Maximize Brand Exposure with Facebook and Blog Integration!

Facebook and Blog Integration Enables Brand Awareness

I received some feedback on an article I wrote for last month’s Mastering the Art of Social Media Marketing newsletter. In the article, I mentioned the need to integrate Facebook and blogs to improve social media coverage. It was clear from the feedback, however, that I had pretty much missed the objective.

In case you didn't know, I actually love criticism. It's how I know people are reading my stuff, processing my ideas, forming opinions one way or the other about them. To me, criticism is the ultimate compliment because it shows somebody cared enough to take time to respond to my ideas. 

So last weekend I set upon the task of finding ways in which a business could indeed integrate Facebook and a blog in order to give followers a more complete experience of its offerings.

I stress the term “integrate” very lightly here.  Many of my most astute readers are value-added resellers of business software like ERP and CRM systems for whom integration means automating processes across separate software tools so that manual activities are reduced or eliminated all together.

I treat integration in a different vein. I don’t just mean information input into one tool with automatic postings to another. It’s a larger concept that involves your marketing content that can and should be volleyed between Facebook and a blog to increase your SEO, brand awareness, knowledge leadership and lead conversion opportunities.

So, tipping my virtual hat to all my alert readers, I offer the following five ways a business can integrate Facebook and blogs:

1. RSS Feeds: This is an effective way to ensure every blog posting is fed into your Facebook profile. [Call me old-fashioned, but I choose to update mine manually.]
2. Parallel Content: When you add a new post to your blog, complement the post with smaller bits of related content that can highlight the point you’re making in the blog.
3. Emphasize Key Points: You can draw attention to a specific statement from your most recent blog post on your Facebook page. News Flash: not everybody reads your blog every time you post something new; by providing teasers in Facebook, you increase the chances more people will click through to the blog.
4. Create a Discussion: You can also start a separate discussion on your Facebook page (there is a Discussions tab) that relates to your latest blog posting. Some visitors to your Facebook page don’t always want to click away from Facebook to read your whole blog. If you give them a quick summary with a link to the blog (in case they end up wanting to read the whole blog after all!), then it’s another good way to drive traffic and gain mindshare. For an example of a Facebook discussion, see one I created for my last posting: Five Ways to Get Thousands to Read Your Next Press Release.
5. Facebook Link on Blog: Many bloggers give their readers a chance to follow them on Facebook by providing a link on the blog along side other social media links. Facebook is an effective consolidator of content for the curious; by receiving updates of friends and brands alike, it gives them a chance to pick and choose the content they wish to engage with much more effectively than any other social media tool out there.

Recap: If this blog posting isn't strong enough proof of it, I really do like to receive feedback. Most of the time, I'm happy to slug away at the keyboard like some punch-drunk pugilist. Every so often, though, it's good to see your opinions on paper. So fire away...I promise not to duck any punches!

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