Is Promoting Your Book on Facebook Groups Worth It?

If you’re an author, writer or reader, you’ve probably been a member of a bookish Facebook group at one time or another.

I’m currently a member of about ten bookish Facebook groups. Some are oriented toward promoting books, authors and blogs, while others are more for readers to connect and discuss what they’re reading.

I often use these groups to promote this blog and my book when the situation is right. But it’s very hard to determine if you actually get anything out of posting to these groups.

So…is promoting your book, blog or service using Facebook groups worth it?

Maybe no…

Many Facebook groups are SUPER spammy. With many of them, you feel like you’re just speaking into the void. Some of them are extra bad because they are trolled by fake accounts that direct message authors with offers to help them promote their books.

It’s also really hard to walk the line between being helpful and being annoying. I’ve found that many of the reader-oriented groups, they have rules against self-promotion. And even if they don’t have explicit rules, many people get annoyed to see any type of self-promotion post.

But maybe yes…

Despite all of these potential hiccups, chances are that posting to the right Facebook groups will drive some clicks to your blog or book listing. I’ve found that the key is to create posts that are somewhat engaging and relevant to the members of the group.

In some ways, it’s also a numbers game. You might not get clicks right away, but the more you consistently share your content, the likelier it is that someone will eventually check out your content. It’s also helpful to balance your self-promo content with regular, old interaction content. For example, I’ve found my posts in one group to go over generally well because I’ve posted enough to get labeled as a “top contributor.”

What do you think? Do you think posting or advertising through Facebook groups is worth it?