IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.
Welcome to mine!
I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. My initial reason for setting my account there was for business, but since my 7-year author sabbatical, I've lost much of my fanbase and online presence. This wasn't of my own choosing but here I am.
I'm slowly reemerging and Facebook is my main door to online presence.
I know many authors haven't touched Facebook with an eyelash bat. For the most part, it's what I'm familiar with. I could reevaluate my views/strategy regarding Facebook and approach it differently--how do you do it?
If you haven't touched Facebook, I'd love to know your reasons. If you're on Facebook, what do you like or don't like about it? What works for you? How do you make it work for you?
 |
| photo by William Iven via Unsplash.com |
I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. My initial reason for setting my account there was for business, but since my 7-year author sabbatical, I've lost much of my fanbase and online presence. This wasn't of my own choosing but here I am.
I'm slowly reemerging and Facebook is my main door to online presence.
I know many authors haven't touched Facebook with an eyelash bat. For the most part, it's what I'm familiar with. I could reevaluate my views/strategy regarding Facebook and approach it differently--how do you do it?
If you haven't touched Facebook, I'd love to know your reasons. If you're on Facebook, what do you like or don't like about it? What works for you? How do you make it work for you?
I've never been on Facebook. I have my blog, and I'm on Goodreads. It's not the best plan for marketing and promotion, but it's what I'm up for right now. I'm sure others will comment with better suggestions. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great! How are you making it work for your needs? I'm open to any ideas. :)
DeleteIt works for me for right now, for what I'm willing to do online, where I want to/can put my effort right now, etc. For me, my blog is my online "home" and I use Goodreads more as a reader than a writer, although my author info is up there, too. :)
DeleteThank you, Madeline!
DeleteI'm on Facebook only because my family and in-laws use it, so it's a way to keep in touch with them, and for them to keep tabs on what author me is doing, as they're not on other forms of social media. But mostly I don't invest a lot of time or effort into it.
ReplyDeleteThat's where I'm at, though I do have Goodreads (of which I haven't visited in years), and Twitter (of which I'm trying to catch on but failing!).
DeleteSorry, I'm not on Facebook. Blogging and Twitter are enough. Everyone talks about the drama there and I'd just rather avoid it.
ReplyDeleteNo need to apologize. I know you aren't on FB and all these years I've wondered why you haven't but now I know! You're so right on that aspect. Drama even in the family department which I'm sick of. How do you make it work (marketing) on your other social medias?
DeleteI use Facebook and have put out a couple ads that were successful for book sales. But, for the most part, my active followers are my friends and family. I also haven't been that active and I might be too random. I also don't want to constantly be promoting my book - that's annoying. I think part of what I'm doing on FB is being me and people either like it or not and then, hopefully, will read my books. :/ Actually, I haven't promoted my writing in a while and should get on that.
ReplyDeleteThat's me all the way! My writing gets more attention on my regular profile compared to my author page and I'm afraid of sounding like an ad. haha! But I guess we can promote all we want on our pages, right? It still feels limiting! *sigh*
DeleteI joined FB about a year and a half ago I think. I like being part of some author groups. It's nice to see how they do things and build buzz. Mostly, though, I don't use it much/well as an author. I've joined a dementia caregivers group that helps me out with my real life.
ReplyDeleteI think it's like any social media - it will work for some and not for other people!
I have two reasons for not being so great or consistent on FB. The first is that I simply don't like Facebook. The second is that I will be mainly writing for a young adult audience and they aren't on FB anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling that way about FB right now. How well is your connection with your audience? Are you on Instagram, or Snap Chat? Do you like that?
DeleteI'm on Facebook. I have a private/personal page and an author page. I've done a few ads, but haven't noticed if they help much. I have also done take over parties which do seem to pick up followers quickly, but they also don't necessarily equate to book sales. My biggest problem is being too sporadic. It is a lot of work to maintain it all. If I keep up a posting/commenting schedule, I can see the page views becoming more active. Then I fall behind in real life and slack off. I keep saying I need to find the right balance for my available work time, but so far, no good.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there really is a secret to making it work for an author on an media platform. It's a challenge, that's for sure!
DeleteI have been on Facebook through my husband's account to monitor a theatre group my daughter belongs to, but I don't have my own page. The reason? I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to technology. Once I learn how to do something, like blog, then I'm not inclined to go out and learn all the other varieties of social media even though I did finally jump on Twitter (to enter pitch contests) and Goodreads (to keep track of reviews of a short story collection.) Now that negative things about Facebook are in the news from time to time, I'm even less motivated to join.
ReplyDeleteI like FB because of the groups. It's where my writer friends are at. None of the other social media places can match it for that.
ReplyDelete