Almost 2 years ago, I was talking with Peter Yewell, a fellow broadcast.com alum about Facebook. He works there now in the sales group. He told me to immediately build a fan page/public page for my work (writing books and speaking).
At the time, like many other people I know, I didn't think it would be appropriate. I don't think of my readers or audiences as "fans." So I proceeded with my regular FB page, and it's grown over time.
A few weeks ago, as I consulted with a small biz owner on social media, I found myself making the same recommendation to him - build a fan page for your work. After thinking about it, I decided that I'd take the plunge. I created a fan page (Author Tim Sanders) and made some editorial decisions. It would be about my work, and offer news updates and excerpts from writing/speaking. My personal FB page would be, well, personal.
After just a week, I'm beginning to understand the value of the fan page. It's a place where I can share my content in real-time with people familiar with my work, whether or not they know me or know someone who knows me. In other words, there is no stigma about becoming a fan of a brand on FB. I don't have to accept them, and the followership can grow much more rapidly. You can market on it at a low cost, and your friends can market you easily, helping your following to grow beyond your marketing resources.
Unlike my official site, it's really easy to upload new content without any hassle factor. Fan pages are living documents when well executed.
As an author, it will also be a great place for me to post work in progress for people to react to. Unlike my personal FB page, I don't have to worry that I'm talking about myself or my work too much - the fan page is all about what I do in public. If you've been contemplating creating a fan/public page for your company or yourself, do it. You are not being a rock star, you are being generous and making it far easier for people to engage with you - even if they don't (yet) know you.
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