Being a part of facebook is pretty much a must, if you’re a blogger. Readers naturally want to connect with bloggers on facebook, and even though facebook is constantly changing and may not be as ‘friendly’ to bloggers as it once was, let’s face it, we still want to connect with readers there….even if it’s just the small fraction of readers that do see our updates in their news feed.
So here are my top five facebook tips for bloggers:
1. Post pictures. Facebook is all about images, and an image is way more likely to be clicked on and read than a status update without a picture. Something you might want to try is uploading an image from your blog post to facebook, and then giving it a good caption that includes a link back to your original blog post. This way you’ll actually encourage readers to leave facebook and visit your blog.
2. Post interesting links at night or in the evening. The kids are in bed and readers are jumping back on their computers and getting on facebook. I’ve definitely noticed an increase in my blog readership after about 7:00pm.
3. If you write your blog posts late at night, wait until morning to post the link on facebook. You’ll have a better chance at reaching more people with the link to your blog post in the morning than at midnight.
4. Create milestones on facebook. This way readers can find out when you started your blog and other important events that have happened in the life of your blog.
5. Most importantly, sound like a friend on facebook. Facebook is all about relationships, and you want to sound like a friend to your readers to show your readers that you care about them and value their input. Be sure to ‘like’ their comments, so that they know you’ve read them and comment back.
What you some of your facebook tips? What has worked for you?
P.S. I’m still working at being better at all of the above on facebook on a regular basis. It’s a work in progress, but I’m working on it. π
Thanks for these tips Sandra. I do try to post my links in the morning to Facebook, even if I do publish the post late at night. I do need to work on sounding like a friend when describing my links or other posts to Facebook. I have never made milestones, I don’t even know how to do this so I will need to check into how to make a milestone. I really agree with using pictures I try to have a picture with each update to my timeline it really helps draw my attention when I am on Facebook. It looks like I need to work on a few things on my Facebook page thanks.
Hi Shelly,
You’re welcome. π And you are not alone in having to learn how to best utilize facebook for blogging. I’m still working on how to use facebook better for my blog and our blog design business.
Awesome tips!! I JUST started using Facebook with my blog more and I’ve noticed some different responses over there that just don’t happen on my blog. It’s nice to see!
That’s wonderful, Dee! Glad to hear it. π In the past few months, I know I’ve been ‘liking’ more and commenting more than I have in the past on facebook.
Thanks for stopping by my little blog!
It is really hard to maintain a facebook account for a business or for website monetizing purposes. It must be somewhat interesting to read.
Thank-you for your tips…
This is something I’m really having trouble with. How did you get your orginal followers? Was it by people clicking though your blog?
VERY HELPFUL! Thanks so much for sharing!
These are great tips. I get a lot of traffic from FB, but I still need to work on it more. Thanks for the great tips!
Very helpful tips! Thank you! I think the fact that FB constantly changes their stuff makes it hard to truly know what will work. I definitely agree about the pictures, though!
Thanks for the great tips!! Excited to see your blog and take a look around!! π
Thanks for the great tips!! So lovely to find your site! π
I love your blog and am a follower- enjoying the tips you provide, Thank you! Sandi
Thank you for the tips, they are very useful! I also have one of my own tips, you can check it here http://stepfordska-supruga-en.blogspot.com/2013/01/blogging-tip-liking-facebook-pages-with.html
Found you via SITS
Really helpful tips. I definitely notice the impact of posting images, I should do it more often obviously. I had a whole plan to regalvanise my FB page but got put off by the changes in which now only about 20 percent of my fans seem to see my posts! Must try harder π
Such great post. It can be so tricky on Facebook. We get happy with a new like then we mourn the one unlike.
Improving my networking skills is quite a big challenge for me these days! I keep hearing about writing great content and all but getting people to that content is almost as important. I agree with posting catchy, funny pictures to get people’s attention but I did not know about posting links in the morning ..I will try that and see how it goes. Thanks!
I really appreciate the tips on when to post. I’m posting more in the afternoon, or late morning, so I’m probably not reaching the right potential blog followers. I’ll try to be more aware of when I post. Thanks.
Struggling with Facebook lately. I have over a hundred followers, but Facebook sometimes says only 30 of them even see the post. I’ve been seeing things about monetizing and how the Facebook changes and even recommendations to put links in the comments to “trick” Facebook. Any knowledge of any of this?
These are great tips, Sandra! Thanks for sharing! I’ve been trying to figure out when to post and link them up to Facebook and it’s been a struggle. I think you’re right in doing these in the evenings so I’ll be trying that out this week.
Hi Carrie! I think the evenings are a great time to post…I know that is when I hop back on facebook to see what’s up. π
Thank you SO much for your tips. I’ve been playing around with posting things at different times, and notice that evenings get more responses on Facebook while late night/early morning is when more people click on my blog.
I appreciate all you do for us! Thanks again!
Hi Corinne! You’re welcome, and I agree that posting in the evenings allows for more interaction. I love that, and I’ve noticed that the same is true for my blog stats. It seems that after about dinnertime, people jump back online and visit both facebook and blogs. π Thanks for stopping by!
Facebook has been baffling lately! I’ve tried all sorts of things. Most of which are on your list. I may try scheduling the posts for morning time just to see if that does get more views. Thanks.
Hi Pamela! Facebook is constantly changing. π But I have found that scheduling my posts and using a shortened link (shorten your links at bit.ly) allows more of my posts to be seen. I’m not sure why, but it works. π Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks so much for posting this. I think my favorite part is to respond on facebook like a friend. I think that is something I can work on, and hopefully it will pay off. Visiting from SITS by the way. π
Thanks for stopping by, Sara! And, yes, responding like a friend on facebook is key. I love to read updates that are friendly, funny, and relatable to me.
Thx for these unique tips. It’s always interesting to hear what works for others on FB. I have to admit I haven’t had a lot of success on FB so I am always on the lookout for tips that work.
Thanks so much for the FB tips. I am a new blogger and am trying to get my blog started. Feel free to stop by my blog anytime!
Great tipps, another good one is to schedule posts when you know you will be busy for a few days!