[Justawriter]

I started with a profile page and a week or so ago asked here about the importance of a Fan Page. I put up a Fan Page, but now my question is if you have both, how do you grow the fan page when people seem more drawn to the profile and less inclined to also like the fan page?

 

[Carry Lada]

I have experienced the same.

I believe that people do not want the one sided relationship that a fan page delivers.

They want you to be interactive with their profile also.

I post something on my author page and *crickets*

I post in my profile and people interact. (Well, at least sometimes. )

*These are my observations*

btw, if anyone wants to be friends with me on facebook. Here is my profile:

http://facebook.com/CarryLada

 

[Adele Ward]

I don't think a fan page works in most cases unless it's created by a fan for a very famous author who doesn't also have a profile page. People have been asking this recently among my Facebook contacts. I also think book pages for separate books are confusing, as you move on to a new book. I will click Like out of courtesy but I'm unlikely to go to book pages unless it's some iconic book.

The advice I was giving on using the internet years ago, and I think it still holds true, is that you need to try to keep everying in one place as much as possible, or in as few places as you can and try to interconnect them.

With Facebook my answer is this. I don't have friends and family on Facebook. I talk to them in other ways. My profile on Facebook is full of writing and publishing contacts, who are also friends, but not my personal friends (unless they also become that). This keeps everything in one place and it is where people look for you and interact.

I have to have an additional page for my publishing company group, and another for an open mic event I help organise in London, so I can send group notices and keep people informed. That's already a nuisance as I have to double post on my wall and in the groups, but people are forgiving.

I advised someone else who asked this question that they may need to consider an extra Facebook profile just for their very personal friends and contacts, make their main profile the one they use as a writer with some personal stuff too, and this will work better than trying to create a purely professional author page.

I'm also happy to be friended on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gadeleward and to add people to my publishing group http://www.facebook.com/groups/136070746434828/?ref=ts&fref=ts where we are having monthly giveaways of Kindle books.

 

[Lisa Scott]

I'm not clear on whether or not something I post on my author page also ends up in my personal page feed.  Does anyone know?

 

[Becca Mills]

Explicitly ask people to move over? Profiles are limiting because you can't have more than 5,000 friends. If you go that route, your ability to reach fans may one day be sadly constricted (compared, for instance, to Holly Ward's Fb page, which she just mentioned over on the current social media thread: https://www.facebook.com/DemonKissed). You may also find yourself not able to do certain things with your profile that you'd like to do if it's loaded with folks you don't know from Adam. For instance, my profile is only for people I know in real life. I post pics of my kids there and mention friends and family by name. All that would be out of the question if that were my public Becca Mills Fb presence. Keep in mind that a good Fb page is very interactive, so stuff is going on there that draws readers (see DDark's https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dannika-Dark-official/148451945238628?fref=ts and smreine's https://www.facebook.com/authorsmreine ... lots of juicy content, lots of interaction between author and fans).

Lisa, I've never had something from my author page show up on my profile. They're totally separate. Of course, if you make the mistake of posting or liking as yourself instead of your page, that activity will show up on your profile.

 

[Jena H]

I'm in the same boat. I have my personal page (the real me) and my author/book page, under my pen-name. Obviously I can't "like" with the book page, and other than fellow writers (under the "facebook like" swap) I have very little traffic there. When I post on my book page, I "like" or "comment" from my personal page, which somewhat defeats the purpose of a separate page, but at least it (theoretically) gets the info visible to a wider audience.

Like others, I really wish it was possible to do more (be more interactive) with the author page. I'd love to be able to "like" other pages or leave comments as [author name].

Anyway, Lisa, to answer your question, as far as I know, posts you make on author page should show up on personal newsfeed. To be sure of it, I usually "like" or "comment" on it to increase the odds.

 

[Guest]

I prefer to keep my "real self" and my "business self" separate. I don't write under a pen name. Pretty much everyone knows that Bards and Sages is run by me. But I will post things on my personal page I wouldn't post on my business page (like political or religious commentary). My personal page is also, well, PERSONAL. It's where I talk to my sister and co-workers and old high school friends. If I'm giving my 16 yr old niece a hard time about her new boyfriend (which is great sport lol), I don't really want some random 50 yr old male "fan" reading that conversation. While I have no illusions about my personal page being completely private, I do think of it as if I was sitting with my friends at a table in a restaurant. There are things I will say at the table that I would not say into a megaphone for the entire restaurant to hear.

Remember that a fan page is also visible to everyone whether they like it or not. It's something people can check out and read without having to wait for you to friend them or even having to have a Facebook account. I actually have a few people who "follow" my fan page who don't have Facebook accounts. They just have it bookmarked on thier computer. I know this because they have emailed me in the past about things I posted to the FB page. Don't assume that the "Like" count are the only people looking at your page.

 

[Becca Mills]

I'm in the same boat. I have my personal page (the real me) and my author/book page, under my pen-name. Obviously I can't "like" with the book page, and other than fellow writers (under the "facebook like" swap) I have very little traffic there. When I post on my book page, I "like" or "comment" from my personal page, which somewhat defeats the purpose of a separate page, but at least it (theoretically) gets the info visible to a wider audience.

Like others, I really wish it was possible to do more (be more interactive) with the author page. I'd love to be able to "like" other pages or leave comments as [author name].

Anyway, Lisa, to answer your question, as far as I know, posts you make on author page should show up on personal newsfeed. To be sure of it, I usually "like" or "comment" on it to increase the odds.

Jena, you can like other pages and comment on things as your page. You need to switch to using Fb as your page, rather than as yourself. You won't be able to like off-Fb stuff as your page. If you try, you'll see a "Do you want to switch to yourself?" icon in place of the "like" button. But within Fb, pages can like and comment.

You switch Fb personas under the little cog up at the top right of the screen.

Again, if you post or comment *as your page,* what you do will not show up on your profile. The page and profile are separate personas.

Yeah, I don't really get the authors-liking-each-others'-Fb-pages thing. You really want readers following your page, not other authors. One great way to generate reader followers it to put your Fb link at the back of your book -- on the About the Author page, for instance,

 

[Carry Lada]

Yeah, I don't really get the authors-liking-each-others'-Fb-pages thing. You really want readers following your page, not other authors. One great way to generate reader followers it to put your Fb link at the back of your book -- on the About the Author page, for instance,

When I see (on an author page that I have liked) them posting promotions I share to my profile page their promotion. (And I have readers on my profile page)
Other authors have done the same for me.

 

[vrabinec]

Yeah, I don't really get the authors-liking-each-others'-Fb-pages thing. You really want readers following your page, not other authors. One great way to generate reader followers it to put your Fb link at the back of your book -- on the About the Author page, for instance,

So, you're suggesting I un-like your page?

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I don't really get the authors-liking-each-others'-Fb-pages thing. You really want readers following your page, not other authors. One great way to generate reader followers it to put your Fb link at the back of your book -- on the About the Author page, for instance,

Always seemed backwards to me as well. I like pages I actually like. I know, I know...call me crazy. But I don't have time on hundreds of quid pro quo "likes" and then I have to sort through my feed to actually find posts I actually care about. It also screws up your algorithms insofar as what FB ads you end up with and suggestions (much like the tagging and liking on Amazon screws up your own search functionality).

If you like speculative fiction and roleplaying games, like my page. If you don't like those things, don't like my page. My feelings won't be hurt. I'm much happier knowing my 470+ fans are mostly actual fans and not 470 other writers expecting me to like them back.

 

[vrabinec]

If you like speculative fiction and roleplaying games, like my page. If you don't like those things, don't like my page. My feelings won't be hurt. I'm much happier knowing my 470+ fans are mostly actual fans and not 470 other writers expecting me to like them back.

I wouldn't "like" an author on FB that I don't like either through their books or through our interactions on here. But there's nothing wrong with "liking" each other. I've probably grown closer to YOU guys than most of my old friends, simply because I've got something in common to talk with you about other than 10th grade chem class and how Mr. Boecher freaked out at Billy Starzinsky.