can't guarantee you that if you use it more often and post regular content, you'll get more likes.

But I can guarantee that if you use it only sporadically and don't post regular content, you'll only have a few likes.

It's not the likes that matter, but the content engagement. If readers don't click on your links, or look at your photo's, or your important message, then it's a waste. If they only like and then never view your stuff again, it's a waste. You should build a fanbase on Facebook, that's what it's for. To connect, engage, etc.

Facebook pages... is there a point anymore?

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Fantastic historian

Lindsay

practical experience, FTW

PublishMyself.net

Benefactor Member

It's too hot

Just the facts, please

practical experience, FTW

Just the facts, please

I Aim to Misbehave

Einherjar

The force is strong in this one.

The Paulest of all Coscas

Just the facts, please