This post is aimed at new bloggers and bloggers who need to increase traffic to their site and want to use Facebook as a way of doing this. Let’s face it most of us spend a lot of time on Facebook as a way of catching up with friends and we see that other bloggers are having success there, so why can’t we?

The good news is we can and we do not need to harass our friends in the process.

The first step is to create a page entirely dedicated to your Blog. This page can actually be your blog if you so wish. Many people don’t even have a website, they use their Facebook page as their actual blog. It is limited in some respects but you can make a success of it. For most of us this page is your way of connecting people to your actual blog.

Setting Up Your Page

If you don’t already have a page you will need to go to any other page that you may have liked and you will see a Green button that says create a page. Alternatively go to www.facebook.com/ads and select create a page from the top right of the page.

Once you have clicked this button you will be able to create your own page. You will be prompted to select a category. It may be obvious which to use depending on your website but if not don’t panic it can be updated later. I always choose Brand/ product and then choose website. It is here that you will create the name of your page. Then you will be prompted to upload an image and a cover photo. I always use my own image and my cover photo is my brand image. If you don’t have a brand image read my review on fiverr where you can get one really cheaply.

The next step will be to create a username. Your username may not be able to be the same as your page name. As your username will become your Facebook page URL there can only be one of any username. For example my page With Grace and Gratitude could not have this as my username as someone beat me to it. Disappointing as it is not used much but hey ho and on we go. So I went with@withgraceandgratitudeuk This means my Facebook URL is www.facebook.com/withgraceandg… Spend some time searching for options as this cannot be changed. You can change your images, website even your page name but the URL will stay.

Once your page is set up I suggest posting something like an introduction to what your page and blog is about and then requesting that your friends like your page. Some will, some won’t, So What ! No pressure on anyone. From here on in this is your business page and should be treated as such.

Using Your Page

One way of increasing likes and therefore your reach is to Join facebook groups. If you want more information on these and how to use them effectively you can sign up for my Free Resources and get access to my Fabulous Facebook Groups.

Every time you create a blog post post it to your Facebook page. Depending on your niche you may also want to put other things on your page too. Maybe some fun stuff or some simple things that are not really Blog worthy because they are short and sweet snippets that will help your audience. Remember your Facebook business page is your shop front and you need to gain the trust of your customers before they will buy anything from you. You won’t get very far if you use it as a hard sell platform. Build your relationships first, point them in the direction of helpful information on your blog or elsewhere if you so wish before asking them to buy from you.

This is your Facebook gateway and you will get comments and likes on your posts. Always and I mean always respond. If you have to spend long periods of time away from the internet ensure you have automatic messaging set up. This can be done from the left sidebar of your page. Facebook kindly lets everyone know how quickly you respond. So don’t be a responds eventually kind of a blogger. Remember this is your shop front and you wouldn’t wait around in a shop for someone to answer your questions and serve you. You would go elsewhere. It’s exactly the same on the internet.

A great way to gain more likes and followers on Facebook is to make sure you give your blog readers a chance to engage with you on Facebook too. There are many ways to promote your Facebook page on your blog but my favourite is their sidebar widget. Go to https://developers.facebook.co… and get the code to put in your sidebar.

Using Facebook Ads

Now there are two schools of thought here. “Don’t do it, it’s a waste of money”and “Definitely do it as it’s a great way to get sales”

I sit somewhere in the middle and the reason is that you need to know what you are doing before spending your hard earned cash on it. I do not recommend it to new bloggers, you will lose money and get little or nothing in return. Will you give it a go before you are ready? Absolutely. Facebook tempts you to boost your posts at every turn and we all get tempted.

If you are going to do it these are the rules to stick to:

Go to Facebook ads manager rather than just boosting a post. www.facebook.com/ads

Set your goal. What are you trying to achieve? More traffic to your Blog. More page likes. More sales for an Affiliate program you are promoting.

Set your audience. Who is your ideal client? Male, female, age range, country, their interests. You might want to take a look at Facebook insights to drill down your target audience. www.facebook.com/ads/audience-.

Create your ad copy. Don’t just boost a post unless it has a great title and a call to action in the title of the post already.

Set your budget. Be in control of what you are willing to spend and ask yourself is it worth it. You need to have a chance of getting a return on your investment.

Set your time frame. A quick shot over a couple of days or a longer term strategy?

Once you have satisfied yourself that you are happy with your promotion and strategy go ahead and place your order.

I hope you have found this post useful and I wish you every success with your blog and Facebook ventures. As ever if you have and questions just comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can. If you want an answer quicker pop over to my Facebook page www.facebook.com/withgraceandg… and ask me there.

Don’t forget to like my page.

With Grace and Gratitude

Karen

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