In the second installment of our “Facebook Fan Page Tips” series, we showed you the basic steps for setting up your new Facebook Page such as uploading the most effective profile picture, adding information, and hooking your page up to Faceobok Mobile for the ability to update on the move.
One of the most attractive benefits of the Facebook Platform for building your digital brand equity is the massive global audience and the potential to reach new fans/consumers. For this reason, it makes a lot of sense for you (whether a personal brand or corporate brand) to syndicate your blog to your Facebook Page where people have opted-in to join your niche conversation. This way, every time you post new information that your fans/consumers may be interested in reading, the conversation is brought directly to them.
With that said, have you ever wondered how to automatically feed a blog into your Facebook Page so that you don’t have to manually post it every time you pen a new article? We realize that some people like the extra control of adding new blog posts via status updates, but for most brands with less resources, this trick is a boon so I am happy to show you exactly how to put it in action!
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the import a blog to your Facebook Page process: (Remember you can click on each image for a closer view if necessary)
Step 1: Edit Facebook Page Settings
Whether your page is invisible to the public or published for the entire Facebook community to see, you will need to start by clicking the “Edit Page” link underneath your Facebook Page’s profile picture. Clicking this settings link will lead you to the main Facebook Page administrative dashboard.
Step 2: Edit Notes Application
Once on the main Facebook Page administrative dashboard, you will want to find the Notes application which will be depicted with an image of lined notebook paper. If you are viewing the page for one of the first times, the Notes application should be listed under applications as it is provided as default by Facebook.
If you have deleted the Notes application and it doesn’t appear on your administrative dashboard, don’t fret because it is possible to get it back. Under “More Applications” at the bottom, click “Browse More” and it should lead you to the Application Directory where you will want to search “Notes” in the search box. Click the Notes link and once on the application’s Facebook Page, click the “Add to my Page” link and you should be ready to rock!
Step 3: Import a Blog Under Notes Settings
Now that you are in Notes application, you will see a box in the upper right corner of the page that says Notes Settings. Unless you have previously gone through this exercise and add a blog to your Facebook Page, the box should read “You are not importing notes from an external blog.” Go ahead and click the “Import a blog” link underneath this statement.
Step 4: Add RSS Feed Web URL
You will not be lead a new screen with an overview of the Import a Blog function that asks you for your Web URL. You go about this one of two ways. The first method is the most sure proof approach to guaranteeing Facebook can grab your blog’s RSS feed. Whether you power your blog with WordPress, Blogger, Posterous, Tumblr, etc., whether it’s self-hosted, and/or whether or not you use an RSS feed management tool like Feedburner, the web url to your blog’s RSS feed can be found at link that looks like this –> http://yourwebsitedomain.com/feed.
If you are feeling a little adventurous as I was when writing this post, then go ahead and put in your website’s main URL, and Facebook will most likely be able to find your blog’s RSS feed. Be sure to tick off the legal disclaimer before clicking the “Start Importing” button or else Facebook won’t be able to grab your blog’s feed. If you need more information on RSS, read more about at Wikipedia.
Step 5: Preview Imported Blog
Assuming you are able to get Facebook to pull a valid RSS feed from your blog, the next screen you will be presented with is a preview of your imported blog. Make sure the imported feed is indeed your blog and then click the “Confirm Import” button in the right corner of the page. This action will pull all of your historical blog posts to date and activate the pulling of your blog posts to your Facebook Page.
Step 6: Review Notes Application Page
If everything is working correctly, you should now see all of your historical blog posts within the Notes application! However, remember that you cannot edit any the imported blog posts once they are fed to your Facebook Page! What you see is what you get but that shouldn’t be an issue as long as you are happy with your published post. There will also be a time delay between moment you publish your blog post and before Facebook picks up the latest post from your RSS feed.
Step 7: Review Blog on Your Wall
Once again, if everything is working correctly you should now see all of your historical blog post on your Facebook Page’s wall. If you don’t want to flood your page with blog post updates because your page is not new, you can always delete the status update from your wall. Removing the update does not delete the post from your Notes tab. Happy blogging!
If you have any questions about importing a blog to your Facebook Page, be sure to post comments below or contact our team of experts at Activ8Social.
