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Recently a marketing panel held at Book Expo America suggested that the best thing an author can do to promote himself and his work is not to invest money in a website, but simply to set up a Facebook page and market exclusive from there. Proponent of social media are likely to agree (and arguments against this are certainly reserved for another article), but let's say an author with little to no computer experience does just this. Now what? If you have one book, you may be limited in the amount of material you can share on a daily basis, and if you expect to increase fans to a Facebook page it's important to keep people interested. It's not uncommon for authors to hold giveaways for promotional items and free books, and this tactic is certainly applicable to any business looking to raise traffic for their social presence. As manager of your social networking interests, you will see that using Facebook to generate awareness in your products and services is important to your overall campaign. As perhaps the most used social network in the world, you have a built-in, active audience set - you just need to nudge the viral good feelings and move those users over to you. If you want to work on a giveaway - be it a free book or product you sell, a gift certificate, or maybe a voucher for a travel service - the one thing you want to remember is to tailor the promotion so that it not only promotes to your current fans, but encourages those fans to multiply. Try these five tips when you plan your marketing blast. 1) Get your fans to go viral. The hope of lighting a fire is to watch it spread, so when you announce your giveaway, include a requisite that gets people on your page to share your contest and post it to their walls. You can gauge new traffic from specific fans by asking them to have new fans refer them, or else hold out giving away the prize until you reach a milestone in "likes" to your page. 2) Promote on Twitter. Twitter is forever swarming with tweets on contests and giveaways. How often have you seen a friend retweet an entry to win an iPad or another prize? Word a tweet that sparks a viral chain of responses. Every time you see your handle mentioned, you have an entry. 3) Get your e-mail base on board. People still read e-mail, regardless of how often critics predict it's coming disappearance. Craft a quick blast to your subscriber base and let them know they need to get on Facebook, then have them forward the mail to a friend. 4) Promote often. Don't make one post on the contest and expect people to remember. The nature of Facebook is such that your fans may not check your page everyday, but find your information in their daily news feed. If they have many friends, it is likely your giveaway news may get lost in the chatter. Talk up the contest, remind people of the deadline, and be creative in your drive to get more fans.
5) Use the Events feature. This should be just a contest, it's an event! Especially if you're giving away something from Apple or one of those must have eBook readers, these are gadgets everybody wants but is waiting for an opportunity like this to get one. Set up your giveaway as an event, making the start and finish dates the beginning and deadline for entries. Invite everybody on your page (and including the sharing instructions), and you're good to go. Fanning the flames of your viral project via Facebook can help you raise awareness of your brand among Facebook users, and prompt them to spread the word. With an awesome giveaway for attention, you stand to gain more people who like you, and want to stick around to see what you do next.
Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on social media writing and Facebook marketing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathryn_Lively
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