By Edward Nawotka
Today’s feature story looks at Odyl’s Facebook apps that help authors and publishers reach their fans on Facebook in engaging ways. It has become common knowledge in the publishing community that establishing a strong social media network of “friends” is essential to having a successful book launch.
Your total number of “friends,” “likes,” and “followers” offer an indication of your overall visibility, your platform, in an increasingly crowded media marketplace.
But how much are those badges of social media affirmation really worth? A one to one correspondence between “friends/followers” and “book buyers” is unlikely, but at the very least you know they are “readers” in the loosest sense of the term, as they are at least seeing your social media missives. It is proof you have an audience.
That said, if you’re anything like me, you’ve likely friended and followed numerous people on a whim or based on single post, tweet or recommendation — and have little or no real relationship with them.
It is often said that, as an author, your biggest problem is anonymity. So, in your estimation, what is the real value of social media visibility?
If you’re feeling bold, and were to quantify it, what kind of number would you put on the value of each friend, follower and like?
Let us know what you think in the comments?
5 Comments
Interesting question. The cost to “get” a fan is probably a few dollars. If you are a writer, then each fan can only buy one of each book you produce. If you are a publisher, each fan can buy one of hundreds you create. Therefore, publishers get more value for each dollar spent…
The total domination of Facebook has meant that marketers are heading there in their droves as it’s seen as free publicity. The truth however is that the real value of a Facebook “like” is not quite as high as Facebook or many marketing companies would have you believe.
There’s an interesting study here using real world examples of entertainment and celebrity properties on Facebook:
http://ven.so/facebook-case-study
I’m willing to grant that this kind of promotion may work well for fiction and maybe even general nonfiction. But will it work for other types of publishing, say, scholarly and professional? I have my doubts. Scholars are already closely interconnected in networks through specialized societies and other types of membership group, and those are their main audience.
If you are really asking what I’d be willing to pay your company to generate facebook followers, I’d rather you just tell me what your fee structure is.
Awesome blog post.Much thanks again. Awesome.