Facebook is a unique social media tool for writers, but it has challenges. How do I grow a page that Facebook sometimes hides from my followers? How do I get people to engage with my posts? And how will total strangers ever follow me?

First, you should develop a professional page. A professional page has a longer life and a larger audience than a book’s page. In addition, people aren’t too trusting in today’s world. A personal page forces them to trust you by “friending” your site and sharing their information with you. This makes it much more difficult to grow.

Instead, create a personal page for your closest friends. Then, develop a professional page and invite these friends to join you there. Be sure to make the content different and engaging. You don’t want to spam your friends with unwanted or repetitive information. Send them invites through the page feature, and remind your friends with a post or two on your personal page. After you’ve done the leg work, let your friends decide whether they want to follow. If you force your page down their throats, they will only become disengaged followers. Take those most interested and allow the others to join as your page grows.

You may want to consider a private message to close friends and family. Stress the importance of your new page and how they can help. This should get you started on the right note.

After a few days, you’ll find a decent amount of friends joining your new page. Now it gets tricky. Create a weekly schedule for your content. For example, every Monday, I post motivation for writers. If you follow my page, you know what days to stop by for content pertaining to your life. This helps with engagement. Recognize not everyone will like every posts. For this reason, design content that pertains to a variety of readers.

Over the first few weeks, reiterate the importance of active following. Fans don’t realize their efforts make or break you professionally. Educate them. Let them know how valuable they are to your career. Thank those that follow actively throughout the week.

Once your friends have “jumped on board”, start expanding your horizons. Request fans share a post. Use the paid views feature. Add your Facebook link to other social media sources. Consider including it in a DM on Twitter.

Keep in mind that your page is only as good as the content. Find something funny or helpful every couple of days to intermix with your usual postings. Yes, it becomes a lot of work. Use Pinterest to help you find new resources, and download the Pages Manager app to help as well. Through this app you can schedule posts in advance, and more actively engage with followers.

Voila! You have a thriving, dare I say growing, Facebook page. Enjoy your new found success. Treat your followers like a valuable community. They matter, and their daily interaction will provide you with the encouragement to push forward.