Leaving Facebook has been positive. Time formerly spent maintaining an author page is now devoted to more valuable digital tools.
Unless you elect to hire someone to manage your social media accounts, authors are generally responsible for finding content, sharing, engaging, and ensuring their profiles are current. We’ve all experienced a visit to a Twitter profile or Facebook page that hasn’t been updated since 2009…it does not reflect positively on the account owner. For writers just getting started with social media, I encourage them only to participate with platforms they plan to stay active with in the long-term.
For example, I have never used and do not intend to use Pinterest, Vine, or Snap Chat. I read about author successes on these platforms and understand the value. With regards to demographics, time, and effort, those are not worth it for me.
During my book marketing classes I review the demographics of each book genre, then the same for each social media platform. This helps authors identify where their time is best spent.
I also review policy and user experience changes. One big one that I’ve referenced a few times is the drop in organic reach on Facebook. There is a reduced value in maintaining a Facebook page. Last fall this was underscored ad nauseum at the Internet Summit.
Four months ago I abandoned my Facebook author page. My posts used to (2+ years ago) reach double-to-ten-times as many people who ‘like’ the page. I had significant engagement, and it was a great way to keep others updated about events.
Then the Facebook algorithm change hit. My posts were getting barely 15-30 impressions. I still had a strong engagement, but was staying in front of just a dozen people worth my time commenting, liking, and sharing new content?
This blog has about 700 followers and significant traffic. My Twitter followers doubled in the last year. Google+ helps me find savvy authors, like the one I recently interviewed about her book trailer. Plus, my monthly newsletter for writers has grown in the past year.
I’ve received a handful of requests to resurrect my Facebook author page, but I have no intentions of doing so. I also find my personal (non-writing-focused) time on social media is mostly on Instagram now, and I rarely use my personal Facebook profile. When I got my new iPhone in January, I didn’t even download the Facebook app!
Has leaving Facebook hurt my business? Not a bit.
What are your favorite social platforms? Have you abandoned any?
I haven’t cut FB … yet. But I sure spend a lot less time there. I check in morning and night, otherwise it’s become a huge black hole sucking up time with fewer payoffs. You’re right, a few thousand “friends”, yet posts are only seen by 20-50.
Great that you can consolidate your Facebook time, that seems to be most people’s biggest challenge. Facebook’s evolution would have been hard to predict. I remember ‘back in the day’ when fb membership required and email with a university domain – college students only! Now the largest growing demographic on fb is 55+ while other social networks are scooping up the young ‘uns.
I am so glad you wrote this! I’ve been thinking the same thing about my FB author page and have been wanting to delete it too, but I wasn’t sure if I would be doing myself a disservice. Now I know I’m not! Thanks!
You’re welcome. 🙂 Yeah, you want the time and effort spent building a community to be toward a community you can access. Sadly, FB is making it very difficult to access what was once easy. Btw, I’m two chapters into your book and loving it.
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Got off FB a year ago Christmas and don’t regret it at all. I do need to create an Instagram account, also owned by FB but I think it’s much more fun!
Fantastic! Yes, I still have to log in to moderate client pages but I’m glad not to be on there for my own needs anymore. Instagram is much more fun and it’s the only social outlet I have/use for non-professional purposes. Try it out, even though your thoughts are correct, fb and Instagram have the same parent company.