I have a dirty little Facebook secret that no other blogger is using, and today I'm spilling the beans. I grew my blog to more than 10,000 Facebook fans in the first year, which was not a stroke of luck, or a coincidence. Here's how I did it and why:
I approach Facebook in a totally different way than any other blogger out there (that I've seen). I don’t treat Facebook as a follow-up to my blog, or a supporting material, I consider it to be a totally separate blogging platform. Some people use Blogger as a platform. Some people use Wordpress. Others use Tumblr. I blog on Facebook.
What that means – is that I actually post all of my content on Facebook so people can comment there. I don’t ever post links to my blog posts – my Facebook page IS my blog essentially! What this does is utilize the world’s #1 website and the billions of people who are already on there. You are bringing the content to them, to a website that they are already comfortable using. Why is this key? Because there are countless people who have no idea what a blog is. I hear daily from my Facebook fans, who will admit to me that they don’t read other blogs or even know what blogs are. Being in the blog world can make us forget that not everyone is blog savvy. Why miss the millions of people who could love your content, but are only using Facebook at this point? It makes no sense whatsoever to force people to digest your content on the platform YOU are most comfortable with, it's all about bringing the content to where the readers are. (This is why I will be adding Pinterest to my blogging repertoire this month!)
So what’s the catch? Why is no one doing it this way? The main complaint bloggers have is that Facebook takes away from page views. So if you have banner ads on your website, then you want as many people on your blog as possible and you could care less about Facebook. I totally understand this way of thinking, but I also think it’s totally wrong. Here's why:
1. What is more valuable to you – a dedicated, hardcore fan that loves your blog and tells everyone they know about you? Or a banner ad? The engagement is SO much more worthwhile! A banner ad may satisfy your immediate needs, but a large, engaged group will give your blog longevity and ultimately more fans. Let's dream big for our blogs rather than focusing on the immediate (banner ads).
2. That dedicated fan I mentioned? They will go out and tell at least 20 people they know about you. And guess what? Some of them may have blogs, and those blogs will start giving you those page views you wanted immediately. One hardcore fan on Facebook can equal 20 new blog fans. Facebook will eventually feed your blog, I am living proof! I started my Facebook page first, and then added Blogger later. A year later and my Blogger numbers are kicking Facebook’s butt. Facebook leads will turn into page views on your blog eventually.
3. Banner ads are the only type of ads that don't work on Facebook. There are still tons of ways to put sponsorships on your Facebook page through content and links. And many companies will be very interested in getting in front of 10,000 Facebook fans - especially when they understand that these are two totally separate groups of people that you are reaching! (That's twice the audience!) A view of your content has the same weight, no matter what blogging platform you are using.
4. At the end of the day, I truly believe that it’s not about you – or what makes you comfortable as a blogger. It’s about your fans, and what they want. That's just plain customer service.
So let's talk logistics. How do you post your content on Facebook? There are tons of ways of doing it. A few are:
1. Use the Notes section.
2. Post a single photo or photo montage. You have unlimited space for text and links. (This is how I do it! See left.)
3. Post a new photo album with chunk of info in each caption.
I sometimes have to alter my content a bit to make it work on both platforms, but I think this extra time is totally worth it, because I'm talking to two separate groups of people. If I haven’t convinced you yet, here are a few more reasons to love Facebook:
1. Facebook allows you to interact with your fans in a way that other platforms will never be able to compete with. Fans can post questions, photos of themselves, links to interesting pieces of information. Blogging is a two-way street (in my opinion) and nothing is as interactive as Facebook. It's the best platform out there!
2. Your blog post shows up on fans' Facebook feed, unlike Google reader or a bookmarked site which they have to remember to check. It’s genius, and a great way to get your post in front of them. (This is also a good argument for using Twitter.)
3. Facebook is a super-connected web that makes it easy for people to share your page, and to find you. Whenever a fan comments, their friends see it. And now you can tag other Facebook pages in your post that leaves little streams all over Facebook that lead back to you.
I hope I've convinced you to give Facebook a try, and I'm curious to hear how you approach Facebook for blogging. Leave your thoughts, comments and questions below and check out my Facebook page here!
Wow I had no idea! Thanks for sharing all this valuable information!
ReplyDeleteI currently just post links to my blog on my FB page. My blog is more specific, and I know not everyone wants to hear what I have to say. Before I started my blog, I thought about just setting up a separate FB page for all of the stuff I wanted to write about, but then I settled on Blogger because I didn't think I would have enough people "like" my page to make it worth it. It's true though that a lot of people don't want to mess with going to a separate blog dashboard or something every day. That's one reason I put links to my posts on FB. It's just one click away. Gaining readership has been tough. I've been on here for 5 months and have had a lot of positive feedback (and comments on FB), but it doesn't reflect in the number of followers I have. Posting on others' blogs has helped though. Of my followers, I only actually personally know 2 of them, so the others have been garnered that way. Thanks for giving me something to think about.
ReplyDeletehttp://health4lifekc.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much for this post, J. We've been using both Facebook and Blogger, but I definitely understand what you're saying about posting actual content and not just linking. We are still so new, so this is such an inspiration! Keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the tips! As a new blogger, this is really helpful! Definitely thinking about setting up a separate facebook page for my blog or incorporating it into the one I already have for my Etsy shop.
ReplyDelete-Sharon
Thanks J! I have yet to do this out of fear that my friends will get annoyed. Silly, isn't it to even think that way? I started my own page for my jewelry collections, which is definitely the way to go for a new business. You are right! Why not do our blogs, too? Have a good day and I must may get on this, this weekend. xx
ReplyDeletePip
http://chicstayathome.blogspot.com
Thanks J! I work with college students and our blog traffic isn't exactly stellar right now. It makes sense to bring the content to the platform they are already comfortable with, especially if it's only an extra step or two. Looking forward to more of your SM and Marketing content!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! As a blogger newbie it is great to receive tips like this. So far only blogging for fun and not monetary reasons but glad to hear about the strategies out there. Thank you J!
ReplyDeletewww.sfotoatl.wordpress.com
I've been considering making a specific facebook page for my blog, mostly because a lot of my audience is through my personal FB page and links to my blog. Thank you J for sharing this tip! You were the VERY FIRST blog I ever started following, and it wasn't through blogger, it was through Facebook! www.lifetoldbyleslie.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI love that you are not only very fashionable, but also an intelligent, savvy business woman. I've noticed your approach and I've always found it to be quite wise!! I'm so glad it's paying off for you. Cheers to your success!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thank you. Even more proof that my Facebook page is like a blogging gateway drug. I love it! :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it! Money is a whooooole 'nother subject that I will get into eventually. I didn't make any money the first 1.5 years of blogging, because I chose to focus on other things and money never has been my motivation. Money, is however, a huge concern with many other bloggers so I thought I would address it!
ReplyDeleteJ, you are so right (but of course, you knew that)! A facebook friend of mine linked to your page, and now I have you in my feed, because I prefer blogs to Facebook for your type of content. Thanks for being so versatile - it works!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story Hannah! Posting a link to a blog post on Facebook is a huge time-saver for the blogger, but you will only get about 10% of the views you would if you actually post the content on FB. People are lazy, they won't click the link. Trust me! :-)
ReplyDeleteI made a Facebook page for my blog but haven't figured out how to differentiate the text from my blog. This really helped, thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMeg
@MissMegasaurus
www.glamoroushustle.com
Wow, great post! I def haven't heard of bloggers using FB in this way. I'm not sure if I could get used to doing so! I do agree w/you that it doesn't matter where people read your blog, as long as they read it. I'd be fine w/someone reading my blog on FB instead of on my blog's homepage. Some bloggers don't like when people read through Google Reader for this reason, but I don't mind at all!
ReplyDeleteI use my FB page to share FB content I think my followers would find interesting and link to my latest post or recent (still relevant) posts like giveaways. I used to ask people to like it for giveaways but apparently it is against FB rules to do so, so I won't be doing that any more!
You are a zillion percent correct about word of mouth. I originally found your blog here but I also follow you on facebook and I really enjoy the fan interaction. And I know I have told at least 20 of my friends about you. Many of those friends are only facebook people. They don't go out looking at style blogs. I can't wait to see you on Pinterst!!!
ReplyDeleteAfter 3 years of blogging I'd never thought to take this approach... I love it! Thanks for sharing your tips! :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I've heard things like this before. Thanks for sharing it here, and for sharing my blog, I so appreciate that!
ReplyDeleteI'm totally going to try this out! I want to increase my readership, period. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a great post, J! By the way, if you feel like you lost a little fashion mojo, it never showed. Happy 2012 .
ReplyDeleteHi J - I have a thought about your facebook page, when I try to read the post on my droid phone I cannot see the picture, only the words which cover up the picture. Is there any way around that? Because of that I only read when I'm on a pc.
ReplyDeleteShannon, have you tried clicking the photo (a second time)? I have a Droid and this usually works. It will move you into a different screen where the words are below in the caption.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, unfortunately one small downside to blogging on Facebook is that I have no control over their phone apps, or a way to make my page more mobile friendly. There are ways of doing that when you own the website, but not when you are using a service like FB to blog. Really hoping they fix this soon though!
Aww, thanks Beth! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'll def try that, until then no worries I always catch up on posts I miss when I'm not around a pc :)
ReplyDeleteI found your blog from another blog (eatliverun), then I started commenting on your facebook posts and my facebook friends started to notice....and this is in top of the people i told directly about it. You are definitely spot on!
ReplyDeleteJ---I always resisted getting a Facebook page for my blog because I thought it would be too time consuming and that no one would join my page if they already read my blog...but this post has changed my mind about it. THANK YOU :)
ReplyDeleteinteresting i'm going to try this right now!! thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteWow, I never really thought of it like that. I will definitely consider doing this!http://bestdressedinthenest.tumblr.com/http://www.etsy.com/shop/RobynsNestBoutique
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a total revelation- thanks for sharing your secret! I'm definitely going to start doing my blog posts that way.
ReplyDeleteI was always wondering how you got that FB page to grow so quickly! My FB page is struggling, and I didn't really think to use it as a blogging platform because I thought it'd take away from my traffic on the actual blog itself. I'll have to take a closer look at your page. Thank you for sharing J!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I follow you on Google Reader but I love the sense of community so I end up clicking through to view almost every entry directly on the blog anyway. You've done a great job at maintaining two distinct communities on two different platforms!
ReplyDeleteI have to say you are totally right!! Whenever I see your FB posts, I immediatly hop to over to your blog. That's what got me here right now in fact. I was checking FB. I happen to like your blog format better though so I almost ALWAYS hop over here when I see you have a new post on FB.
ReplyDeleteLove this Kim! I preferred Facebook at first too, but now I like the blog b/c the pictures are so much bigger and brighter. At lot of people make this switch eventually!
ReplyDeleteYay, thank you Cindie! A "sense of community" is another one of my main principles of blogging. I'll be posting more on that soon. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMarketing/how to get fans is another post I'll be doing soon. Actually providing content on your FB page is the first step though, as is getting over the "fear" that FB will rob your blog pageviews (it won't!).
ReplyDeletegreat post j! I follow you on both.. I look to your blog when im at work or on a desktop computer.. i look to your facebook when im using my iphone because its much easier to look at your facebook albums when im standing in my closet trying to put together a cute outfit...
ReplyDeletegreat post j! I follow you on both.. I look to your blog when im at work or on a desktop computer.. i look to your facebook when im using my iphone because its much easier to look at your facebook albums when im standing in my closet trying to put together a cute outfit...
ReplyDeleteYes! You touched on another great thing about Facebook here. All 400+ of my outfits in thumbnails so you can see them all at once! Love that feature!
ReplyDeleteLove this post!!! I do follow these tips. Facebook Page has a life of its own and I share more on FB than on my blog, just 'coz its easier. And you are SO RIGHT about getting the 'page views' out of your mind. Audience is audience. No matter on what form. As a matter of fact RSS feed also doesn't turn in to page views, but no one thinks about that! :)
ReplyDelete♡ from © tanvii.com
All of my comments are disappearing today. Weird. Anyway, I never really thought of it like that. I will definitely consider trying your method!
ReplyDeletehttp://bestdressedinthenest.tumblr.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RobynsNestBoutique
thank you so much for this! it's really helpful! very kind of you to share the info! xx
ReplyDeleteThis is so brilliant! Before I discovered the blog world by chance, I had no idea that it existed. But I was on Facebook constantly. :) You go girl!
ReplyDeleteHey J!
ReplyDeleteI have to tell that you are absolutely right, a few days ago I had a discussion with my sis about fashion blogs, and I said, that I really prefer blogs with FB pages-it is much easier for us to see wheather there is a new post on blog or not-and another thing-it is great that you have all your outfits on FB on albums-it takes less time to check all outfits again:)
And when I share blogs, that I love with my sis and friends, I share only those with FB pages-much easier:)
Have a great day!
This makes perfect sense. I have a blog and just started a FB page. It became clear quickly that I was reaching 2 different sets of people. I am a first grade teacher and I'm selling items on a website called Teachers Pay Teachers. Thus, I'm trying to gain followers to my blog AND my TPT store. I think you are absolutely right though, Facebook is the thing to bring it all together. I'm also glad that you addressed just posting a link on the FB page as still not being enough. I'm going to back post one of my popular posts from my blog onto Facebook book now and see what that generates.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea thank you!
Randi @ Teach It
With Class
My TPT Store
My Facebook Page
Hi! Relatively new reader here and I happened to find you through Pinterest. Someone pinned a photo of an outfit and when I clicked on it, it took me to your blog. So, yes, that would be a great site to add to your repertoire. I LOVE Pinterest!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, I've been blogging for about a year and seem to have a jump in viewers recently. I am not about monetizing my blog at this point, it's more of a springboard into other writing and editing projects.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracey! That's exactly why I blog. Resume-builder. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I usually post the link to my blog post but maybe now I'll start posting more! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I would not do this is the lack of ability to ever get on from work.. even at lunch.. its blocked.. my blog is not :)
ReplyDeleteI would never have thought of this! Thanks for sharing your "dirty little secret"
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely key. I use facebook i the same manner. I figured it out some time ago when I had more comments on facebook than I was receiving on my blog. So I often post original content on facebook that is never seen on the blog.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a win win.
This is a great post! One question...do you YouTube and how would you recommend cross posting on the 3 platforms - blog, Facebook and YouTube???
ReplyDeleteThanks A R! I do have a YouTube channel, link below. I have done a few videos and I think YouTube can be another great place to blog (that's all some bloggers do, are videos!). My biggest reason for not doing more is just not having the technology to create videos that are as high-quality as I would like them to be. When I do post videos, though, I post them here on the blog, on YouTube and then also embed them on Facebook so you don't have to leave FB to watch it. Hope this answers your question! http://www.youtube.com/user/jseverydayfashion?feature=mhee
ReplyDeleteThis is SUCH a good tip!!! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting idea! I have a FB fan page, but I haven't been able to harness the interaction that I really want to have over there...I think I'll have to try this out and see if I get some results! Thanks for sharing your secret ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! I'll give it a try too.
ReplyDeleteThis is honestly THE BEST blog tip post I've read to date. And I've read a lot of them! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was GREAT meeting you last night, and this just fascinates me. It's brilliant and is going to change the way I look at Facebook for sure. Thanks so much for your insight.
ReplyDeleteIt was great meeting you too Leigh! Thanks for reading, I'm so glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea. Do you think we'll even need the traditional form of the blog soon if everything can be shared on established social media networks like Facebook?
ReplyDeleteYes, I definitely think blogs still have their place, and in fact once people get more acclimated to using them, blogging on Facebook might not be as necessary as I see it being now. The advantage of a blog? Two right off the bat - Facebook constantly makes changes that remind me that I'm not really in charge, because I'm using their platform and there is little I can do to customize. And second, photo quality is way bigger and better on a blog!
ReplyDeleteThis Blog is amazing. Tnx. J!! I am also trying to get people to follow me thru Pintrest, I just started it about a week ago, but people are catching on fast! :) ~ Christina of: Creme de la Creme Couture
ReplyDeletethis is amazing. I never thought of this before but it is genius. Just a question...how do you work this layout with timeline? I hate these new function on FB. I see that you have a custom page...will that supersede the timeline setting?
ReplyDeleteRachel, I'm not a fan of the new Timeline either!! :-( I haven't switched over yet, I'm waiting until they force you to do it on March 30th.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! Will be hopefully following in the same footsteps!
ReplyDeleteTA
StartupProPlus.com
J, thanks for this great post. How hard was it to gain fans on FB at first? Did you start with your own friends? Would you please share some tips on building audience? Thanks for your time!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! I'm planning another post where I talk about strategies for gaining and keeping fans, and tapping into your existing network of friends is one of those strategies. At the end of the day, it's really just about providing great content though (aka a reason for people to join your page). Good content will spread like fire. My friends were really supportive but I also had something like 1,000 fans in the first month so they were coming from all corners of the internet! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm looking forward to learn more!
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog tonight and I am fascinated! I also really like this idea of blogging on facebook! thanks for sharing your secret!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I am VERY new to the blog world (still don't get a lot of it but your info here is def helpful) and actually found you through FB. I naturally progressed through FB and now I also follow your blog (which BTW I LOVE!). I appreciate the FB page because I never felt the blog was forced upon me before I was ready. That's happened in the past with other pages/bloggers and it was just too overwhelming so I would stop following. With FB you allowed me to take it at my own pace. I agree, that's def good customer service. One more thing is that I most often access the web through my phone. My previous phone usually did not support blog pages so I couldn't access them anyway. But I'm almost always able to access FB. While I've upgraded my phone, there will always be a demographic who, either through choice or necessity, have older models and might encounter the same problems I used to have. So having the FB blog is a way to include everyone. I love it and I think your way of thinking is brilliant.
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