6 Reasons Writers See No Value In Facebook

On yesterday’s post a few of you had questions regarding Facebook. Thus, I deferred to our WANA International Facebook expert, Lisa Hall-Wilson to address your concerns.

Take it away, Lisa!

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Facebook is my happy place. I spend a lot of time there and manage pages for nonprofits and curate content on a few other pages including the MyWANA page. Yesterday, there were a few comments here about Facebook, so Kristen asked me step in. Time to go all Crazy Canuck.

Tough Love with Lisa

You’re asking the wrong questions when it comes to Facebook. Time to take off the ski gloves and tuque. Let’s get some things straight. Facebook is about relationships.

Here’s some tough love. *pats pet beaver on head*

There’s a reason your Facebook page isn’t doing well. Don’t blame edge rank. Don’t blame the Zuck. If you go canoeing on Lake Superior without a paddle you’re… well, we know how that ends. Superior is a big a$$ lake that changes its mood without warning, you’re competing with giant ships and freighters on the radar and all you’re doing is waving your arms in the air.

You know what the little boats do to navigate a big lake? They stick together! WANAs stick together.

This is what a WANA platform looks like and YES, we have a Bouncy House.

It’s time to take the string off your mittens and put away the kiddie snow shovel. I’m going to really dish here on what’s not working. *Throws extra paddle*

This is stuff I typically save for my 6 week course on Facebook, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We’re writers! We Are Not Alone. Chin up. Pen out.

1.     You have no plan.

How do you measure success if you don’t know what you want your page to do for you? Where’s the line between pass and fail? Writers/Authors on social media, essentially, are selling themselves (your humor, your insights, your knowledge, your expertise), not what your product can do.

What are the BIG authors using Facebook for? They’re NOT using Facebook to sell books. They’re using FB to build community/tribe (aka: relationships), give inside scoops/info/deals, drive traffic to another site (like their website or Amazon), and they’re using it to build an email list.

2.     You aren’t meeting a need.

Fans connect with authors on Facebook for access. They want a look behind the curtain – they want to see OZ. When you post a comment on a favorite writer/artist/band’s page, how elated are you if they respond to YOUR comment? Nonfiction authors are offering their expertise – their wisdom. They give loads of advice away – for FREE. And…wait for it…people still buy their books. Where do you get your ideas? What are you researching? What opportunities are you excited about?

Identify your brand, and stick to it. Have a plan to answer these needs. Be intentional. Be approachable. Be REAL.

3.     Your content sucks.

I mean this in the nicest possible way. *here’s a piece of maple fudge* Would you share the stuff you’re posting? Be honest. Blog titles are huge factors in share-ability, so are images. Is it all about you all the time – your blog, your books, your contests, etc.? Always always provide value. This is the WANA way. For every ten posts, only one should be self-promotional – at best! Don’t be that lone canoe on Superior!

Share things YOU care about, are meaningful to YOU. What makes you mad, what makes you shake your fist at the world, what makes you laugh, what makes you cry. (Because people want to see OZ – they want to get to know you.)
Fans are drawn to writers because we’re thinkers and observers – share your quirky humor, your passions, editorial comments, etc.
Be positive. Nobody wants to hang out with the guy on a soap-box, the Debbie-downer, or listen to constant cries for help.

4.     You’re splitting your brand.

You have how many pages? You know how many you need? One. 1. Uno. That’s it. When you’re Nicholas Sparks and Hollywood options every book you publish you can set up pages for your books, until then you need one author page. You don’t need one for your blog(s), for your cat, for your book.

Seriously.

Just one.

5.     You never show up!

Remember the main reason why fans search out authors on Facebook? They want to see OZ. They want access to you they ordinarily would have to travel to a book signing or writer’s conference to have. Respond quickly. Respond compassionately. Actually care. Just posting a link to your blog is not showing up. Blasting BUY MY BOOK spam is not showing up. Why should fans show up if you never do?

6.     You’re forcing yourself to be something you’re not.

Some of you started a page because somebody who sells ‘stuff’ (like vacuum cleaners, or blenders, or shoes) told you to. This is why you need a plan. (See #1) Decide what you want a page to do. Maybe you’re better using a profile?

I posted about whether you should use a profile or a page on Jami Gold’s site. I’m also giving away a free 1hr webinar which answers whether you should use a profile or page sponsored by TechSurgeons. If you read the post on Jami’s site and want to know more, the webinar goes deeper into the topic. Currently, that webinar is only available to my newsletter subscribers. Subscribe here .

As a way to share some WANA love, I’m offering two free critiques of your Facebook platform (page or profile). Leave the url for your page or profile in the comments, and I’ll draw names on Friday May, 31 from all the entries.  If you want to dive deeper into running a Facebook page, I’m offering a two-part webinar which will answer the most frequently asked questions I get from writers about running a page on Facebook. Use the code Lisa20 for 20% off.

Are you guilty of any of these problems? Do you wish you also had a pet beaver? If you have a question related to Facebook, I’ll hang out here and do my best to answer.