Websites/Organizations/Social Media II

How do you use Facebook?

Do you have a connection with other authors, editors, writers, agents, and publishers on your personal page or do you reserve those for your (business) page?

Do you join groups and participate in them?

Do you like pages by authors, editors, writers, agents, and publishers?

How you handle Facebook determines how well you are seen by people on Facebook. The more you interact the more you will see, but it doesn't determine that you will be seen.

Facebook uses a complicated equation, some may say faulty, but it really does work for what they want it to do: to drive people to pay to boost posts.

You can work around this problem or you can pay a small amount to boost a post that can reach "UP TO" (semantics at play here) a certain number of people.

It is a decision that only you can make.

But to use Facebook as your only social media platform is akin to tying a marketing noose around your neck.

Facebook is one of many platforms to use, but should never be the main one.

If you don't have a page, start one. Use the page for announcements, share about your book and other authors' books, post links at times, post an update status about twice a week.

Use your personal profile for not just family, but serious connections with other people with whom you like to form a friendship. For example: I have many authors on my personal page. I connect with them. I comment on their posts and they on mine. And I share a lot of things that they post, too. This allows the friends of friends of friends of friends, etc. to see my name.

Eventually my name and my book will cross paths before them.

This will work for you, too.

Groups! I cannot stress enough that joining groups and spending time in them is a beneficial endeavor.

You don't have to spend a lot of time there. A pop in, pop out is enough. And you can create shortcuts on your sidebar to help you discern when a new post has arrived.

Facebook can be a great marketing tool. Not for selling books, but for bringing attention to you and your name. The more a reader or another person in the business gets to know you, the more apt they are to share and/or buy your book.