If my stats are any indication, many of you are relying on the Facebook page to alert you to new posts here. If that’s the case, I have some sad news. Facebook is consistently and strategically hiding each post from up to 90% of you. It’s worse than it’s ever been and expected to continue!
This is true for ANY Facebook page you like!
The Problem
Like any other business, Facebook wants to make money. They’re purposely limiting who sees posts from Facebook pages and then forcing the company (blogger) to pay for their posts to show up in their fans’ News Feeds. Even when posts are highly engaging (which normally makes it show up more), only 30% of you are seeing even those posts. You’re missing out on some great conversation and you don’t even know it!
Here’s what I really hate about this: when I pay to promote a post, it automatically turns a post into an ad. I feel like I’m spamming you, and you feel spammed (just me?) If it were like a traditional subscription service where the consumer pays for the content (think magazines), then you better believe I’d be honored and willing to dole content out! While I’m not saying I feel like the content here is worth paying money for, I am saying that this model Facebook set up does not work well for bloggers.
I don’t mind spending money to promote posts to make sure you’re getting the content you asked for (you’ll see Sponsored underneath), but I can’t do that consistently either.
Below I have 3 alternate, automated ways you can be sure you don’t miss a post. I hope this helps you not just with this blog but others too.
Option 1: Get Notifications on Facebook
If you really want to continue using Facebook to hop over here, choosing to “Show in News Feed” is not enough action (since they’re not actually doing that as you requested). You need to turn notifications on. You can do that by going to the Facebook page, click on Liked so the drop-down menu appears, and then select Get Notifications.
When you do this, you’ll get a notification the second I post something new to the Facebook page.
I’ll be honest on this option: if you do set notifications on for too many blogs, your notifications are going to drive you a little bonkers. Options 2 or 3 might be better.
Option 2: Subscribe via a Feed Reader
If you are savvy enough to know what an RSS feed is, this is probably a moot point, but you can use sites like Feedly.com or Bloglovin.com to subscribe to this site’s RSS feed. I always compare it to a blog-only email inbox.
The downside to feed readers is you have to remember to visit the feed reader to read all the posts. The good news is when you eventually revisit it, ALL the posts will be there waiting in sequential order for you. This is actually my preferred method of keeping up with blogs.
I find that RSS subscriptions are a little too technical for some, so Option 3 is probably your best bet.
Option 3: Get an Email
The best way to be sure you’re getting alerted to all the posts is to have it delivered to your email inbox. For this site, an email is delivered around 7am with the previous day’s post. If you want to sign up: go here.
This option is great since most people keep a consistent eye on their email and you have total control about comes in and what doesn’t. If you need a good way to organize incoming emails from your favorite bloggers, check out my post on how to use filters to manage your inbox.
Alright, that’s my PSA for the day. If you are reading this at all, I appreciate you so much! You just have no idea how much I think of you!
If you start seeing some Sponsored posts on Facebook, please don’t feel spammed. My goal is to get the posts out to people who have already stated an interest in reading content here. I’m trying to help!
Share this post with your friends, readers or anyone else that might benefit. Facebook is NOT being nice but hopefully with these options, we can still connect with the content we want.
Argh, I’m having the same issues. 🙂