#BloggingBreakthrough - F is for Facebook
Hey #BloggingBreakthrough friend! Are you ready for Chapter 6? Yes? Good answer. For the letter ‘F’ we’re going to be talking about a social media platform. A platform that people love or hate. But either way, it can do big things for your online presence.
So far in the #BloggingBreakthrough series, we've looked at your audience, branding, categories, Disqus and email lists.
But today’s post is all about Facebook. Here’s what we’re going to cover:
- What Facebook is good for
- Setting up a page
- Engagement and growth - what to actually post to Facebook
- Analytics
Remember, if you want access to all the extra exclusive content that goes alongside this post, sign up to be a member of the Blogging Breakthrough community!
Many people have a love/hate relationship with Facebook and rightly so. You can’t get far without investing in it a little. But it still has benefits. We've just got to figure out what they are…
A lot of us were Facebook users before we even knew what blogging was. Back in the day, we used it to connect with our friends and post statuses about what we’d been up to. But here, we’re going to be talking about Facebook pages, which actually requires a deeper strategy.
The difference comes down to the fact that you’re not using your Facebook page to post pictures of your pet. You’re using it to grow your online presence.
Social media is a really important tool we've got at our fingertips to promote ourselves and our blogs.
But when it comes to Facebook, I know you’re unsure. Its algorithm means that only 3-5% of your followers will actually see what you post to your page. It doesn't seem worth it, right? When really, if you’ve got the right tips to help you use this platform, you can get some big results.
I believe there are some crucial things to know about when it comes to Facebook. That’s what we’re going to dive into today as part of the #BloggingBreakthrough series.
WHAT IS FACEBOOK GOOD FOR?
Facebook is useful for everyone. Whether you’re a hobby blogger, a full-time blogger or a small business owner - you can use it. It’s versatile and you can post any sort of information on there to get your voice heard.
There are a couple of downsides, though:
- The age of Facebook users is increasing. Now, teens and young adults go on other social media platforms, like Snapchat and Instagram. This was completely different when I was a teenager. This platform was all I knew!
- If you want your Facebook page to work for you, it’s all about engagement. The higher your engagement rate is, the more your content will show up in the feeds of your followers. For pages, Facebook has leaned heavily towards paid advertising. You’re likely to not see the results you want on here without some sort of small budget.
But this doesn't mean you shouldn't have a Facebook page. I actually think they’re mega valuable.
Over the past two months, I've managed to increase Facebook likes to my company’s page by over 500. We've now got over 3,000 likes – that was our target for the end of the year.
And there’s a strong argument for Facebook ads too. I've been testing them out, and the most recent one I did for my company got us almost 200 extra likes.
To cut a long story short – they work.
SETTING UP A FACEBOOK PAGE
I'm sure you all know that “build it and they will come” doesn't have the same meaning anymore. You can’t expect to create a Facebook page, leave it and for the likes to come flooding in.
Here are some steps to take if you’re setting up a Facebook page or thinking of revamping your current one.
Plan It
Think about what you’re actually going to use this platform for. What sort of content are you going to share? Who is your audience on here? What do they want to know or see that you can give them?
The aim of everything you post to Facebook should motivate your community to engage with your content
You don’t need to plan out all your posts. But you can jot down in a notebook the types of things you’re going to put on there. If you’re stuck for ideas, don’t worry. We’ll get to that soon!
Use Your Brand Name
A core value of ABOH is consistency. But I don’t just mean this for how often you post content. I mean it about everything – your voice, your imagery, your style.
Why is this important? Google can see your Facebook page. If you use the same brand name, this will work together and form a part of your brand. But if you don’t then it won’t be connected.
Everything that comes up when I search for “A Branch of Holly” is my brand. Whenever someone clicks on each of these, they’ll know it’s my brand.
Fill out Your Profile Completely
Leave nothing blank. Make sure your “About” section is sorted and you’ve chosen the category that your page falls into.
Blocks of blank information doesn't look good. You want visitors to find out as much as they can about you from this information. Fill it out! This your chance to show off and tell people why you and your blog is so great.
Choose Your Cover Photo & Profile Picture Carefully
Ideally, you want these to be exactly the same as the profile pictures and cover photos you use elsewhere. Did you read this post about branding yourself on social media? This gave you a great example of make your profile photo the same. Go check it out and come right back.
See what I mean?
You want them to be appealing. You want them to relate to you, your blog and your brand. For me, I use the homepage of my website as my cover photos. That way, people will recognise it instantly, wherever they go.
Don't Just Post Words
The most popular type of content you can publish to Facebook is a video. Then a link. Then a photo, and lastly – text.
So if you’re only posting text updates, then no wonder you’re not seeing the growth you want!
For everything that you put on your Facebook page, include either a link, video or photo to get the best results.
Ask
You don’t ask you don’t get, right? To get engagement, ask for it! If you post a quote, ask people what it means to them. When you’re promoting a blog post, ask them a question about that topic. The more someone engages with your content, the more they’ll see it and engage with it in the future.
Schedule
You don’t need a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your Facebook posts. You can do that on the platform itself! When you’re writing an update, instead of hitting post, click on the drop down arrow and schedule it for a time of your choice.
Try Facebook Advertising
I'm yet to try it for ABOH – but I manage Facebook advertising at work and it gets big results. I know the thought of spending money on it might be scary for you. But it’s easily one of the cheapest forms of advertising out there.
You can promote your page when you’re first starting out, just to get you up and running. Then you want to focus more on promoting individual posts. Like if you’re launching a big series, or a free eBook or anything that you want more people to see. You can get around 2,000 extra people seeing your post for about £3 or £4. Pretty amazing.
ENGAGEMENT AND GROWTH
On Facebook, it’s all about variety
The key is to post different content. Mix it up with videos, links and images. Webinars, YouTube videos, events and information about you and what you have to offer all work.
You've Got to Put in the Time…
…to see the results. Don’t just put something random out there. You know when you’re laying out a photo for your next blog post or creating a flat lay for Instagram? Use the same care with the construction of your Facebook posts. Shares, likes and comments are your priority.
Posting to Facebook as and when you want it isn't a strategy. Use a tool like Buffer, My Social Bro or Followerwonk to find the optimal times to post to Facebook when you know your audience is going to be online.
Check Your Page Daily
Engaging and interacting with your community on a daily basis is the best way to grow your Facebook presence. Fact.
Now I know what you’re thinking – but what do I even post to Facebook, Holly?
Luckily for you, I've got some ideas:
- Behind-the-scenes (your desk, your blogging process etc)
- Quotes
- Videos related to your industry
- Questions
- Your Blog Posts
- Videos
- Announcements
- Recommendations
- Testimonials
These are just a few. If you get stuck about what to post to other social media channels too, you’ll definitely want to get your hands on a brand new FREE eBook I'm creating. Hit the button to be the first to find out.
ANALYTICS
Now don’t worry – I won’t bore you with all the ins and outs of Facebook analytics. My friend Chloe has already written a pretty epic post filled with all the info you need – you can read it here.
But here are a few things to remember:
- Likes and engagement determine the success of your page. Not just likes. Say you had 3,000 likes but you had zero engagement – that’s not a true reflection is it? Be wary of relying on likes. It’s best to think about everything as one unit.
- Your reach is really important. This relates to how many people are actually seeing what you’re putting on Facebook. This gives you a good insight on how well your Facebook strategy is working. Paid advertising also works really well for increasing your reach.
- Take a look at how each of your posts are doing individually. This lets you know the type of content you should be sharing the most on Facebook. And you can also see exactly when you should post.
So you can check back here every week, make a note of your peak times and schedule your posts to go out at those specific times. I mean, how great is that?
And that’s it for Facebook. I hope this has filled you with lots of good tips and info that you can start working on. Let me know if you start implementing some of these points and share your results!
P.S Look out for me on Periscope on Sunday when I’ll be digging even deeper into using Facebook.
Plus, if you sign up to the #BloggingBreakthrough community, you’ll get access to a very special email which will take you behind-the-scenes of using Facebook to really mean something for your online presence.
Want to Be a Part of This?
Do you have a Facebook page for your blog? How have you created community on it? What's one of the things you'll try out from this post?