We have been producing video coverage of the Chicago Printers Row Lit Fest for the past seven years then broadcasting it either on Chicago cable channel 25 or channels 19/21 CANTV.

This year AuthorsBroadcast took a new approach and experimented with Facebook LIVE which allows us immediate and continuing access to viewers via the Facebook social media mega platform. We only did some very hasty pre-event announcement in the morning of the event so our potential followers had very little advance notice of our intention.

We shot 17 short segments, most of them about a minute or less and as a result over a 72 hour period we reached 5194 users with 2074 video views. As an exhibiting author you spend two days in the hot sun. Maybe you have paid for table space or maybe your membership in some organization entitles you to spend some time at the event. Over two days maybe you talk with a hundred or so people, maybe a few hundred take a glance at your book cover. What if you could double,triple or even quadruple that exposure over time for just a small additional investment? We provide video production services and my tagline is “Extend the Experience.” With video you can do that and Facebook is a great place to start.

Now it should be noted that we invested a modest $20 in Facebook advertising to boost the posts but basically we wanted to test the technology and see where it might lead. In the end I am very impressed with the potential of this medium which I have used very successfully in conjunction with another non-book client.

I feel there is a tremendous benefit to authors looking to promote their book, to do so, through services like ours because ultimately these videos will linger here gathering more viewers over time. As visitors come to view one book they are exposed to others and much like a bookstore they get to see books they did not know existed and are likewise introduced to new authors.

We will be expanding this service immediately so please contact me to learn how you can participate to promote your book. In addition to the Facebook exposure we will be sharing some of these videos on our Cable TV show “Authors Showcase” as well as on our mobile app, twitter and other social media platforms.

Of the 17 videos here are the one’s that got the most Facebook exposure. Keep in mind there are variables due to the “popularity” of the subject matter and other factors. You can find all of the videos at Facebook.com/authorsbroadcast please be sure to “follow” us there.

At the time of this post the top six authors/books with number of “Reach” and “Views” are:

Barbara Barnett “Apothecary’s Curse” 781 (395 views)

Allium Press “City of Grit and Gold” 625 (274 views)

Cyndee Schaffer “Mollies War” 553 (303 views)

Robert Dietzen “Gypsy Music Street” 552 (234 views)

Irene Rogers “Finding Peace is My Revenge” 360 (172 views)

Patrick McBriarty Windy City Historians 331 (118 views)

Thanks to the members of Midwest Writers Association and Windy City Historians for being my test subjects.