I’ve gotten a couple of questions lately about using Facebook, so I thought I’d do a post on it. If y’all have any other questions, please feel free to comment or shoot me an email so I can answer them (or find out the answer if I don’t know it.) I’m including some really basic info here, but I’ve also got a few other things for more experienced users.
A Professional Account and a Personal One:
I started out with a personal Facebook page first. I had a lot of friends using it and sharing pictures, etc, on it—and I had some curiosity about people I’d graduated from high school and college with.
But then I quickly realized that I needed a separate Facebook account for my writing friends. I was wincing far too much as old pictures from sorority formals or icky yearbook pictures were getting scanned in and uploaded to Facebook from old friends.
I decided to open a second Facebook account under Elizabeth Spann Craig, Author. So far, I’ve only had a few friend requests where a personal friend tried to befriend me on my author account and vice versa. I always send a message to them if they do that says, “Hey, I think you’ll like it better on this account….that one’s for work,” or else “Could you be my friend on this account? This is the one with all the writers.”
Some people will recommend that you get a ‘fan’ page instead of 2 separate Facebook accounts. But I like the 2 accounts, myself. I don’t like asking someone to ‘be my fan,’ but I don’t mind asking someone to be my friend. But there are benefits to having a fan page: they are accessible to anyone, even if someone doesn’t have a Facebook account. The argument for having a fan page is here. There’s also, I think, not a cap for having friends. Regular Facebook pages cap at 5,000 friends. But….frankly, I can’t imagine having that many FB friends. I’m at over 600 and I just don’t see me getting anywhere close to that number.
Setting up Facebook is really easy. I think it’s probably one of the easier social media out there.
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Step 1
Start at the homepage for Facebook.com. You’ll see a screen where you can click on ‘sign up’.
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Step 2
On the sign up screen, you fill out your name (full name…you’ll be surprised how many people across the world share your name), email address, password, and some other personal info. If you are setting up 2 different Facebook accounts, you’ll need to have 2 different email addresses to use for setting up the accounts (somebody correct me if I’m wrong…it was like that when I was doing it, but might have changed.) This is still easy, since you can get a Gmail account, Hotmail account, or Yahoo account for free. You’ll have a word verification form and an “I accept” agreement to click. Then you click the ‘sign up now.’
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Step 3
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Facebook will send a confirmation email to you to the account you used while setting it up. When you get the email, click the link and you’ll be logged into Facebook..
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Step 4
I’d be careful when it asks you if you want to search for friends because Facebook will search your email address books. I didn’t use that feature—I just searched for friends in the search boxes. For your personal account, you can search by university and graduating year, which is fun. You can also search by company, if you want to find old coworkers.
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Step 5
Set your privacy settings. There’s a toolbar at the very top of each page that has ‘settings.’ That’s where you can set up who sees your information and how your info is shared. -
Step 6
Upload pictures for your profile. Add personal information on your info tab.
How does Facebook work?
You can’t really look up someone’s information unless you’re their friend. It’s limited, for their privacy. You send a friend request to the person and on their end, they get a little notice in the top, right-hand corner of their screen, telling them they’ve got a request. They can click on it and see your picture and name and decide if they want to befriend you (I know this sounds a little like junior high.) If they accept, you can see their info and they can see yours.
Status Updates: This is where you can start a conversation by bringing up a question or making a statement. You can see your friends’ status updates and can respond to them by clicking ‘comment.’
Pull your blog feed onto Facebook:
Set up Facebook to pull your blog feed automatically onto your profile page. This frequently will generate comments: (I’m cutting and pasting Facebook’s instructions on doing so:)
- On the Notes page (you get there by clicking on Notes on the bottom left hand side of the window), click the Import a blog link on the right side of the page.
- Enter the URL (web address) of your blog into the text box, and check the box underneath that states that you agree to our Terms of Use.
- To complete the process, click on “Save Settings.” Once you do this, your previous posts will appear as notes and any new posts you make will automatically display.
Making friends:
Look up writers you admire who write in your genre. Become their friend. Facebook friends are different from real friends—no one is going to wonder who you are and why you’re asking to be their friend, so don’t feel self-conscious about it. It’s a different culture. Once you’re friends with the author you targeted, click on their friend list and ask those people to be your friends. Those people will get a friend request from you stating that you share a mutual friend (the author you originally targeted.) Twitter works the same way. Look up an author or industry professional (agent, editor) that you respect. Then follow them. Then you can raid their followers list.
I accept almost everyone as a friend. Unless they’re currently serving time or something.
Networked Blogs:
Networked blogs is my favorite Facebook application (it’s a 3rd party one, but very popular.) Basically, you’re bringing your blog to the Facebook community—they can access it via Facebook’s blog reader. And your blog will automatically post to your profile page. The only thing is it’s sort of a pain in the neck to figure out and set up. The best online guide that I’ve found for how to set it up is this one. It uses screenshots as illustration, which really helps.
Helpful Tips for Facebook:
Twenty Facebook Tips You Might Not Know.
10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know.
What I’ve gotten out of Facebook professionally:
I’ve gotten interview requests, etc. in my Facebook inbox. I think that’s because, if I’m Googled, Facebook comes up quicker than my email or blog as a contact.
I really enjoy networking with the writing community in real-time on Facebook.
Dangers of Facebook:
Could you spend your entire day on Facebook? Oh, sure, without even thinking about it. But I think the best thing to do is to set a timer to remind us to get off of it after we’ve visited. Otherwise you can lose large chunks of time there without even thinking about it.
A very timely post. This is something I have been considering the past few days. You’ve answered a lot of my questions and I think it would be easy to do.
I can see where two accounts would be better.
I especially like the idea of pulling my blog feed onto Facebook, but not on my personal account. Thanks for all your help.
Elizabeth – Let me heartily second your endorsement of facebook. I’ve found to be extremely useful, both professionally and personally. It’s easy, it’s fun and it can get one noticed. And Elizabeth, I am truly honored that you’re my Facebook friend : ).
Great post. I love Facebook. It’s allowed me to connect with wonderful authors, like you and Margot, that I probably would never have met in real life – and may never meet in real life, although I hope some day I will. As a first time author, I find the advice and perspective from established writers invaluable.
I like that you included a “definition” of friend – it took me a while to not think of friend on FB the way we think of it in “real life” – but that being said, I’ve formed some real friendships with some of the people I met on FB, and my FB friends have become an important part of my life. FB has also reconnected me with some old real life friends I lost touch with, which has been wonderful.
As far as promoting/marketing, FB has been extremely effective for me. I do like having the fan pages for the amazing viral aspect they have. When you post something on a fan page, it’s not just seen by the fans of the page, but by *their* friends, even if they’re not your friends. So you really expand your reach by having a fan page. I don’t think of it so much as asking people to be my fans (or rather, my book’s fans and my blog’s fans), but as getting word out about something I believe in and am passionate about.
And lastly, yes, FB, can be a “time suck.” But for me, the benefits on all levels far outweigh the time I spend on it.
I haven’t ventured into Facebook territory yet. I’m mostly worried about time. I just can’t see being able to find more of it!
Maybe I’ll try it out over the holidays – it does sound like a great resource. Thanks for the tips :)
I set up a FB account at the insistence of an old friend. I haven’t set up 2 pages, though: I just use the ‘filter’ or whatever they call it to create groups and don’t post family stuff and control who can see what. I feed my blog there as well.
I tend to ignore requests to become ‘fans’ of people/groups I’m not really super-big fans of already. I wouldn’t have the nerve to ask someone to be my fan (and if I get a request to ‘fan’ someone from that person, it’s an auto-ignore).
(And my blog today has NOTHING to do with Facebook!)
That’s an excellent summary of how Facebook works. It took me a while, too, to think of FB friends as different than real friends. They’re better–they don’t ask for money!
You can never be too thin, too rich, or have too many FB friends!
One of the advantages I’ve quickly realized about having my real life friends mixed with my writing friends on Facebook is that RLF’s get to hear about writing-related stuff too. In some ways this has been a great way for me to “come out of the closet” with my writing. I’ve been able to share writing news with friends who had no clue! It’s also the place where I share more personal things vs. twitter which is more my writing community. So writing friends can learn more about my family and personal life there.
I’ll probably start a fan page some day when I actually have a following of readers, maybe once my book releases.
I joined FB at the insistance of my daughter and grandkids. They live a good twelve hours away so it is a way to talk and we all love the games. You have given me a new use for FB. Thanks!
I wish I’d thought of two separate accounts earlier. Right now all my friends are getting my blog posts, which I hadn’t really thought about. But I think it’s too late to change it now. Thanks for the helpful hints about Facebook.
karen
I’m so glad to see others feel the same about the ‘Fan’ page thing… I would feel supremely icky asking people to be my fan, and it’s an auto ignore if people ask me to be their fan. Trouble is, I get repeated requests from the same people, time after time. I hope I never act that much of a doorknob on Facebook. Can’t they come up with a better designation than ‘fan’?
I may separate my professional page from my family and friend page, now that I think of it, and I, too, need to figure out how Networked Blogs works. Can’t get the hang of it. I know I’m following some blogs, but for the life of me I don’t know where I’m following them!
Great tips, Elizabeth! I only have a personal Facebook page so far that I keep for only friends, family, and people I went to school with. I haven’t considered starting a professional one, but I did open a Twitter account for my writing. Thank you for all the advice!
Thank you so much for explaining this! It makes so much sense. I’ll probably make one for myself soon. I do have one question, though. Since I’m pre-published, do you think it’s too early to create an “author” site? That’s my only “issue” right now–is if the move is premature. I’m pretty sure my name is safe.
Mason–Hope it helps you out! Enjoy Facebook…it can be lots of fun.
Margot–And thanks for being mine! I love chatting with you on Facebook.
Thank you so much, Elizabeth. This makes the Facebook thing not quite so scary for me. Scary as in how to and scary as to where will I find time. I still don’t know the last one. I do know I need to have a day or so set aside to set up the accounts and experiment. I’m bookmarking the post so I can refer to it when I’m ready.
I had joined Facebook to reconnect with people I went to school with. Then I joined a discussion board on a particular page and suddenly was in touch with many writers; although we all write in different genres. This has been terrific! Once I started blogging, of course, I’ve come into contact with you and so many other wonderful supportive writers.
It’s tricky to remember my updates go out to everyone; so many are writing related, but some are for my real life friends. Probably should open a ‘writer’ account, so my RLF aren’t inundated with me posing continual writer-type frustrations or triumphs.
Elspeth
I have a personal account and a group account for my YA series, The Circle of Friends. That seems to work best for me.
And while my blog is networked with Facebook, I’d love to know how to get that ‘networked blogs’ box to show up on my blog! Is it the same thing?
This is an excellent and comprehensive post and primer on using Facedbook. Nicely done. I’ve been thinking of starting a separate page for strictly the professional writing side of me as well, this post gave me the necessary nudge to get that going. Thanks. :)
Marvin D Wilson
Thanks for the info and the links. Since getting hacked on Twitter, I found the link for privacy settings very helpful and now plan to go into my Facebook account and make some changes.
Excellent tutorial and summary of FB. Networked Blogs is one of my favorite features as well.
And I agree, it’s one of the easier social network sites to use.
The “real time” aspect is one of it’s best features.
I have to comment on Diane’s question because her Networked Blog is next to impossible to find, and others may have the same issue. Under Application Settings, go to NB and there are Box and Tab options there…
(Do I have that right Elizabeth?) You have become our techical expert, you realize that don’t you?
Now if I could only see the benefit and understand how Twitter works I’d be set. Even with your very thorough and “thumbs up” post about it, I just don’t get it. :(
Elizabeth, thank you for this post. I have friends on Facebook and they keep pestering me to get an account. Not only am I clueless about Facebook, I’ve already got a dozen things too many on my list. But with this tutorial, I might manage it.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Ingrid–You’ve made a good case for the fan pages. I’m thinking that it’s one of those things I don’t really ‘get.’ The linked article was very pro-fan page, too. I like the idea you can reach more people with it.
Jemi–I think it’s definitely possible to just check in once in the morning and once in the evening with FB and be considered a good user. But I totally understand about the lack of time!
Diane–You just copy the html over to your blog…I think the instructions are on that link. Then you’ll have your Networked Blogs folks on your blog page. Which is really nice, I think. I’ve got my Google followers and Networked Blogs followers on mine.
Terry–That’s exactly how I look at fan pages, too. But I think I’m probably misunderstanding it, like I was when I thought that I had to know a person to be their FB friend. All the same, I’m happy w/ my 2 accounts. But if I’d known Ingrid before I opened my second account, she might have been able to convince me to start a fan page.
Alan–Once I realized that there were friends and there were FB friends, it made life much easier! I usually get a couple of requests a day and accept the vast majority. I’ve only had to dump one ‘friend’ so far. He seemed to be trying to evangelize to me! I guess he thought I needed saving. Maybe I do. :)
Marvin–I’m very interested in seeing your page when you’ve got it done. Let me know!
Jane–I think the privacy setting is key. I like knowing exactly what I’m broadcasting when I’m on social media.
Crystal–Yes, that’s how to get a tab for it. And then she can stick it on her blog site, too. It’s no fun if you can’t find the blog.
Twitter is odder, I think. Lots of benefits, though, once you get the hang of it.
Jody–That would definitely be an easy way to come out of the writing closet! Sometimes I’ll post my blog on my personal account, but I have a feeling that high school friends roll their eyes a little. Oh well, I always WAS a nerd at school! :)
Something else I forgot to mention–on my personal account, I have pictures of my children up. But, since I have no real restrictions on FB friends on my professional account, I didn’t want some potential predator out there to see my kids’ pics. So, that’s a useful tool to separate the two.
Helen–I just assumed you were on there! It’s really an easy app…if you’ve mastered Twitter, than FB will be a breeze.
Judy–Hope it helps! I enjoy it to keep up with family, too.
Karen–Your friends probably don’t mind…your topics are helpful for a variety of different readers. But I think my friends who aren’t interested in writing would make a face if my blog kept appearing on their update page.
Donna–I thought *I* might be the only one! If they would change the name of it, like you mentioned, I’d go for it. And Networked Blogs is hard to figure out, for sure. You can find the application on the bottom left-hand side of your Facebook page–“applications.” When you click on it, you can see the applications that you use for Facebook.
Oh my word. That’s terrible. I’ll start looking into it. Thank you!
Julie–That’s how I started, too. After boring my family and friends –and probably boring my writing friends with my children!–I made the 2 accounts.
Kristen–I don’t think it’s too early, at all. I’d also probably claim a website in your name (there are services that will ‘sit’ on your name for you). There are people who register websites in names they find online and then charge you an arm and a leg to get *your* name back!
Carol–I think it is intimidating to start out with Facebook–you hear so much about it from other people about how much time it takes, etc. But really, it takes the amount of time you want to devote to it. The key is really not to get sucked into it too far, I think.
Elspeth–I completely agree with you–it takes a blogging friendship to a real-life level, doesn’t it? I absolutely love the writing community.
I think I was boring the heck out of my non-writing friends until I opened my author account. :)
Great post! I’ve got two accounts, like you, for similar reasons… My names are different, so ‘real’ friends don’t stumble on the wrong one, but when I get a real freinds asking a lot of questions about my writing stuff I do then invited them to friend my author profile. That way the ‘real life’ people don’t get my ad nauseum writing updates and sharing, UNLESS they’ve expressed interest, and the writer friends only get some portion of my silliness and far less of my politics.
My writer profile fans, follow, and joins like crazy. I feel like it is all of us helping each other look popular, which sounds silly, but it seems like part of networking to me. (I do LOOK and make sure I don’t have a reason to oppose, but am pretty liberal about it)
And I will probably do a fan page when I have an actual published BOOK. Before that it seems presumptuous.
I feel like I’ve met some FABULOUS people through the writer’s profile though–really amazing. It is easier to me to develop friendships a little small talk at a time than through something higher pressure.
This is a really helpful post for people, like me, who are trying to get to grips with Facebook. I’ve not come to terms with Networked Blogs yet, but you have encouraged me to try again!
Hart–I think that makes a lot of sense. I have had some friends who’ve passed over to the other side and are now writing friends, too. I’m always excited to make a convert!
Isn’t the writing community great? I have a feeling other professionals don’t have such a wonderful network of support.
Martin–It’s a hard application and I really don’t know why it’s set up that way. But once it’s up and going, it pretty much runs itself. Good luck!
Kristen–It’s a real pain. I started with my website before I was really ready to…
I’m currently at a writers conference (Cat Writers Association Conference in White Plains, NY) and attended a couple of seminars on social media/Web 2.0 yesterday. A lot of the same issues and concerns that some of you are expressing in your comments came up in the seminars.
I’m going to refer some of the writers I met yesterday who are still reluctant to join FB to your post, Elizabeth – your post and the subsequent discussions are such a great resource for someone new to Facebook!
For those of you reluctant to embrace the concept of the fan pages, may I offer yet another point of view. Just like FB friends aren’t the same as real friends, fan is just a term that FB choose to use for this particular aspect. Think of them as your readers, your audience. Don’t you want your book to be introduced to as many people as you possibly can? So don’t think of it as asking them to be your fan if that feels too egotistical to you. Think of it of introducing them to your book. The decision whether they want to become a “fan” is up to them. It’s really only semantics – don’t let that stop you from harnessing the viral marketing aspect of fan pages.
What a helpful post! I just opened a fan page today and felt odd asking people to be my fan. I’m not even published. :)
I think I’ll give two accounts a try (when I can get the time!)I’m certain I bore the family with blog links. Ha!
I added you to my blogroll. Your site is great!
Hi Elizabeth —
I mentioned this post at my site (in a good light!):
http://writary.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/weekly-wrap-up-november-23-2009/#comments
I can’t get the pingbacks to work outside WordPress. Just wanted to make you aware. :)
~ Corra
I found it! Thanks! I’m printing it off so I can follow!
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