Facebook Advice needed!

[TinkSaid]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to build a platform on Facebook and any advice would be welcome

Should I offer a freebie via Facebook ads to attract likes? Maybe a paperback edition or gift card raffle via rafflecopter?

Or should I just invite my newsletter subscribers, and add a facebook icon to my website?

Do I need to create an author page?

Does anyone have reading (or YouTube) recommendations?

Does any of the above indicate I'm putting carts before horses & have no idea what I'm doing?!

Thanks for reading, looking forwards to receiving any suggestions

[cecilia_writer]

I think it's best to have an author page - at some point you might feel tentative about sharing all your writing stuff with all your Facebook friends.
I am very low-key about advertising and promotion so don't necessarily do as I do, but I just have a Facebook link from my blog pages and let people find their way to it. I occasionally boost a post for a new release. Inviting your newsletter subscribers is a good idea.

[Bill Hiatt]

I would agree with Cecilia_Writer and even go a step further. If you want to use FB for business purposes, an author page is essential. I don't know the details, but I do know there are FB regs that frown on commercial activity from a personal profile.

Giveaways are never a bad idea, but they can draw people who are only interested in the giveaway, as opposed to people who might actually be interested in your writing. The best long-term way to draw real fans is content. Find things to post that your type of reader might find interesting. If all you ever post is ads for your books, you won't attract that much attention. (I've heard ratios like 7 to 3 or 9 to 1, non-commercial to commercial content.)

I post about my books when something is happening, like a new release or a great bargain. Otherwise, I post other content related to my genre when I can find it, items that express my sense of humor or philosophy when I can't.

[TinkSaid]

Thanks for your responses - really appreciated!

The thing is, I'm Billy no-mates over there at the mo, so even likes from freebie hunters are welcome.

I'll sort out an author page; don't want to run foul of Facebook, not since Twitter's blocked my account after over a decade of tweeting.

I updated my profile details, and they wanted my birthday, but warned "not your cat's birthday, even if this is your cat's account." It happened to be my dog's account, so I put her date of birth but Twitter got the last laugh there.
 

Thanks again for your advice

[Bill Hiatt]

Most authors start out with zero in the beginning. It's a slow building process, and even slower to transmute page likes into real fans, though it does happen eventually, at least some of the time.

FB ads may not be the greatest way to sell books, but a small, ongoing ad for the page is a pretty effective way to build page likes. If the likers enjoy what they see, they may also follow the page. That used to mean higher visibility for your posts in their news feed. Honestly, I'm not sure if it means anything anymore, but I'm pleased that most of my likers became followers.