26 comments

7 Steps to a Fabulous Facebook Page

girl joining head formation

Thanks for your responses to last week's Twitter article! While I can talk about Twitter all day, Facebook takes a little more effort for me. However, it remains one of the most visited sites in the world, with over half of its users logging in and spending at least two hours there daily! As bloggers, a well-branded, active Facebook page can be one crucial way in which we can build community and engage with our readers. Here are a few quick tips to make sure you're making the most of your blog's Facebook page.

1. Cover the basics

If you're reading this, I'm assuming you've got a Facebook page for your blog already. If not, go do that now! Make sure your page URL includes your blog name (you can do that here, after you've got at least 25 fans.) Make sure the page descriptions are as complete as can be. That will at least include a brief description of your blog, a link to your blog, and contact info. Back on your blog, do your part to make sure readers can find your Facebook page quickly. There's also a Facebook social plugin that you can embed in your blog, which will show readers which of their friends already like your Facebook page – with an easy button for them to click “like” and join the party!

2. Photos are everything

Video, too. Make sure you've got an eye-catching cover photo, since this now takes up the most real estate above the fold, and is very likely the first thing people see when they visit your page. Your cover photo is arguably more important than your profile pic for this reason, yet it's surprising how many brand pages don't have one, or have a horribly outdated one. It's common for brands to make their logo their profile picture, then use the cover photo to feature more topical/seasonal things. You can make a collage of your favorite spring outfits or trends for your cover photo, then switch it out in the summer, and so on.

3. Update like a pro

Facebook's algorithm (that determines what shows up in your news feed and mine) changes often, but one fairly consistent piece is that “rich media” – photo and video – typically get more attention than just a link or text update. What does this mean to you? Use photos to promote your blog posts! Choose a photo from your post, then write a short sentence describing that post and include a bit.ly link to it. See IFB's Facebook page for great examples of this!

4. Highlight & tag

If you've got any major posts, like a contest you're running or a big milestone you want to celebrate, you can “highlight” an update to the top of your Facebook page. Use this sparingly, for the posts that are most important to you.

Also, make sure to tag any brands that are featured in your post. It's a way to get on their radar and possibly share your post with their own Facebook page fans.

5. Cross-pollinate wisely

Your fans and followers can get bored easily if they see the same updates from you across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. The great thing about Facebook is that you have more space to share unique content that relates to your blog. Tell us more about your latest blog post. Share extra photos and outtakes from your last outfit post in an album on your Facebook page. Use your page to have casual conversations with your readers that might not pertain to recent blog posts (i.e. “Looking forward to spa day with mom this Sunday! How are you celebrating Mother's Day?”)

6. Remember common best practices

Remember those general rules of thumb in social media. Be authentic. Be human. Be engaging. Always reply. Be consistent – from your voice to what you post and when (and in case you're wondering – studies show most people are active on Facebook around noon EST.) Ask questions. Balance original content (sharing your blog posts) and curated or reactive content (replies, comments, sharing articles or other bloggers' posts.) Keep updates short and to the point.

7. Read your Insights

Insights, Facebook's page analytics dashboard, are your key to understanding who is responding to what, when and from where. Check your Insights regularly to see what kinds of posts your fans are liking, sharing and commenting on. Insights are so helpful in showing you how to tweak your posts to best suit your Facebook audience.

 

Do you have any examples of blogs or brands with fabulous Facebook pages? Share them here!

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26 Responses

  1. Winston & Willow

    This is a really great article. I think FB is the hardest to grow in my opinion but hopefully some of these tips will help!
    Charlotte
    www.winstonandwillow.com

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thank you for reading! Agreed, especially now that Facebook has put a lot more emphasis on its paid options for increasing visibility for your page (i.e. sponsored updates, ads, etc.) It is crucial to have some kind of presence on Facebook for your blog, since it’s likely your audience (or potential blog readers) can find it there.

      Reply
  2. The Science of Happy

    Call me a bad blogger but I don’t want to surround myself with that much internet and social media networks that I lose track of the real value of life.

    For anyone interested, my MAC giveaway ends in 4 days!

    http://thescienceofhappy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/mac-prize-release-birthday-giveaway.html

    Reply
  3. Juliana Bui

    I literally just made a Facebook account yesterday with the intention of making a page for my blog. So this was perfect timing. Just out of curiosity, do you know if it will show in your timeline if you make the page?

    – Juliana
    http://cocoandpicasso.blogspot.ca/

    Reply
  4. Marina Akira

    I love facebook because I can post random photos as well as my blog posts! and it does bring traffic more than any other social media,except maybe stumbleupon. Thanks for sharing these tips
    www.miouprincesslovespink.blogspot.gr

    Reply
  5. Heidi/Frantic But Fabulous

    #3 is totally true. My posts auto-publish to Facebook via Bloglovin’ but the photos come in as thumbnails, so I always try to upload the same photo (or another one if I have it) directly to Facebook as well. It appears on my timeline and in updates much larger and is more likely to be seen.

    Another tip: Grab the custom URL for your page so it includes your blog name.

    Reply
  6. Trisha Trixie

    I would also say since I focused my blog and FB page my Insights and traffic have really improved. Make sure you focus on what you do.

    Reply
  7. Natasha Jarmick

    Great post Jess!

    I think working in Marketing has given me insight into how to run my blog’s Facebook page (as well as clients). I follow all these tips!

    xoxo
    Natasha Jarmick
    The Chic Curve

    Reply
  8. Carol C.

    I think it’s really important to have a FB page for your blog even if you only update it twice a week. You can communicate with a whole other audience that way.
    I use it to share pics that didn’t make it to the blog for editing reasons plus products, relevant articles and other blogs I have come across.
    http://jollycaucusrace.blogspot.ie

    Reply
  9. Fashion Studio

    Another excellent article! Thank you for all the tips 🙂

    Reply
  10. Fashion Studio

    More Facebook tips from one of Fashion Studio Magazine contributors:
    http://www.fashionstudiomagazine.com/2013/02/fashion-online.html

    Enjoy!
    Eva

    Reply
  11. alicatstrut

    Great tips, Jess! I personally love Facebook. I keep my network small, relevant, concentrated so it’s easy to get the content I want. One thing I really like about having a Facebook page is being able to stagger post sharing without feeling spammy. Sharing something with the page in the late morning, with friends mid-afternoon, for example.

    Reply
  12. laura redburn // cardboardcities

    as in blogging, things like asking questions on FB is good too. it engages people, and may even make them tell someone else about it.

    another thing i think that’s really important is to write the status out yourself! or at least do it a couple times a week. i find updates that are autoscheduled from blogs are way less engaging (to me, anyway) as they don’t have a nice big picture, and seem really impersonal.

    Reply
  13. E-M

    I remember when I created my Facebook page, people told me: “You don’t have enough fans to have a Facebook page, it’s pointless!” But I still created it! The thing is that I love how you can share such unique and personal content over there! I love doing snapshots with my phone and posting them to Facebook, sharing my song-of-the-moment or just sharing some inspiring pictures! Not all can go to the blog and Facebook is absolutely the most perfect place to share those little moments you can’t put to your blog. It’s so personal and special to me! I didn’t create it a long time ago and I don’t have many fans, I don’t get many likes – however, I’ll keep on going and trying to engage my audience more 🙂 These little tips are great and I love having my own Facebook page 🙂

    Much love to all newbies in Facebook!

    xoxo

    Reply
  14. Jessica Flores

    OMG, Jess! This just changed my facebook life! I can’t believe I’ve never noticed the whole post a picture with a bit.ly thing! I’ve just been posting the url of my blog posts and then selecting a small picture from the option it gave me. Of course I should be doing this!

    Great tips! Nicely done.

    Reply
  15. Margot Potter

    I have spent several years building my personal and fan page on FB. There are some frustrating new impediments to making your fan page rock unless you’re willing to pay. Links on fan/biz pages are only shown to a very small percentage of your followers (of my over 6k fans, only 300 or so see my links, but over 1k see my text posts.) So that means, unless I pay, I am not reaching everyone. I get far more engagement on my personal page which is public and allows anyone to follow me. So I put more energy into that page than the fan page as the return on investment is so much higher. That said, what I have figured out is that people on FB really want to talk about themselves. You can’t bombard people with endless links and requests if you want real engagement. People don’t really want to leave FB. Photos do get engagement, but they have to be the right photo. But if I ask simple questions, I get tons of comments. Every day I ask a simple question and allow folks to engage with me and each other. This makes my friends and followers feel like they’re being heard. I started a new page for my new site, but I’m still focusing most of my efforts on my personal page.

    Reply
  16. Nikki Hodum

    Facebook has been the most challenging thing for me as far as social media. I am not a personal FB user, so I am not as well versed in the area. I try to come up with original content for each of my platforms (besides posting my new posts), but FB is definitely my weak area.
    I created my blog FB page about 6 months ago, but it really hasn’t grown any. I don’t even have enough Likes to view my stats (5 away if anyone wants to help me get there! facebook.com/thefashionablewife ) But I struggle every day to come up with new ideas. I hope it will get easier, and these tips are great to get me on my way!

    Nikki
    thefashionablewife.com

    Reply
  17. Anastazja Oppenheim

    I’m thinking of creating a Facebook page for my blog, but it’s quite new and I don’t have many followers yet. Having under 20 people “liking” the profile is one of my recurring nightmares xD
    What do you think, is a FB page a good way of promoting a young blog, or should I wait until I have more regular readers? Any opinions?
    http://coverrated.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  20. Adela

    Thanks for this! I find it hardest to grow followers on FB but I do getvtraffic from there. Many of my FB followers are not on other media like twitter/instagram so it’s very important for me too.
    Adela x

    Reply
  21. Natalie Salinas

    Love the tips Jess!
    On fb you have to constantly update your page but sadly you don’t have the time always.

    Reply
  22. riris

    I made my own fb page yesterday, and haven’t fans yet. This article very helpful for my new fb page, thank you.. 🙂

    Reply
  23. Sindy Salgado

    Thank you for your insights. They are really useful for all of us who are looking for new ways to be known in this online jungle. 😉

    Reply
  24. Theris Wardrobe

    thank you for sharing this amazing post – I just started my facebook page about 4 days ago and now I really know how to work this out!!

    x, Theri

    Reply
  25. Olivia

    This post was so helpful..with me being a new blogger i have been trying out all possible ways to promote my blog..thank yo for sharing this..

    Reply