With 500 million people on Facebook, it’s a huge pool of potential readers for your blog! But if you’re like me and you don’t want your readers to friend you on your personal Facebook page, you can create a fan page instead where people can keep up with your blog updates. I started a Facebook fan page for my blog last year and I’ve been able to use it to connect with my readers, brainstorm new topics, and share updates from not only my own blog, but posts from other bloggers in my niche as well.
Today’s assignment
Create a Facebook fan page for yourself in the “writer” category and link to it from your blog so people can keep up with your updates. You can use the Facebook notes function or Networked Blogs application to automatically pull in your blog posts to your Facebook wall. You can also use your Facebook fan page to build community by posting questions and other articles related to your niche.
Here are some resources to help you create or improve your Facebook fan page:
- How to Set Up a Winning Facebook Fan Page
- 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page
- How to Get the Most Out of Your Business Facebook Page
- 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand’s Facebook Presence
Once you create your Facebook Fan page, link us to it in the comments! For those who already have one, share your experiences. Has it increased your blog readership?
Months later… my fan page is here: http://ow.ly/3pm1B
I didn’t select “Writer”, mine just says “person”. I’m not sure how I got that, though… At any rate, I figure I’m about much more than writing, which I hope my blog will soon relay so unless they make “Diva” a category, I’ll stick with “Person”…
LOL…Just glad it worked.
Oh my gosh, you are a genius! Thanks so much! It worked!!!
Hi Elle the link you posted is for a plugin not a badge. WordPress won't allow you to save that and that is why you keep getting the blank page.
To get your code for the facebook badge, go into your fanpage, go to edit the page then on the right you should see the create a badge option. Click that and it will take you to a page that asks you what you want your badge to look like as well as give you the option to pick code for a few different blogging applications. Choose other and copy that code.
Let me know if that works for you.
You are an angel!!
Please see below.
<iframe allowtransparency=”true” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” src=”http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fpage%2Fto%2Flike&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=450&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=35″ style=”border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:35px;”></iframe>
Can you post the link text that you are trying to save here? I can trouble shoot based off that.
Ok, the issue is that it the link doesn't save in my “Text” box after I add it on WordPress. I even tried to add to the same box I have for Twitter, but it keeps disappearing after I hit “Save”. I'll continue to play around with it, but I've been messing with it on and off all day. Thanks for your help!
Hi Elle. Did you copy the code from the Other option in facebook? If you copy that whole long code (looks to be about a paragraph) into a text box it should show your badge on your blog.
Yes, Charron, I need tons of help!! LOL! I copied the info from Facebook and tried to paste it in the text box, but it disappears. Not sure what I'm doing wrong or if it was a glitch yesterday with WordPress. Any help you could provide would be most appreciative!
I also already did this. Not seeing the writer option, I also did not set it up this way. I currently have 21 fans but am always looking for new ones! http://bit.ly/cBCUWW
I was ahead for this assignment but decided to start from scratch. I didn't know about the “writer” category either, so since I only have one fan restarting will be easy. I have a lot of work to do with it by here is my fan page: http://bit.ly/artdealFB.
Hi Elle. I've gotten pretty good at this stuff so if you still need some help let me know
I had been toying around with this for awhile-whether or not to create fan page. So once again, I'm glad I was thinking on the right tracks!!! It needs some work (a lot of work), but this is how I've started! Oh, and you are welcome to become a fan!
http://bit.ly/bmRxW3
http://www.facebook.com/employedpanache#!/pages…
A bit behind on this challenge lately, but luckily I created a FB page early last week (pure coincidence). Safa mentioned that she get most of her readership via FB and that it's another way to interact with her audience. I am in the same situation, I think because my largest network is via FB. Sadly, most of my connections on there do not use Twitter, but that's ok because any articles I RT I can then post on my page.
I'd be curious to know if anyone has tried the paid ads, how much it cost them, and if they saw a significant spike in readers.
I started this but after I created my page I wondered if I gave it the appropriate name. I call my blog Katherine's Toolbox but the url is katherinerw.org. I created using the page name not my name. Then I had second thought about the name. but the task is done. will have to spend time later beefing up the FB page. Would love to hear peoples thoughts – seems like most of the comments are for blogs that use a title for the url not the author's name.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katherines-Toolbo…
Try adding Smart Twitter for Pages it will update your Chocolate Chip page (excluding any @ or # comments you make)
Done! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nikita-T-Mitchell… I've been thinking about this and unsure about whether I should, but why not!?
I set up the Chocolate Chip facebook fan page at the same time I launched my blog. I use it to announce my new posts and events that I'm attending or quick news items or happenings so FB drives my readership. Unfortunately since it's linked to my personal page anytime I want to share something like an article or pics or a tweet, it automatically goes to my personal page and not the Chocolate Chip page which is frustrating. Somehow my status updates from Chocolate Chip feed to twitter which is good.
I haven't paid to advertise yet but I suspect that would increase my audience dramatically. I also have networked blogs don't really pay attention to it.
I've had a FB Fan Page for quite some time, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/My-HairIs-Me/1…
It's set to where my blog posts go directly to the fan page and twitter through networked blogs.
Hi Kim. Yes you can. What I did was log in under my regular profile and then I created the page and made myself admin. Now when I log into facebook online I just go over to Account (top right) and there is a link that says My Pages. If I'm using my BlackBerry then there is a My Pages link at the bottom of the Home screen. Hope this helps. Luck
Question: Can I set it up to be “linked” to my regular profile, so I don't have to log in separately?
http://www.facebook.com/thecandyshoppe
I actually set mine up shortly after I launched my blog because a reader sent me a friend request. I knew I wanted to keep my personal facebook page personal and even though I was only a week into the blog I launched the fan page as well.
I actually set mine up as a website, didn't even see the writer category. And I can't change it now unless I want to delete and start all over. Seeing as I have almost 50 fans, I don't think I will be doing that.
Currently I use RSS Grafitti to scan my feed and post new links with images to the page. Also I use Smart Twitter for Pages to send my tweets to the page (doesn't send any tweets that contain @ or #).
All in all I'm happy that I started the fan page at the same time as the blog. Instead of waiting like a few people suggested. I am going to check out the links you have and see if I can get any ideas on growing the fan base via facebook.
Already took care of that quite a while ago. Here's the url:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Safa-…
It's helped immensely, because Facebook now makes up about 75-80% of my readership referrals. Also, many of my blog's comments aren't on the blog itself, but on my Facebook fan page, so it's acted as another way for me to interact with my readers and let them know what's going on with me. I'm much more likely to include little tidbits of my non-writing life or other writings I like in my fan page statuses than on my blog, so I've also used it as a way for readers to engage with me as Safa the person versus Safa the writer. Enough of my friends are also fans of me, so their comments usually gets conversations started. They also refer my page to their friends, so it's let me reach a readership base based on who people I know know.