Facebook is still the largest social network, with over 1.44 billion active users. If it were a country, it would be larger than the USA. In fact, it would quite possibly be the largest country in the world. This makes it a fantastic way of advertising your blog – even more so because it’s free. Here are a few tips to help you boost your Facebook page and make it work for you.
1. First things first, you really need to have a page and not a personal account. This will allow you to promote your blog to a wide audience without having to accept friend requests, and also provides insights so that you can see how many people your posts have reached, and which perform best.
2. The more people engage with your posts, the more timelines your posts will show up in. You want people to engage with you – so give them something to engage with! Ask questions and opinions, post photos and ask for captions, share useful and interesting (and relevant) content that your readers will want to share.
3.Vary your posts. If you only post links to your latest blog post, people will lose interest. They want to see the bits around the edges of your posts too, behind the scenes as it were. Facebook loves images and videos. Posting a cute, funny or topical image or video can really boost your page.
4. Familiarise yourself with the Insights section of your Facebook page. Under Posts you can see when most of your page fans are online. In the example below, most of my followers are online between 8 and 9pm – so that’s the best time for me to post.
5. Be consistent. If you only post once a week, that post won’t show up on any timelines, and you may as well not bother. Try to update your page at least once a day.
6. Experiment. What works for me might not work for you. By keeping an eye on your post reach and Insights, you can see which of your posts is the most successful and which tanks.
7. Stay positive. We all have bad days, and it’s fine to vent sometimes (though you really should think twice about airing your dirty laundry in public). But on the whole, try to be upbeat and positive. People already have enough drama and misery in their lives; they don’t need to come to your page to find more of it.
16 Comments
leandra · 08/05/2015 at 08:13
Great advice as always Vicky! Facebook and I aren’t really hitting it off! I think we may have just turned a corner, but we’ve got until August to make it work or it’s dumped ;)
I’ll be sure to follow your advice and hope I see improvement!
#thelist 35
Vicky Charles · 08/05/2015 at 19:06
Oh dear, poor Facebook getting dumped by blog comment! Good luck!
K @ EatLoveLive · 08/05/2015 at 08:17
Thank you for those. I wondered where I was going wrong as people don’t see to be engaging in my page much. Think I need to post more regularly and not just my blog post updates! It’s a hard life keeping on top of all social media haha. Have a great weekend #thelist x
Vicky Charles · 08/05/2015 at 19:06
It is hard, you’re right! I tend to stick with just Facebook, Twitter and Instagram because they work best for me.
The way I look at it, I try to think about what I’d want to see on my timeline and go from there.
Laura's Lovely Blog · 08/05/2015 at 09:57
I actually think Facebook is one of the hardest platforms (for me anyway) to grow followers on. It is getting there slowly. Thanks for the tips though, I definitely find shaking it up and posting more than once a day helps #thelist
Vicky Charles · 08/05/2015 at 19:02
You’re not wrong Laura, it’s not easy and Facebook seems to be making it harder – because they want us to pay for advertising. Which is understandable, since the entire platform is free.
Madeline @ This Glorious Life · 08/05/2015 at 09:57
Great tips, thank you! I’m working on upping my Facebook game for both my blog and my photography business but I do find it frustrating at times when I post but only a handful of people see it. I think it’s just a case of keeping on going though! x #TheList
Vicky Charles · 08/05/2015 at 18:59
Thanks Madeline, you’re right – just keep it up really and experiment with what gets the most engagement. It’s engagement that’s key in terms of making sure your posts are under people’s noses.
Karen · 08/05/2015 at 13:12
Thanks for the great advice! I set up a page a few months ago, but I do tend to neglect it. I will employ some of these ideas!
Vicky Charles · 08/05/2015 at 18:55
Good luck! Let me know how you get on!
Lindsay @ Newcastle Family Life · 08/05/2015 at 21:27
what a useful post, i have a facebook page but i have hardly any followers and never really pay it much attention . After reading this i am going to start updating it more x #thelist
Vicky Charles · 09/05/2015 at 12:29
Ah good luck, I hope some of these tips work for you!
Leigh - Headspace Perspective · 10/05/2015 at 13:44
Thanks for these tips, Vicky. I think where I fall down with my FB page is not sharing the ‘stuff around’ – things besides links to my latest posts. I shall try to do that! #TheList xx
Vicky Charles · 11/05/2015 at 18:24
Thanks Leigh. I think the stuff around the edges is what pulls people in so that they’re there when you post a link to your blog.
You Baby Me Mummy · 11/05/2015 at 07:28
Great tips. Facebook is so hard. They do like you to pay. Wonderful tips huni, thanks so much for linking up to #TheList x
Vicky Charles · 11/05/2015 at 18:13
Ah thanks, I’m glad people seem to be finding them helpful.