• Over 500 million users

• Now used by 1 in every 13 people on earth

• Over 50 percent log in every day

• 48 percent of 18-34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up

• 35+ demographic now over 30 percent of users

• Over 700 Billion minutes a month spent using

• 48 percent of young people said they now get their news there

Create a Facebook page to build your author platform by helping your readers find you and “Like” you.

Scroll to the bottom of any Facebook page and click “Create a Page.”

You can create a Community Page some other time.

Today we’re going to create an “Official Page” for you or your book.

As of January 2011 Facebook doesn’t offer “Book” as one of its page options, but you can choose “Writer”.

Name your page carefully and use keywords such as “Author” or “Novel”. They now let you change the name after creation.

Uploading an image is simple and very important.

Make sure you have some nice photos of yourself and your book cover before delving into social media. This image is an important factor in the identity of your page.

Once you’ve uploaded an image, click where it says “Write something about [your page]” and paste or type in your page description.

Be sure your description is keyword rich.

Before After

Click “Edit Page” to find another place where you can manage your page and add your description.

Be sure to enter your web address.

You should now be able to find your page by typing its name in the search box.

The “Get Started” tab offers many options you’re encouraged to explore. Dig in at any point, now or latter, and see what can be done with these tools.

But you might want to wait to “Suggest to Friends” until after you have posted some content on your Wall.

Content is King! Give your fans a reason to “Like” your page by posting Links, Photos, and Videos they will enjoy.

Be sure to “Like” your page yourself.

To share a Link to your blog or a web page you want your fans to go to, click the # and paste in the web address then click “Attach”. Sometimes you can choose which thumbnail to show or select not to show one. Then click “Share”.

Once you’ve added valuable content to your page, it’s time to tell your “Friends” about it.

You might have Friends you know won’t be interested in your page, so you can click on only the ones you think will Like it.

You can also include a message telling them why they will Like it before clicking on “Send Invitation”.

As soon as you have 25 people who Like your page you can go to http://www.facebook.com/username and set the Username so you can direct people to www.facebook.com/yourpagenamehere This CANNOT be changed so choose carefully.

Remember Content is King!

Just like a blog, and other social media tools, a Facebook page needs to be updated on a regular basis. Post something at least once a week. But don’t post too often or your fans will get tired of your page and will ignore it, or worse - Unlike it.