February 17, 2011 49 Comments

Facebook So Far

Facebook Page

I’ve been reinvesting in my efforts to understand and use Facebook. My first big experiment has been to build a Blog Topics Facebook community to accompany my subscription service. So far, with a little bit of promoting, pushing, begging, and about $80 in ad spend, I’ve got just under 1300 people on the page, and have had some really lively interactions. What have I learned?

Be Consistent

With Blog Topics, I put up a post or idea 3-4 times a day. People respond at different times. As Facebook is a lot more like a stream these days, I note that others tend to comment at varied times of day according to where they live. Because Facebook doesn’t allow for scheduled posts (directly), I haven’t investigated scheduling things for times when I’m asleep.

Be Specific

I post my questions and ideas to spur on conversation. The more times I guide people towards community involvement, the more that rewards me with a few new subscribers to the blog topics newsletter and with a few new people to get to know. Both are important.

Be Inclusive

I’ve done a lot to interact with the people who comment back and forth on that community. I am interested in finding other fan pages about blogging and see whether my contributions there would be welcome. I wouldn’t actively troll for new followers, but I’d try to be helpful in a way that encouraged more exploration. This is how we do it in blog commenting. Would it work the same in FB? Have you had experience like that?

Curious to Know What’s Worked Well for You

As we explore Facebook’s value a bit more in coming months, I’d love to hear your take on what works, what doesn’t, and what you recommend to your friends and clients. What do YOU like in a Facebook page? And what do you recommend I do better?

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework

Genesis Theme Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Become a StudioPress Affiliate

  • http://www.ugetme.ca ugetme jeremy

    I like more things in Facebook.. Sharing of our information and getting a new friends especially..
    University Canada

  • http://www.ugetme.ca ugetme jeremy

    I like more things in Facebook.. Sharing of our information and getting a new friends especially..
    University Canada

  • http://fingercandymedia.com/ Jessica Northey

    you know what is interesting is that you can get away with posting 3-4 times a day….I find my celebrity/musician clients tend to lose followers if they post that much….what are your thoughts?

    • http://deceth.com deceth

      I have to agree with you on this point. If I update more than once or twice a week, I start to lose followers. They want to see their friends info in their feeds, they don’t want me popping in their too often.

      • http://rickmanelius.com Rick Manelius

        Thats interesting… I guess it depends on your reader base. For Chris, those subscribing are probably more actively wanting to use the information on a daily basis. For those with followers that are more casual/social, it probably would be a bit much and noisy.

  • http://swizzlecollective.com/blog Swizzle

    I manage a few FB pages for clients, and have just recently learned that videos seems to get the most attention. I’m not sure why. Also, links from other stories or controversial topics in the news get a lot of action. At the end of the day, FB is still a form of entertainment. I think that’s the difference between FB and a blog. I don’t expect to do any hard learning on Facebook. But I find it entertaining as hell. That’s what I think people love about it, but it can also be a curse to general productivity.

  • http://twitter.com/Cole_Watts Cole Watts

    One of the important things for me, at least are implementing FBML pages. They make a page feel authentic and real.
    Yes, most of the time these pages can be a bit “spammy” but giving one’s audience, especially new fans, credible information that they can use with FBML pages is one of the important parts about Facebook in my opinion.

  • http://joshmuirhead.ca Josh Muirhead

    Interesting post Chris, I’m happy that you’re trying out Facebook, and I’ll look forward to more of your thoughts in the coming months.

    We personally have found success by following the “rule of dating” – At first, we keep things light, and easy to comment on, just like you would in the first couple of dates.

    Then as time moves on, we increase our level of communication, and through those lighter conversations know where we can/should go deeper, and areas that our community really doesn’t care about.

    However, because your not just dealing with one person, we find that we split it up between light and easy (for newer friends), deeper and “history” based for long-time friends.

    One other area is encouraging people to post, and share their own information. It’s amazing when someone posts an article, or image how it springboards other to post.

    This allows us to see what others are doing, and gives the Fan Page a lot of interesting content.

    I’ve actually participated in a conversation on your fan page, and I agree that it’s already an active community.

    Josh

  • http://joshmuirhead.ca Josh Muirhead

    Interesting post Chris, I’m happy that you’re trying out Facebook, and I’ll look forward to more of your thoughts in the coming months.

    We personally have found success by following the “rule of dating” – At first, we keep things light, and easy to comment on, just like you would in the first couple of dates.

    Then as time moves on, we increase our level of communication, and through those lighter conversations know where we can/should go deeper, and areas that our community really doesn’t care about.

    However, because your not just dealing with one person, we find that we split it up between light and easy (for newer friends), deeper and “history” based for long-time friends.

    One other area is encouraging people to post, and share their own information. It’s amazing when someone posts an article, or image how it springboards other to post.

    This allows us to see what others are doing, and gives the Fan Page a lot of interesting content.

    I’ve actually participated in a conversation on your fan page, and I agree that it’s already an active community.

    Josh

  • http://hannahsharvest.com Hannah Marcotti

    I love FB for business. I do not have a FB fan page as this idea hasn’t lit me up (love to hear more thoughts on this from you), but I’m open to the possibility, just need to understand it a bit more. I get lots of traffic for my blog via FB and I love the same thing, that I can offer prompts and see what is going on with people, encourage them to think about adding a new spin to the day, or offer a funny story.

    I have enjoyed the blog topics page and watching it evolve. Being able to connect with the blogging community in this way is powerful for me. Thanks Chris!

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      If they weren’t called “fan” pages, I’d be so much happier. It’s so strange to have a “fan” page.

      • Anonymous

        Heh – technically, they’re NOT called fan pages, although that’s the vernacular. Facebook just refers to them as Pages. Just in case that makes you feel a little better about it!

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      If they weren’t called “fan” pages, I’d be so much happier. It’s so strange to have a “fan” page.

  • http://www.abundancetapestry.com Evelyn Lim

    Not just posting on article links from my self improvement site, I use my facebook page to also promote other people’s posts. I figured that most fans/readers would like to read a range of articles and be updated with interesting links. I also thought it’d be nice to share some link love. I don’t have the stats, though, to “prove” that my facebook strategy works.

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      That’s a great thing to do, Evelyn. It shows that you care about others.

  • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

    Chris,

    I agree FB initially allowed us get many projects going. Since it is more inclined towards entertainment it also works a lot better for services aligned to enjoying yourself.

    I run a few facebook pages and I do get more interactions for the restaurants I run there online efforts on FB than on twitter. For some reason just hitting a like makes it a lot easier or commenting to spread the word with many.

    I think creating synergy and going to where your possible audience is can help any effort. Very glad you are focusing on facebook since your feedback from it will be very valuable.

  • http://nancimurdock.com Nanci Murdock

    Hey Chris,

    Because I (ahem) didn’t see it – not targeting Canada?! Can you share with us how your Facebook ad ran? Did it ask a question? Just curious if you tested or hit upon an add that was successful in driving people to like your Page.

    Thanks,
    Nanci

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      Targeting Canada for sure. And the ad basically offered blog topics. Didn’t think to ask a question. Good idea, Nanci. : )

    • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

      Targeting Canada for sure. And the ad basically offered blog topics. Didn’t think to ask a question. Good idea, Nanci. : )

  • http://EricLWalker.com Eric Walker

    HootSuite is great for scheduling updates. Basically you could bust out a week’s worth of updates and schedule them across a day (3-4 updates). That frees you up to comment with people, or make impromptu updates that are more time bound. I’m enjoying the Blog Topics FB page.

  • http://EricLWalker.com Eric Walker

    HootSuite is great for scheduling updates. Basically you could bust out a week’s worth of updates and schedule them across a day (3-4 updates). That frees you up to comment with people, or make impromptu updates that are more time bound. I’m enjoying the Blog Topics FB page.

  • Anonymous

    Good stuff Chris! I have been working with a lot of real estate agents, and businesses in coming up with strategies for Facebook, it is a great resource, especially the business pages. The only problem is the constant evolution, so as you do one thing consistently then Facebook might change the platform just a smidge.
    I do find the Facebook ads very effective. In 2009 I had 3.5 million views on my ad, and my cost for the year was $412. Yes prices have increased, but they have the most powerful data for targeting an audience, more so for real estate purposes than for blogging I guess, you probably have a much more general target.
    I think the appeal of the Facebook platform for interaction, over Twitter, is that there is a sense of organization and permanency versus trying to track a full conversation and interaction on Twitter. I think a lot of people are starting to get overwhelmed by Twitter in that regard, I have seen a steady increase in interaction on Facebook over the last few months.
    Glad you are finding success! And the key is frequency and consistency, but it is not Twitter. People do push back and get annoyed by too frequent updates on personal profiles. I have such an interaction down on my page back a few months ago when a “friend” from high school told me off because, as he put it, “no one cares what you are doing Maya”, so I suggested he “unfriend me” and thanked him for his thoughts, then I smirked to myself and felt badly for how miserable his world must be.
    And yes, Hootsuite can schedule Facebook as well, like Eric said, and I am sure others.

  • http://twitter.com/braddahmike Michael Jensen

    Glad to see you on FB Chris! With blog posts I’ve noticed it somewhat more difficult to increase engagement as opposed to perhaps posting a comment and a picture. But then again it can depend on your audience and where they prefer to to engage. Most people are used to engaging on FB, and it’s extremely easy & they’re not required to do much reading. If you post a blog post and it is interesting, you’re taking them away from your FB page (which is good) and then hoping they read the blog post, perhaps “Like” it, and comment on a call to action, etc. If they don’t engage on the blog then readers most likely won’t go back to the FB page and comment. My point is that there is a tendency to look at blog posts that you’ve linked to on FB, look at the analytics and compare them to other posts. They’re not the same.

  • http://twitter.com/KaRilCa Karen Rilstone

    Chris, if you use Hootsuite, you can schedule posts to your Facebook Business Page in the same way that you schedule Tweets. HTH. Karen

  • http://twitter.com/daniellesmyname Danielle Hohmeier

    Totally agree with that ‘be specific’ guideline. I’ve found that you really have to ask people to comment, give feedback, even ‘like’ your page. Maybe it is just that people are still so used to using Facebook merely for browsing… We marketers are convinced that interaction and engagement in social media is obvious, but I think a lot of people still are not ready to comment on some random person or companies post.

    And I think commenting or posting on related pages, sort of like blog commenting is totally normal and not trolling for fans (as long as, like you said, you are there to help, there for a purpose). It is a great way for people to discover you.

    Also, Facebook ads, if you’ve got some extra time/money to invest can really help. There are more short term than say AdWords (make them specific and only run for short periods at a time so people don’t get sick of seeing them). As much as we think people don’t click on ads on Facebook, they are the number one ‘like’ resource for Pages. I had some ads running for a client directing to their website, and added one for their Facebook Page. The ad directing to their Page has performed way better.

  • http://twitter.com/WorkingNaked Lisa Kanarek

    I agree with the “be consistent” suggestion. It makes people want to come back for more.

    I used to think Facebook was a waste of time until the beginning of this month when I hosted my annual holiday, Working Naked Day. The traffic on my page and the increased traffic to my site as a result of posting on Facebook, was incredible. It increased my fan base, helped me grow subscribers and readers are commenting more often. It’s become a new way to interact with other business owners.

  • http://www.jasonleister.com Jason Leister

    Chris,

    Forgive me for asking this if you’ve already posted about it…

    Do you have a goal for your Facebook activity?

    I know you said you’ve been hitting the Dan Kennedy stuff, so I’m just genuinely curious if you’re looking to come away with a specific result (measurable or not) or how you will know if your investment should continue?

    I think one of the biggest insights I get from using the Facebook fan pages is that it’s a reminder that I don’t know everything :)

    When I post content that I think is so-so and then see it stimulate comments and/or conversation, or when I post something I think is really going to take off and it doesn’t, it’s just a gentle reminder to stuff my little ego in a sack and simply listen to the people I’m trying to reach.

  • Guest

    Chris,

    Forgive me for asking this if you’ve already posted about it…

    Do you have a goal for your Facebook activity?

    I know you said you’ve been hitting the Dan Kennedy stuff, so I’m just genuinely curious if you’re looking to come away with a specific result (measurable or not) or how you will know if your investment of time/effort/dollars should continue?

    I think one of the biggest insights I get from using the Facebook fan pages is that it’s a reminder that I don’t know everything :)

    When I post content that I think is so-so and then see it stimulate comments and/or conversation, or when I post something I think is really going to take off and it doesn’t, it’s just a gentle reminder to stuff my little ego in a sack and simply listen to the people I’m trying to reach.

  • http://twitter.com/mktgcopywriter Debra Jason

    Chris, you can use Hootsuite to program Facebook posts at different times.

  • Anonymous

    Hey Chris,
    I just read your blog and think all that advice is head on! My only suggestion would be more pictures. I know my friends love to see my new media. Fun stuff, real stuff it’s all good stuff. But, if your not comfortable I understand.
    Best,
    Jennifer

  • Anonymous

    Don’t forget relevance. Rather than posting than multiple posts to engage users in different time zones, you can use the geographic targeting for each post.

    I actually like the Fan Page as a tool to build a community. We’ve set up quite a few with great engagement. It just takes practice.

  • http://otakupahp.com Pablo (OtakuPahp)

    Ok, my two cents

    If you want to schedule updates uses hootsuite (i think it should do the job), as you stated is important to check the hours with more activity. In one on my client’s page people interact more on weekends.

    Now that facebook modified fan pages you can interact with other pages just like another fan, so you can likes another blog pages and participate like any other person (if you want to).

    Once you “get” facebook is kind of useful, but you need to understand it jejeje

    • http://mrtunes.ca/blog Mr. Tunes

      i agree, hootsuite does auto-posting to facebook pages the best. i looked at a bunch of tools and hootsuite lets you pick the image.

    • http://thedealerblog.com TuneyFish

      +1 for Hootsuite – also if you haven’t done so – sync it with Google Analytics and you’ll see some cool overlays in how activity in social media drives other sources of traffic – ie: search

  • http://twitter.com/waxgirl333 waxgirl333

    On top of these excellent points I would say don’t expect too much too soon. It’s a great tool but social media is more of a marathon, not a sprint -although the “sudden successes” seem to get all the press they are far and few between.

  • http://mydarabell.com/ Dara Bell

    Chris I think you chose well. I think to me FB seems to work well for lower cost products like Pepsi, Coke etc. I think luxury items will not sell as well. It’s just a hunch. I think that would require more stories with very high quality video!

    People I think doing it well are Pam Slim. Strangely Seth Godin too. I don’t think their is major difference with Twitter with regards posting times. I think 6.30 onwards is best.

    Dara

  • http://www.ricardobueno.com Ricardo Bueno

    In the new Facebook Pages layout you have the option to “use Facebook as [Your Page Name]“. I’ve explored it a bit and the feature seems useful. You can’t comment on other people’s walls but you can comment on walls to pages you like. I think it’s pretty neat but as with other things, in moderation. Don’t just go spamming other page’s walls to try and get traffic back to your own page.

    Anyway, love what you’ve done with the Blog Topics Community amigo, great group there!

    • Anonymous

      @Chris: Ricardo’s advice here on commenting as the Page could be really helpful in your case. Here’s how it would play out:
      As you come across other Facebook Pages about blogging, leave some comments as the “Blog Topics” rather than from your personal profile (you’ll have to make sure you’re logged into Facebook as that Page, and then Like that other Page). You can even add a “– Chris” at the end to make it more personal. As long you’re not spammy about this and really are offering a useful contribution, people will be inclined to click that “Blog Topics” link back to your Page.

  • http://www.uprinting.com/wholesale-poster-printing.html wholesale poster printing

    I actually enjoyed this post. When it come to marketing, being consistent is really important, to avoid confusion. Thanks for sharing this one, reading this gave me an idea.

  • http://www.danieldecker.net Daniel Decker

    Not sure if anyone else mentioned this yet but I’m personally a fan of the custom reveal tab. The special tab that a new person lands on before they have LIKED the page. Usually has a custom message that encourages them to click the LIKE button to become a part of the community and offers them access to something they can use right then (free download, access to special link, etc). I’ve seen LIKE conversions increase significantly, especially when you begin to market beyond your core following. The custom landing / reveal tab gives them more info about WIIFM (What’s in it for me?).

  • http://www.danieldecker.net Daniel Decker

    Not sure if anyone else mentioned this yet but I’m personally a fan of the custom reveal tab. The special tab that a new person lands on before they have LIKED the page. Usually has a custom message that encourages them to click the LIKE button to become a part of the community and offers them access to something they can use right then (free download, access to special link, etc). I’ve seen LIKE conversions increase significantly, especially when you begin to market beyond your core following. The custom landing / reveal tab gives them more info about WIIFM (What’s in it for me?).

  • http://ariherzog.com Ari Herzog

    Echoing your third bullet on posting frequency, a best practice to consider echoing is of the top 10 liked Facebook Pages, their aggregate posting frequency is 1.7 times a day. Granted they have millions of likers — but it does scale. People are inundated on their news feeds with updates from both friends and pages, so don’t update too much.

  • http://ariherzog.com Ari Herzog

    Echoing your third bullet on posting frequency, a best practice to consider echoing is of the top 10 liked Facebook Pages, their aggregate posting frequency is 1.7 times a day. Granted they have millions of likers — but it does scale. People are inundated on their news feeds with updates from both friends and pages, so don’t update too much.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    I can’t figure out Facebook either. My interactions there remind me of SMS interaction, lacking in depth, but happening often. I can’t yet tell if this is a benefit or a problem.

  • http://goinswriter.com Jeff Goins

    I see that people are more responsive to messages posted to Facebook that facilitate community instead of driving them to another site (unlike Twitter).

  • http://goinswriter.com Jeff Goins

    I see that people are more responsive to messages posted to Facebook that facilitate community instead of driving them to another site (unlike Twitter).

  • Pingback: Tips for Sharing Content on Facebook | Goins, Writer

  • http://www.theuniuni.com/ cheap bras

    Amazing write-up! This could aid plenty of people find out more about this particular issue. Are you keen to integrate video clips coupled with these? It would absolutely help out. Your conclusion was spot on and thanks to you; I probably won’t have to describe everything to my pals. I can simply direct them here!

  • http://vi4s.com/ aion_gold

    Well, I have been worried about how to
    improve my aion gold in my playing games a few years ago. In deed, my dragon
    nest gold are not very good and just little eden eternal gold. But now I have
    solved this question.

    .

GetSocial