Guest Expert: Breana Orland
The face in Facebook has changed dramatically over the last five years. No longer is it a meeting ground for fresh-faced college students. 
Facebook has become a one-stop virtual home for friends, families and businesses to inform and learn about life outside the confines of the World Wide Web. This change in demographics has shifted the way Facebook actually works. These changes are the catalyst for how it can be used as a great tool to market just about anything. Here are ten ways Facebook can help both new and established authors market their works.
1. Make an author profile page. Give yourself some credit! Make a brag page that contains all your achievements and a defining biography. Today’s consumers rely on the element of relation. Share insights about what you like and don’t like. The more personable you are with this page, the more relatable you will be to potential readers, hopefully adding up to increased sales.
2. Join several groups. Choose groups with relative topics to your book. This is your best way to narrow down your marketing focus. Just remember that you can’t just create pages and become fans of others, you need to be active! If you’re a fan of a particular television show and make a comment about being disappointed by the latest episode, you can send streams of new ‘friends’ to your page. Find ways to relate to different topics and groups of people. Be a visible member of the Facebook community. Active Facebook users often get what they put in.
3. Become a fan of other books in the same genre/ topic. When viewing your profile page, people will see what you are a fan of. Seeing relatable books and topics will further help increase the chances of someone picking up your book.
4. Make a fan page for your book. This page should include all the information necessary for people to distinguish it from other options. Make sure you give people a taste of what the book is about.
5. Post excerpts from the book. Be creative with this. The first few pages of the book can work just fine, but jumping around to parts of the story with exciting dialogue or action can help reel in readers.
6. Make a fan page for your protagonist. If you have a particularly well characterized protagonist; use him or her as a façade for your marketing schemes. Further characterization through a virtual presence can draw in a reader through direct interaction.
7. Request that ‘friends’ of your author page suggest you to their ‘friends’. Word of mouth is always your most powerful tool. For maximum impact, correlate this request with a newly posted excerpt or the day of release.
8. Make sure you cross link all your fan pages. If your protagonist’s page isn’t linked to the page for the author or the book itself then it’s useless! Check the layout of your page to make sure no other applications are taking up prime space that your links should show up in. Most importantly, don’t forget a direct link to where the book can be purchased!
9. Post all your book related events. Book signings and releases are your calling cards. By listing those under the events option people can post their likelihood of attending the event. No matter the choice, the event will then show up on that person’s profile page making an additional link to your book.
10. Advertise on Facebook. For a fee you can place an advertisement on the site. Millions of people use Facebook every day. Buying an ad on Facebook will not only reach more people than most other forms of advertising, but the versatility of the advertisement schemes can also make it the most cost-effective choice.
Breana Orland is a writer for Education Grants. Breana also gives advice on the pursuit of higher education and career options for young adults.
