Congratulations! Now you have a Facebook Page, but that’s just the beginning.

Unlike a profile, which can and should be personal, a Page can be used to promote you and your book since it has fewer restrictions (such as number of followers). Pages offer a lot of great options to connect with your fans: you can post photos and videos from events, create groups based on shared interests, hold live chats, publicize your events and allow attendees to RSVP.

The first question is usually the same, however: now that I have a Page, what should I do next?

Let the world know you have a Facebook Page!

• Make sure you have a Facebook widget on your website and blog so it’s clear that you have a Page and people can click on the widget and reach your page. There is also a “share” button on the bottom left of your Page that allows you to send the page to your Facebook friends and/or post the Page to your personal Facebook profile if you have one.

• If you do have a personal Facebook page, be sure to “like” your Page.

• If you have an e-newsletter or mailing list, be sure to alert them to your Page so they can click the link and join! The same goes for your personal Facebook page; invite your friends to “like” your Page and to follow you over there for the latest news and updates.

• Add your Facebook Page link to your email signature.

• “Like” other authors and/or books in your topic; authors can and should support each other and this also increases your exposure and allows people interested in your topic to find you through these other Facebook pages.

• Join groups on Facebook with topics related to your book – another way to network and make contacts. This can include publishers, bookstores, genre-specific groups and book lovers/reviewers.

Update your content regularly

• Your Wall is the most important piece of real estate on your Page. The truth is, busy people may not spend much time visiting the other tabs on your Page, so making their first stop at the wall lively and interesting is key.

• When you update your wall regularly and frequently, the updates will appear in your fan’s newsfeeds – don’t just post messages but consider adding photos from events, video – anything visual is a big draw!

• Think about making it a two-way conversation: you can hold contests, have a question of the day, run polls, post your reviews and interviews and even ask your fans to post some content.

• Run your blog feed through your Facebook Page so you automatically have new content available on your Facebook Page whenever you update your blog. Do the same with your Twitter feed so it will automatically send out a Tweet when your Page is updated.

• You can also post book excerpts, and if you have a topic that’s in the news, or find something newsworthy that’s writing/book/publishing related, you can post the link to the news item, add your own comments and invite others to join in the conversation.

• The Page is quite easy to update – when you’re signed in you’ll see, on the top left side under the photo, “edit this page.” When you click on each tab, you’ll see the “edit information” logo on the top right. Facebook is pretty streamlined in its setup, so using the Page is relatively easy to learn.

Other ways to connect

You want to get out there and connect on Facebook with potential fans, who can then “like” your page. Use the Facebook search function to find people or search by keyword terms to find them and invite them to your page.

Don’t forget to interact with your friends and fans – that’s what social media is all about.

Is it working? The stats tell the story

Don’t forget to check your stats; the Insights tool on your Page will let you know how many visitors your Page gets, what they liked and so forth. This will give you a good sense of what your fans are interested in, what causes them to like something on your page or which topics lead to comments. It will look like this:

+41 Fans this week (3,284 total Fans)

31 Wall Posts, Comments, and Likes this week (68 last week)

1,477 visits to your page this week (1,869 visits last week)

And finally… have fun!

Additional resources

http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages – there are myriad links so you can learn the ins and outs of Facebook Pages

Related articles

• Facebook Pages Tip – How to manage spam on your Facebook Page (krishnade.com)
• So You Have a Facebook Page … Now What? (blogs.constantcontact.com)