The other day an idea struck me. Since Facebook allows “fan pages” to be centered on non-people (e.g. brands), why not use it to create a character page?
According to Facebook’s own rules, “Facebook Pages allow artists, businesses, and brands to showcase their work and interact with fans.” So, let’s say you’re the author of a series of books focused on a single character. Why not create a Facebook Page for that character so that fans of the series can interact with the character.
For example, Sherlock Holmes could have a page. Heck, even Watson could!
This could be a great marketing tool for your series of books and short stories based on a single character. For one, I would love to see fan pages from the point of view of Adam-Troy Castro’s characters Ernst Vossoff and Karl Nimmitz (Just a Couple of Idiots Reupholstering Space and Time). I can see with my mind’s eye the posts they would make on each other’s pages as they argue their way through one blunder after another!
A Facebook page based on a fictional character could create a more immersive experience for current fans of the series, while enticing in future fans. The page could hint at what’s going on in the new adventure coming up, thus promoting the new book (or even short story if one is going to be published in a magazne). It could also feature “memories” of past adventures, thus promoting books already in print.
Of course, all this should be driving traffic to the author’s (or even the book series’) home page. Facebook pages gives fiction writers a unique way to build community around their characters.
Of course, while I did have this idea independently … it is not mine alone. I did some research and there are authors who have started using this concept to build a fan base around fictional characters. Andrew Croft has created both a Twitter account and a Facebook page for Steffi McBride, the heroine of his book, The Overnight Fame of Steffi McBride. However, according some of the information I found, these author’s aren’t always honest about these characters being fictional.
While it can be fun for fans to interact with a character as if that character is real, I believe it is important for the author to show some honesty and integrity and let potential fans unware of the book that the character is indeed fictional. That way everyone can have a good time.
And yes, this same technique can be used for television and movie characters, as well. I know that one of the characters (Dave) of the short-lived TV show, Invasion, had a blog that documented his point of view of what was going on in the show (the blog was even mentioned on the show).
For more info: For more book marketing tips, check out my book marketing posts at The Women’s Business Gallery. You might also want to check out my new book, Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website’s Home Page and How to Fix Them!, now available in both e-book and trade paperback formats: http://www.homesweethomepagebook.com/.
