Authors often set out to write for love of the language and the catharsis of self-expression. Rarely does the author have dreams of marketing, self-promotion, and the oversight of distribution of their works. Unfortunately, audiences won’t, of their own accord, seek out high-quality writing simply because it’s there. Usually some means of accessibility will make an author more appealing to a modern audience. So for the writer who does not have an extensive network, Facebook is the tool of choice to engage an audience.
Facebook offers wide visibility and the appearance of accessibility with limited responsibility. For instance, an author can create a profile page that allows fans to indicate that they are fans by pressing a simple “like” button. The author can then use that page to post musings, updates on speaking engagements, and forthcoming book releases. However, Facebook allows the author to choose whether fans can post responses. Furthermore, the author can then choose whether or not to engage fans via the page. The author may be a silent observer of fans’ comments or an active participant in dialogues.
For the author who enjoys engaging fans, Facebook is a boon. Authors can network, discuss, answer questions, debate, and seek out other authors in a similar field or genre for discussion. For some celebrities, Facebook allows the host to appear to be widely connected to his or her audience. One simple response to a fan makes the world of reading fans have the perception that they might actually be in communication with the host. Steve Jobs has done this effectively by emailing selective customers of Apple, and Jimmy Fallon has done so with Twitter by occasionally reading tweets on the air. An author can use Facebook to create the appearance of accessibility without tying up an excessive amount of time.
Regardless of how much an author engages his or her Facebook audience, as a marketing tool, Facebook is brilliant. At its most basic level, Facebook can be used to announce information about the author. For any given speaking engagement or book signing, upcoming book releases or article publications, fans can track the author through Facebook. Furthermore, if a periodical notices that an author has a wide fan base on Facebook and is willing to use it to publicize publications, the periodical might be more likely to publish the author’s work, understanding that it will increase the periodical’s publicity.
One of the most useful tools on Facebook are Facebook ads, which offer very targeted marketing. Through ads, the user can create an ad promoting anything he or she wants to. An author can create an ad for a book that will appear on the margin of other people’s Facebook pages. That ad can be selected to go to certain demographics, including certain age groups, geographical regions, and even personal interests. An author of science fiction can promote a book to people who have selected science fiction as a personal interest and living in a part of the country in which the book is available.
Facebook is a simple, powerful tool for authors to engage a broad audience, maintain high visibility and actively promote their products.
