Guest Expert: Tony Eldridge
There is not a shortage of tools authors can use to help promote their books and build a platform, but Facebook is one that we need to pay special attention to as we develop our book marketing plan. In fact, my big focus for 2011 is on developing out and my Facebook presence and make it more efficient. I do have a Facebook presence, but I’m not utilizing it nearly as well as I could be. Here’s what led me to the decision to focus on my Facebook presence in 2011:
1. Facebook is mainstream: Facebook is no longer a niche platform for marketers. You’d be hard pressed to find a company who does not have a Facebook page or a consumer who does not have a Facebook presence. This tells me that jumping in and optimizing Facebook will more likely yield positive results than focusing on many other marketing activities.
2. Facebook is marketing savvy: What I mean is that a professional or a company has easy to use tools to create a practical and productive presence on Facebook. You no longer have to be an IT professional to have a great looking page that positively impacts your marketing plan.
3. Facebook is very social: Few platforms allow you to interact with your client or prospect base like Facebook. You can like and comment, you can invite people to events or invite them to sign up to a newsletter. You can interact with videos, pictures or timely text. Facebook makes it easy for you to engage in a rich, diverse conversation that will appeal to a broad base of followers.
4. Facebook is marketable: You can tell people about your Facebook page on your blog with widgets and gadgets. You can link to your Facebook page from your e-mail or your newsletter. No matter what your communication medium is, you’ll find a readymade app to use that will make it easy for your followers to connect with you on Facebook.
5. Facebook is here to stay: I recently read that Facebook is bigger than the biggest media companies. It has no problem laying its hands on billions of dollars when needed. It has the commitment to live and grow which means that it should continue to make it easy for you to market your book. Whether you want to travel the free road or dip your toes into paid advertisements, you will have no shortage of ways you can use Facebook to get your message out.
Because all of this is true about Facebook, authors have an abundance of resources to help them use Facebook to their potential. Companies continue to create tools to help you use Facebook better. People make videos to walk you through the steps you need to go through to adapt Facebook to your marketing plans. Authors write “how-to” books, e-books, and reports to guide you down the path to better book marketing.
If you have not decided to jump into Facebook yet, then take comfort that you are living in a great time. Whether it’s resources like BookBuzzr that bring together experts to help you improve your Facebook presence or the plethora of resources you can find with a simple Google search, you’ll quickly find people to hold your hand and help you create a productive Facebook presence.
In my humble opinion, Facebook is one of those platforms that has proven its value. So whether you are contemplating your first step into the Facebook world or whether you are like me and are looking to take your Facebook presence to a whole new, exciting level, listen to the experts that BookBuzzr has brought together for you this month. They will help you develop the Facebook presence that can really help get your book noticed.
Tony Eldridge is the author of the action/adventure novel, The Samson Effect, that Clive Cussler calls a “first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure.” He also launched his first non-fiction title, “Conducting Effective Twitter Contests“. He shares his book marketing tips with fellow authors through his blog, Marketing Tips for Authors and through his free video marketing tips for authors newsletter.
