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"Facebook is the social media network everyone seems to love to hate." —MEIER
Facebook is the social media network everyone seems to love to hate. It's the biggest kid on the block, and sometimes it acts like a bully. But if you can master its potential, it can be a powerful tool for promoting your writing and books.
Facebook has made some recent changes in its profile page design that offers new opportunities for writers to promote their work. One is the new timeline feature. There was a lot of grumbling about timeline when it was introduced last fall. But I have come to really like the design and the flexibility it offers for streamlining and featuring specific posts and information on the profile page.
"The best feature of timeline is the ability to post a banner and small photo/logo at the top." —MEIER
The best feature of timeline is the ability to post a banner and small photo/logo at the top. Choose a banner photo that is graphically pleasing and represents you in some way. Mine is a photo I took of the ocean where I walk with my dog every day. If you have a book to promote, I would make the banner photo an environmental panoramic that features you, and then place the cover of your book in the smaller photo space on the left.
Because timeline displays status updates and photos and videos by date, it's easier to find previous posts, and you have the ability to rearrange or delete content to emphasize the posts you want people to see. Also, with the "pin post" feature, you can highlight specific posts. So if your book has won a national award, you can feature that at the top of your timeline for up to seven days. Here is an excellent video that shows how to pin a post.
Here are some other ways writers can use Facebook:
post videos or trailers for your books,
create a short story using a character from your novel and post it serially on FB (you can also do this with a blog on your website, and then post it to FB),
post reviews of your book from Amazon and other websites on your FB page,
write mini reviews of books you like and post those,
let people know where you'll be if you're on a book tour,
let folks know if you're doing a virtual book tour,
if you use Twitter professionally, link it to FB.
"Remember that anything you post on FB should provide added value to your readers." —MEIER
Remember that anything you post on FB should provide added value to your readers. Stay away from obvious self promotion and marketing. Engage your fans. Ask them what they think about plot points and characters. If you write nonfiction, ask for ideas and suggestions based on your books. Court ideas for future books.
Let your personality shine through. Have fun. Some of the most interesting FB content I've seen has come from authors Christopher Moore and Ayelet Waldman.
Finally, connect the dots. Facebook is just one social media network in a vast array of networks for writers. Next time, we'll explore how you can make them all work for you, and still have a life.
About Marcia Meier
Marcia Meier is an author, award-winning journalist, writing coach and developmental book editor. Her book, Navigating the Rough Waters of Today’s Publishing World: Critical Advice for Writers from Industry Insiders (Quill Driver Books, 2010), was named one of “10 Great Books on Writing from 2010” by The Writer magazine. Learn more about Marci on her web site.
