On Facebook, “Profiles” are strictly for people. Facebook’s rules require that you register your Profile in your own name. If you use the name of your business or book, you risk having your account canceled.
A Facebook “Fan Page” or “Page” is designed for business use and it’s a great way to promote your book. You can set up a Fan Page for your business, book, or even a character in your book, and you can create multiple Pages. Here are some advantages that Pages have over personal Profiles.
• By using Facebook applications like “Static FBML,” you can create customized tabs on your Facebook Fan Page containing graphics, text, videos and even opt-in forms to promote your book.
• You can specify which tab of the Page that you want new visitors to land on.
• Facebook users join a Page by clicking on the “Become a Fan” button and there’s no limit to the number of fans who can join.
• You can send messages to your all of your fans, which shows up in their news feed.
• Pages get indexed by search engines and each tab on the Page has its own URL.
Click here to create a Fan Page. Here are some ways to promote your book by building traffic to your Fan Page:
• Once your Page has at least 25 fans, go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ to create a personalized URL for your page.
• Beneath the photo or image on your Page, click “Suggest to Friends” to send invitations to your Facebook friends to join your page. The invitation will appear in the In Box of your friends.
• Write an article for your blog and ezine inviting people to join your Page.
• Invite people to join your page by posting updates on Twitter, your Facebook personal Profile, and on other social networks.
To encourage Facebook users to join your Page, be active in posting on the page, maintain lively discussions, and offer some benefits and incentive for becoming a fan. Even though promotion is allowed, you still need to be somewhat subtle and provide value to your fans rather than just a sales pitch.
For more detailed information about how to promote your book on Facebook, see Facebook Guide for Authors, by Dana Lynn Smith. For more book promotion tips, follow @BookMarketer on Twitter and visit The Savvy Book Marketer blog at http://www.TheSavvyBookMarketer.com.
