This post is probably long overdue; it’s something I’ve been wanting to share for a while. We’ve been getting comments and messages from other bloggers saying they want to up their social media game and are not sure how. Or they ask us to cross-promote, which we’re usually happy to do, as long as the content fits ours. The Travelettes Facebook page boasts an impressive 313.000 followers at the moment and continues to grow steadily. So how did we do it? I am here to share this with you today.
1. Define how you want to be seen.
So what exactly does this mean? As a blogger you ideally want to build an image, a package people think of when they think of you. This doesn’t just happen; you can define how you wish to be perceived. For Travelettes it was always clear that we wanted to be viewed as a cool bunch of girls who are experts in all things travel, who are relatable, who seek to inspire and inform at eye-level. So the content we share on our page is looking to fulfil these points.
2. Quality first
While quantity does matter ( we post 3-4 times a day), quality is more important at the end of the day. You want followers to get to know your page for its kick-ass content which they love to see pop up in their timeline. Sharing quality content is not difficult and there are 2, maybe 3 main strategies I go by here. First of all I like to share travel content that has popped up in my timeline and has already got a good amount of shares or likes, so I know a lot of people like this sort of thing. Our main focus is on sharing links, because they make it easy to position yourself, as described in the previous point. The general rule should be: if you enjoy this content, your followers will probably feel the same way. Something to always be on the lookout for is the wow-factor. If you see or read something that makes you go “wow” for whatever reason – go ahead and share, people will appreciate it.
3. Don’t just share other pages’ posts, create your own links, photos and videos.
Many people don’t realize that they are potentially giving up on new likes by simply sharing the posts of other pages instead of posting those links as a new post. Doing the latter means that a successful post will elicit many shares which makes a lot of new people aware of you and your page – and some are likely to press the follow button to see what you come up with in the future. I’ll give you an example: my friend Jiska is a very talented illustrator, and the other day she shared . To help boost her page, I shared her post of the drawing and it ended up getting a total of 115 shares. Jiska’s page thus got over 100 new followers over night.
4. Share a lot of external content.
A mistake I see from a lot of pages is that they only share links to their own websites, and that won’t help them with the algorithm. A quality Facebook page shares relevant content from different websites, typically things that people will want to read and that get a good engagement rate. As mentioned above, I like to share the posts that have popped up in my own timeline and that I felt compelled to click on, because if it interests you, it may well interest your followers.
5. Links
As I said in the previous point, external links should be shared as much, if not more than, your own links; this does a good deal towards creating trust with your followers. It lets them know that you have their best interests in mind and are making an effort to provide them with the most watchable travel content available on the web. If you always share quality links, your followers will expect only that from you, so they are more likely to click on any link you share, including your own.
6. Quotes
Think of them what you will, but quotes work. Skip the cheesy ones people have heard a million times and actually roam the web for some good ones that you like. Then pick an image you like and make your own quote in photoshop. Stealing other people’s artwork is lame and illegal, so don’t do that. If you don’t have an amazing photograph handy, go to sites that allow you to use license-free images. We really like .
7. Engage your community
Talk to your audience directly. Ask questions, comment on their comments and throw in the odd status update that you would also post in your personal facebook page. In other words: be eye-level with your followers. Let them take part in the conversation and value their input by giving likes, loves and feedback. Occasionally invite them to message you with their suggestions of great content or ask what sort of thing they would love to see on your facebook page. Maybe create a poll questioning if people like video, links or photo posts the best and translate the results into action.
8. Use the scheduling tool
I said something about quality but a consistency in posting is important. Ideally aim for once a day minimum; if you can manage more, that’s perfect. We like to take an hour or two each week in which we schedule posts for the month to come, plus a minute every day to share our latest blogpost. It’s easy for life to catch up on you and scheduling ahead helps you to be more flexible.
That’s it for our top tips to run a successful facebook page. What would you add? Do you use Facebook already to help promote your blog or business? Let us know in the comments!
