I’ll be the first to admit that I lack keeping my Facebook page alive and updated. I use Instagram so much more than I often forget to update it! I know I’m not alone right now in doing this…so I have put together a few things for you (and myself as well!) to do in order to keep the Facebook page and profiles alive!
Share Valuable Content
This should be no surprise. If you’re a blogger looking to improve your craft, you’ve probably heard this a time or two in regards to your blog. Your Facebook page is no different. You are cultivating the same culture as you are on your blog. My blog is about branding yourself, real estate and being the ultimate girl boss. So what do I share on my Facebook page? The same thing. If I see something that I think my Facebook community will like, I share it.
Using “Google Alerts” is an easy way for me to stay up to date on articles about my niche and easily share with my Facebook followers.
The point is to find as many posts, pictures, and videos you want to share with your audience as possible, because the key to showing up on people’s newsfeed is to NOT be 100% promotional of just your blog or your business. Facebook loves when we share other pages’ posts and other sites’ content. Why? Because Facebook wants active users. They want content finders. They want people to in turn share it with others. You’ll want a 50/50 ratio meaning 50% your content and 50% other pages’ content. When I have a good tally of things I want to share, it’s time to schedule them.
Take Advantage of Facebook’s Scheduler
You’re going to want to schedule your posts for your page. I schedule a few posts a week, tough I would like to be doing much more on a daily basis to stay active. Some people do far more and some far less. But this is what is working for me right now.
For this article’s purposes, I’ll assume you don’t know how to schedule a Facebook share/post via the Facebook scheduler. I had no clue I could do this until recently. When you see my posts pop up on your newsfeed, I’m not sitting by Facebook all day sharing away. I’ve actually scheduled the post. Mind blown when I found I could do this. You also don’t want to use an outside scheduler such as Hootsuite or Co-Scheduler. Facebook is a like a jealous girlfriend and will not share your posts to the masses when you use something other than its own.
Here’s my method to scheduling posts using Facebook’s scheduler.
- From your Facebook Page, proceed to write a post or share a link;
- Once written, click the “continue” button;
- Click on the “when will this be published” and then click on “schedule”;
- Select the date and time you wish to post and then click “done”.
I try to schedule posts for two day’s worth of shares. It takes me about 30 minutes to get it all done, and I’ve found that I do this much faster at my computer. I’m sure you’ll find a groove that works for you. I just wanted to show you that scheduling a post can even be done from the app. You may run into some snags here and there, but my best advice would be to play around with the system and do test posts until you get the hang of it.
Share Your Instagram Posts on Your Facebook Page
Did you know that Instagram is owned by Facebook? Of course they are. Because of this, Facebook loves to share other Facebook things, like your Instagram pictures. You can link your Facebook account’s page(s) to your Instagram account, and it makes sharing a piece of cake! To be sure that you’re sharing to your page instead of your personal account, make sure your settings are correct.
Once I’ve shared an Instagram picture to my Facebook page, I usually will tag myself in the photo I’ve shared. The visibility is usually way higher when I do that. Just be sure to ditch the hastags if you’ve used any on Instagram. I usually will change up the wording when sharing an Insta pic to my Facebook page. Hashtags, although helpful on your personal posts, are seen as spammy on your page. Facebook doesn’t like spammy. Also avoid tagging other pages in your post. You can give other pages a shout-out in the comments. The reasoning is the same as the hashtag business.
Now, I’m not saying you need to share every single Instagram picture you post. (Instagram is a whole other ball game.) I’m mindful of what I share and I what I don’t to my Facebook page. But regardless of what type of blogger you are, people love to see a personal side of you, and to me that is what Instagram is all about. Share a few Instagram pictures here and there and see if it makes a difference.
Share Your Page’s Post to Your Personal Facebook Page
All of my friends know I have a blog because I’m always sharing my page’s posts. However, not all of my Facebook friends follow my blog’s Facebook page, but a lot of them do. That doesn’t stop me from sharing my posts from my page to personal account. Let’s say I have an Instagram picture that I just shared to my blog’s page. I might have tagged the picture, but I know there is a good chance that half of my friends didn’t get to see it because in that great Facebook Pages app, you can see how many people your post has reached. When I share the picture or article to my personal page, it creates a wider audience. And that’s what you want after all, isn’t it?
Keep Track of the Insights on your Facebook Page
Also known as analytics, the insights for your page is the key that holds all of your numbers and just how many people really are seeing what you share. You can analyze the data via your app or you can see the full analysis from your desktop. If you’re just starting out with putting some of these tips to use, give yourself a little bit of time to assess the situation. But you most certainly will want to delve into this useful tool.
There is a lot of data that could overwhelm you, but two key things to look at are 1) what types of posts do your people like the most? and 2) when are they online? It’s all about the people. Give them what they want, and Facebook will make sure they keep seeing it.
And there you have it – keeping your Facebook page alive with these little tactics. Hope they are of help to you as they were to me when I started to get quite busy with my busy real estate season!
With Love | Nikki xo