9 Ways To Promote Your Blog on Facebook

9 Ways To Promote Your Blog on Facebook

Promote Your Blog on FacebookDo you blog? Do you find that the hard work really starts once you have published your blog post?

Driving traffic to your post and generating engagement requires a pro-active marketing plan.

Facebook can be your social media best friend for blog promotion and in this article, I will share nine creative ways to make the most of it.

 

#1 Optimized link to blog post

When sharing posts on Facebook you can generate immediate interest by optimizing your web link.

Your blog’s featured image, title and meta description will all appear on Facebook newsfeeds if you optimize it correctly.

Did you know that 80 per cent of Internet users only read the headline of a blog post before moving on. So your blog title will most likely bring you 80 per cent of your traffic.

Similarly, your description explains further why a Facebook user should click into the full article. So it’s worth your while spending a bit of time on this.

I use the WordPress plugin, Yoast SEO, to optimize my posts. I particularly like the social share feature which allows you to pre-load the Facebook meta title and description.

Image 1: Using the WordPress plugin Yoast SEO to optimize blog post links on Facebook

You type in the title, the description and then upload an image which should be 1200 by 630 pixels for visual optimization on Facebook. You can also follow the same steps for social sharing on Twitter.

Image 2: Optimized blog link shows featured image, title and description appears once you social share it to Facebook giving your readers lots of taster content to encourage them to click.

9 Ways To Promote Your Blog on Facebook | #BloggingTips #SMM #Facebook Click To Tweet

 

#2 Promo video

Uploading videos directly to Facebook boosts organic reach. Why not take advantage and use video to promote your blog post?

If you really want somebody to take time to read your blog then give them a reason to do so.

Your video can be an animation of a quote from the post or you could go front of screen to tell your fans what the post is about and why they should read it.

Be sure to post the link to the blog post in your status update.

In the example below the EPP Group in the EU Parliament have taken a quote from an article and have created a short animated video. The views certainly make this approach worthwhile.


 

#3 Facebook ads 

Using Facebook ads to gain visibility on your blog post is a really good idea.

This tactic is not simply about get clicks on your blog. By harnessing the power of Facebook ads you can actually also create custom audiences, reaching people that are interested in the topic you are writing about.

Facebook Ads will help you to overcome falling organic reach. You can strategically send people to your blog by promoting a specific link.

Image 3: Use Facebook Ads to send people to your blog post

 

#4 Pin to your profile

A pinned post is a status update that you manually select to stay at the top of your Timeline, meaning it will not slip down the Timeline as you continue to add other posts to your page.

Pin your most recent blog post to your profile for seven days. Pinning your blog to your Page will give it extra exposure.

Image 4: Donna Moritz creator of Socially Sorted has her most recent blog post as her pinned post

I recommend pinning your blog post link for at least one week and tracking the traffic from this post using UTM codes.

UTM codes are bits of text you can add to a link that tell Google Analytics (as well as other analytics tools) a little bit more information about each link.

 

#5 Tag people or brands mentioned

If you are mentioning individuals or brands in your blog post then it isacceptable to tag them.

They will likely re-share your status update and even like and comment which will increase engagement and reach.

Image 5: Tag a company or person in your status update to let them know you have mentioned them in your blog post.

 

#6 Update your cover photo

Your Facebook cover photo is a great opportunity to visually promote your blog post. Re-size your blog’s featured image to reflect Facebook’s cover photo dimensions.

However, be mindful that cover photos on desktop computers and on mobile look different.

On mobile, the left and right sides of the image are slightly cut-off, while the top and bottom parts are slightly expanded.

Image 6: Social Media Examiner Facebook Cover Photo Desktop

The dimensions are 820 x 312 pixels on desktop and it displays as 640 x 360 pixels on mobile.

Make sure your cover photo is sized correctly otherwise the image will be stretched or squashed to fit which will make it distorted.

Image 7: Social Media Examiner Facebook Cover Photo Mobile

When you have uploaded your blog promo cover photo be sure to check it on mobile and desktop for accuracy.

Don’t forget to add your blog link to your status update.

Image 8: The Savvy Sexy Social Facebook Cover Photo

Your Facebook cover photo is a great opportunity to visually promote your blog post | #BloggingTips #SMM #Facebook Click To Tweet

 

#7 Facebook Live

Facebook will bring your Facebook Live broadcasts to the top of the newsfeed so this is a golden opportunity to promote your blog to a captive audience. You can also answer blog comments through your Livecast.

This will draw attention to the blog post without aggressively promoting it.

Image 9: Facebook Live is a great way to gain traction on your blog post. This Livecast reached almost 8,000 people on my Facebook Page.

Remember the replay of the video will also be available after your live broadcast has ended. You can then embed it into your blog post or re-share it on Facebook if more questions come in weeks or months later.

 

#8 Graphics

Creating graphics from content included in your blog will whet the appetite of your prospective readers.

Did you know 63% of social media content is made up of photos and visuals? This is because people are drawn to visual content and are more likely to engage – like, share and comment.

When you complete your blog post you should create a featured image which is then re-sized for Facebook – Facebook post, Facebook ad, Facebook event (if relevant) and a Facebook Cover Photo.

In the example below Jay Baer uses an infographic-style image to help promote his blog post.

Image 10: Jay Baer shares an engaging graphic about how data journalism is changing the industry. It appears on his Convince and Convert Facebook Page.

You can also share a new image each time your promote your blog post, by re-sizing the images that feature in the blog. You will be posting your blog post web link more than just once.

 

#9 Use your CTA

Why not use your Call To Action (CTA) button to promote your blog post?

Image 11: Kim Garst, founder of Boom Social uses her Facebook Page CTA to drive traffic to her website.

In this example Kim Garst directs us to her free e-book with her Learn More CTA.

Image 12: The Facebook Page CTA brings fans to the Boom Social website

The CTA button clicks are measurable also so you can track how many blog visits this tactic is generating.

Image 13: View CTA button insights on your Facebook Page 

Conclusion

Writing blog posts is an investment of your time and knowledge, so don’t waste it by not investing the similar effort to promote them on Facebook.

Facebook’s global audience and advanced targeted features will help you get your premium content in front of the right people, who then might share and engage with it.

By employing the tactics in this article you will certainly see an uplift in your traffic figures and engagement rates on your Facebook Page.

So what Facebook marketing tactics will you employ from this list to promote your next blog post?

Do you have any other suggestions that have worked for you? Be sure to let me know.

Writing blog posts is an investment of your time and knowledge, so don’t waste it by not investing the similar effort to promote them on #Facebook Click To Tweet

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