Is Facebook Good For Book Marketing?

By Author: Melissa Henderson
Total Articles: 1
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While Facebook statistics provide overwhelmingly huge numbers like a billion users worldwide, harnessing its power to promote a book requires more than just a dedicated Facebook page and an unlimited number of friends. Although “Likes” are a positive sign, they do not directly correlate into book sales,which is the goal of book marketing. As is often stated by those advising book authors, a comprehensive marketing plan that is well executed is the closest thing to a surety for successful book marketing. However, let us concentrate on the merits of creating a comprehensive approach to using Facebook as part of a book marketing plan and whether it is good for this purpose.


In addition to being a hugely successful socialmedia platform, Facebook provides a number of powerful components under the hood for book authors that allow them to target their market. Having access to specific demographics such as kindle owners or book readers to more finely tuned targeting based on age, gender, hobbies and book genre lovers can be enormously helpful. Most of these options come into play if the author chooses to implement ...
... a paid Facebook advertising campaign.


There are also some great social marketing tools that can aid in book marketing via Facebook. The Odyl platform as one example allows authors to post book excerpts and provides a metrics tool to track readers. Additional tools in the platform include poll,quiz and promotional giveaway tools, which can be great ways to provide incentives in building a fan base. The platform can also import content from Twitter feeds, YouTube and more.


Most book authors that begin searching about the effectiveness of Facebook for book marketing are inundated with hundreds of books telling them how great it is and statistics saying that it provides a poor return. The truth is somewhere in the middle as it must be an integrated part of a book marketing plan to see any success. This plan should be based on moving people from finding the author and their work on Facebook to visiting their platform and then buying a book.


According to Sociable Labs, Facebook-connected shoppers are nine times more likely to share content with friends. To harness that power, book authors must diligently respond to reader questions about the book and/or the information they share that appeals to the chosen demographic.


Some of the tools of a successful book marketing plan include creating a consistent blog that provides book subject matter insights to targeted demographics and the creation of a separate Facebook page for the book. Others include well targeted press releases with targeted keywords as well as the intelligent use of backlinks. Any type of media interviews(radio, TV, print, magazines and even local cable access) that can be arranged are also important aspects. The plan should also integrate Twitter, YouTube and several other tools to increase successful conversions of people that show interest to book buyers.


When it comes to Facebook specifically, authors must create relationships with fans that allows them to harness each of their lists of Facebook friends so that a few key people can help grow the author’s fanbase exponentially. On February 2nd, everyone’s profiles switched to the new Facebook Timeline layout, which also presents new options for book marketing via Facebook.


The answer to the question of whether or not Facebook is good for book marketing has the same answer as all forms of book marketing. That answer is yes, if the author is willing to integrate with other components and then put in the sweat equity and diligence in planning, implementation, tracking and responding that it takes.

Melissa Henderson is a freelance writer with a strong interest in the book marketing services concept and the intersections of writing and technology especially Novel marketing services.