I am very active on Facebook at a personal level. I share photos of myself, family and friends. I share funny things or ecards with those I know can relate. But as far as the usefulness of a profile page for me as an author... I don't think so. The usefulness of a Facebook Page makes more sense. In looking around at some of my favorite author's Facebook's, I can see that they all have pages. We, as fans, can go and like their pages and there's not all of this "friending" going on and trying to keep track of it. That's handy-dandy!
One of my favorites is James Patterson. He does a great job with his Facebook page. He is very social. He posts everyday (or someone posts for him). He talks about his own work and makes recommendations for movies and other books. He allows people to make comments. He doesn't comment back on everything, but I've noticed everything will at a minimum get a "like".
Patterson is very natural. He will post pictures of him and his son or of him golfing (he got a hole in one a month or two back). He inserts humor and let's us all know that he's just like we are. Just because he is a famous writer doesn't make him above us. His personality shines through the page.
Other than talking about his work, those of his colleagues, or the latest movie, Patterson also talks about charitable foundations he's involved in. One of his biggest things is literacy and getting children to read. He is successful at writing and speaking to school age kids about the importance of literacy. I think that keeps people coming back.
Not all of my favorite authors are as good as this at their Facebook pages. It takes serious commitment!
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