How to use Facebook to build targeted blog traffic
Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, August 3, 2016
There are many ways to use Facebook to get traffic to your blog posts. For example, you can join a whole slew of blog marketing groups and share your latest work. Every now and then you'll get clicks coming through. And given that these groups are also full of other bloggers, you may end up getting the odd backlink from one or more of them, which is still valuable for SEO.
Needless to say you should build up a following on your own Facebook page for your blog, and share the links there. Sometimes you get on-shares of them, which bring in some more clicks.
But there's one tactic utilizing a Facebook page that takes longer and is more effective, particularly if you have a very specific niche that you're targeting.
Basically, you find a really good, relevant, busy Facebook page to like as yours. You slowly but surely build up a good rapport with the owner by engaging thoughtfully with his updates, sharing them to yours from time to time.
Then you write a blog post about that actual page, or the business or website that it's promoting. While you don't want to be obsequious it helps if it's generally positive in nature. Then, as your page, you share the blog post itself on his, with a little note saying what it's about.
Odds are that the page owner will read it closely, be chuffed at your implicit endorsement, then share it to his main stream. You'll get a torrent of hits to your blog as a result. You'll probably gain several new page likes as well since it's your Facebook update that will be shared.
This works in any niche. But I think the best one to use it in would be food blogging. It's a perfect fit.
Firstly, writing reviews of restaurants and cafes is a good way to get targeted search engine traffic because a lot of people search locally for this kind of specific info.
Also, cafes and restaurants have taken to Facebook like ducks to water. And many of them have massive, engaged followings on that network.
So, if you write a generally positive review of one of them of course they'll be pleased about it. And the odds are that whoever manages their page will share it, since it makes the establishment look good.
Obviously if it's scathingly critical this won't work at all! Might even get you banned from the page ...
So, it has to be positive, yet balanced. And it shouldn't be insincere. Only do this if you genuinely like that venue. If all you ever do is give five star reviews when they're not deserved you'll gradually lose your readers' trust and therefore your authority.
But if you're in that foodie niche and you did this for a few of your favourite local eateries it could bring you a lot of targeted traffic in a comparatively short space of time.
Needless to say you should build up a following on your own Facebook page for your blog, and share the links there. Sometimes you get on-shares of them, which bring in some more clicks.
But there's one tactic utilizing a Facebook page that takes longer and is more effective, particularly if you have a very specific niche that you're targeting.
Basically, you find a really good, relevant, busy Facebook page to like as yours. You slowly but surely build up a good rapport with the owner by engaging thoughtfully with his updates, sharing them to yours from time to time.
Then you write a blog post about that actual page, or the business or website that it's promoting. While you don't want to be obsequious it helps if it's generally positive in nature. Then, as your page, you share the blog post itself on his, with a little note saying what it's about.
Odds are that the page owner will read it closely, be chuffed at your implicit endorsement, then share it to his main stream. You'll get a torrent of hits to your blog as a result. You'll probably gain several new page likes as well since it's your Facebook update that will be shared.
This works in any niche. But I think the best one to use it in would be food blogging. It's a perfect fit.
Firstly, writing reviews of restaurants and cafes is a good way to get targeted search engine traffic because a lot of people search locally for this kind of specific info.
Also, cafes and restaurants have taken to Facebook like ducks to water. And many of them have massive, engaged followings on that network.
So, if you write a generally positive review of one of them of course they'll be pleased about it. And the odds are that whoever manages their page will share it, since it makes the establishment look good.
Obviously if it's scathingly critical this won't work at all! Might even get you banned from the page ...
So, it has to be positive, yet balanced. And it shouldn't be insincere. Only do this if you genuinely like that venue. If all you ever do is give five star reviews when they're not deserved you'll gradually lose your readers' trust and therefore your authority.
But if you're in that foodie niche and you did this for a few of your favourite local eateries it could bring you a lot of targeted traffic in a comparatively short space of time.
