Why Authors Need to Use Facebook’s Free Audience Optimization Tool

Over the past year, if you have been diligently posting to your Facebook page, you’ve likely noticed that your posts have been reaching less of your fans. For example, let’s say you have 1000 Facebook fans on your author page. It would not be uncommon to see that your latest post only reached between 25-100 of these fans and has received only a few likes or comments.

Why is this happening? Well, the answer is two-fold. First, over the past several years, Facebook has implemented major updates to their algorithm known as EdgeRank. This algorithm determines what content we see when we are on Facebook. The more “edges” you have with a page, be it a person or a company, the more likely it is that you will see their posts. Second, Facebook is a business with an objective of revenue generation. Today, many major brands have to pay Facebook so that their posts reach their intended audience.

Recognizing that many people were unhappy with a lack of organic (unpaid) reach, Facebook has introduced a new (free!) tool called Audience Optimization. This feature allows posters to specify the audiences most likely to engage with each Facebook page post, based on interests. Our book marketing experts recommend using this tool because:

It will assist Facebook’s algorithm in choosing the right audience for your posts;
You can specify who should not see your posts (i.e. if your new book is chick-lit, you can target your posts towards women only);
The tool will provide you with more information regarding how people with specific interests engage with your posts. If, for example, you know that people who are interested in cooking are the most engaged with your posts, you could use that information to create “Character Recipes” from your book and post them to your blog!

Before you get your hopes too high, it is very important to note that this tool is for increasing existing audience engagement and not building your audience or increasing organic reach. However, if your post will be shown to a random 5% of your fans, the Audience Optimization tool will mean that your posts will be reaching the targeted audience that is interested in your content. Over time, your posts would start to appear in their news feeds more often due to their engagement. This means that an increase in audience and organic reach may not be far behind!

Check back soon for a blog post on how to use the Facebook Audience Optimization tool!

Publisher’s Perspective

The new Facebook Audience Optimization tool can help both individual authors and publishers. As a publisher, you have a vested interest in the overall success of any book marketing activities done by your authors. For those who might not be aware of this tool, we recommend contacting each of your authors and letting them know. If better targeting and engagement means increased book sales, it’s a win-win for everyone!