About six weeks ago I wrote a post here talking about Facebook and its Edgerank algorithm that prevents a majority of your connections from seeing what you put out, whether it’s your regular profile or your business profile. I then told you how you can set things up so you can see what you want to see on Facebook with a couple of neat little steps.
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Today I’m going to give you 7 things you can try to increase your Facebook visibility. I’ll warn you up front that some of these are time intensive, and yet I’ve found that they work in small degrees. Are you ready? Let’s begin:
1. Select 5 to 10 people you’re connected to and visit their page. I don’t mean the people you talk to all the time but some of the other people whose news you almost never see, if you see it at all. Check out the page to see if they have any activity whatsoever. If not, think about unfriending them; they obviously won’t care. If they do then find something you can like or comment on, and if you don’t see anything like that then send them a short message asking them how things are going or whatever. If they respond, you’re on your way.
2. Share a lot of the images you see in your stream from your friends. I know, you think it’s redundant, but when you realize just how little of your stuff is being seen you then realize how little stuff from others is being seen. There’s nearly a billion people on Facebook; do you really think most people will mind if they happen to see something twice? Not only that but it seems Facebook has taken care of that by grouping things that have shown up in one’s stream more than once in a day, so no worries.
3. Either “like” or comment on more of the things you see in your stream. I’ll admit that I was hesitant to do this type of thing for a couple of years. Then I realized that it’s a way of making sure you keep seeing things from people you want to see it from, especially once I learned about Edgerank. That’s how Facebook decides what you see, by determining what you liked to see previously. And if people see you more often, there’s a likelihood that they’ll like your stuff and share it as well.
4. “Like” many pages of things you like that pertain to your business or interests. I have joined a few leadership pages because that’s what I talk about mainly on my Facebook business page. I also love motivational stuff so I’ve joined a few of those pages so I can see and share what they have here and there. And of course a few things you really like which, in my case, means Star Trek and Snoopy! 🙂
5. Visit select pages that you’ve liked, go through them, and if there’s anything you see that is share worthy share it. This is the biggest thing I do, and I do it daily. I do it for three reasons. One, because it helps me find a couple more things I can share on my business page other than my own blog posts. Two, it helps give me some things to share that others might not see because they’re haven’t liked what I like. And three, it promotes other people’s stuff, which they like and thus feel a sense of obligation to share some of your stuff. It’s all about cooperation in the long run.
6. Invite people to your page. As simple as this one seems, you’d be surprised by how many people never think about doing this. Your group page offers you a chance to invite people you’re connected to without your necessarily having to publicize it in the open, although doing that every once in awhile can’t hurt either. My strategy was to selectively invite people in groups rather than everyone at once, so I did it by inviting 50 people at a time. You only get to invite them once, just so you know.
7. Ask people to share your stuff. We hate doing this, and I’ll admit that it’s rare I’ll do it. There’s nothing wrong with asking people if they’ll share something you think is pretty special but don’t abuse it. If you always ask then there’s nothing special about it and people will get tired of seeing it. I dropped a page I liked that had lots of great stuff in it because there was always this message asking you to share, and it was there when I did share, thus making it hard for me to write something over it.
I know you’re asking “how much did your traffic increase.” It’s hard to say. However, I’ve noticed that I’m seeing people on Facebook whose missives I’ve never seen before, and the number of people who have liked my Facebook page has increased. None of that depresses me at all. By the way, if you’d like to check out my Facebook page take a look at that little widget to the right and give it a little click. 😉
Meanwhile, I did a video with my Hot Blog Tips crew on the topic of alliances, which kind of pertains to this topic, and we even argue a bit over SEO:
http://youtu.be/XyJVEjPqU1c
#6 works for me, the rest not so much. What I find that does help attract people really well, whether its on my page or my profile, is to ask people questions – just as I do in my blog. I’ve been getting a bit sloppy about that recently but when I do it, it works.
I think the main thing is to treat the people on Facebook (and Twitter, come to that) as real people and just act accordingly.
Val, I’d agree with you except for Facebook and its screening system. You get to treat some people like real people but not everyone because you don’t see everyone. Even people I’ve put into my “best friends” filter don’t show up in my normal stream if I haven’t talked to them in awhile. So strange… Anyway, that’s why we sometimes have to do the extra steps, especially if promoting for a business reason.
Mitch, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but Facebook have changed the way they show people in the timeline. At first I thought it was only to do with Pages, but it’s happening with the profiles, too. The only way really to see everyone (and even then it’s not foolproof) is to create lists and use those. I’ve been telling everyone I know on FB to do that.
This might give you some more info but there’s a lot more about it online:
http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2012/10/26/will-you-pay-facebook-for-traffic/
Val, I’ve written about it twice on this blog in the last 6 weeks. lol So yes, I know about it already.
Great ways for me and others! I am really pleased to this. Because i have no previous ideas about it. Actually, your every way is valuable to increase visibility on facebook. Keep going………………
Thanks Alyssa; I’m going to try.
Selecting a small group of people to know more is very doable. I think if you take the time to get to know some of the people on your list then they in turn might help you out by sharing your images or adds. Also helping someone else out by sharing their stuff will most likely get your things shared as well. Great post, Thanks for the advice Mitch.
No problem Tanya, glad to offer something that might help. I’ve enjoyed getting to know a few people better, and of course every once in awhile you have to drop someone as well. 🙂
As usual, excellent tips Mitch. I would add a different point of view. An “easy” way can be with using Facebook API, developing deeper connections between website and Facebook page, in addition for membership website Facebook connect as login option or invitation to join. On the other hand developing Facebook app and this is possible even without programing skills or paying a fortune.
Carl, that’s an easy way for you. I don’t know how to do any of that stuff; probably most people don’t either. At this point of my life I’m just not as technical as I used to be.
It isn’t necessary to have development skills, there are already made applications that are available and are definitely cheap $20-$50, those are pretty standard and brandable birthdays, quizes, gifts, etc… There are also about 2-3 applications that doesn’t require programing skills and can directly export in FBML, but are actually based on HTML5, so app can work on mobile phones and Facebook without any problem. I hope I will find some free time to write few guides during the weekend, it is as difficult as installing WordPress manually.
Great post Mitch, are you reading minds? 🙂 I am in the process of coming up with a Facebook sweepstake and other means to get more people to like my page and get to know my business better, and I was having a hard time coming up with great ideas, but the moment I saw the title of this post, I knew right there and then that I am one article away to finding some answers. SME has done it again! Thanks a lot, Mitch!
Glad to be of service Santosh. I hope some of these helps your contest take off and be a big success.
I bumped into your post and found it to be very intriguing. This information can be very useful for increasing my visibility on FB as it somthing i lag on.BTW thanks and you are now on my follow list
Thanks vinay; good luck with it all.
Hey Mitch,
That’s what I actually looking for very long time. I’ve a FB page which I’m looking to promote positively but didn’t know how to do it correctly. After reading this post, I know that best ways to do it.
Glad to help Aasma.
I have noticed this a lot on facebook, when I do not pay attention to the posts and pictures people from my profile post, they ignore mine as well. However, if I like or comment on people’s updates, they start doing the same with me as well. It seems that they do not like my stuff because it is good but just because I like their stuff. They are returning my favour. LOL.
David, there is this quid pro quo thing that seems to be how human nature is. I fought it for a long time, but I’ve finally embraced it and I’m having fun with it all.
Are you using Facebook as your PAGE or as your PROFILE when you do these things?
I normally don’t use my personal profile these days because I think I’ve dipped into the “well of friends and family” too much. They’re like “Yes, we KNOW you’re an artist already!!” lol
But I wonder if I go around commenting as my page if the Edgerank will work the same way.
Sometimes I’ll post what I think is my best artwork ever and only 20 people see it. Then I post something not even finished just on a whim and 110 people see it and I’ll get a few shares.
The most viewed post I ever had on my page was a share of a photo someone else posted. Not even my own stuff. Sheesh.
I don’t like to ask people to share my stuff. I’ve done it a few times and it never really made any difference – but that could be because I wasn’t actively sharing other folks stuff either.
So in essence I kind of “drive-by” post on my FB page. I’m not sure how much work I’m willing to put into it, either. There was a time when I really wanted to be seen and all that but these days I’m not very concerned about it.
John, I do a little of both. Most of what I share goes on my personal page, but if it’s related to what I do in business or seems like it could be business motivation I’ll pop it on that page as something different than just my posts. Truthfully, if it wasn’t for sharing the fun stuff it would feel a lot more like work.
Mitch, I’m one of those guilty of asking for shares or likes. I hate to appear braggy, etc. I rarely post my blog posts on my personal page (I did today for a tweet seat event) but normally I really shy away from that stuff. I guess we have to promote ourselves before others do or not? I do try to mix up what I share on my page as well. I do have networked blogs on my “page” – is that recommended or not? Something I’ve been wondering about lately too. Thanks Mitch.
Lisa, I rarely post my blog on my personal page unless I think it’s something fairly general that I’d like to share, like my motivational posts, but I usually wait a period of time before sharing it there. Though I share my blog posts on my business page, I don’t share them all and, after all, I have a couple thousand I could choose from. 🙂
In other words one must keep an active persona. But as you said this kind of behavior can eat a lot of your time. I personally don’t have the time, I rather read blogs and articles instead of going through facebook pages, groups, friends I don’t really have contact with and so on…
Its a good strategy don’t get me wrong, your the only internet marketing blogger I know to give such tips for free because I know it takes a huge amount of time and testing to develop a balanced social media strategy that actually works and some people (including me) won’t share such things.
I thank you for that Cristian; maybe I should charge for people to read this blog. lol
Yeah, gotta test stuff here and there to see how it all works. There’s definitely a time suck to it all, but it’s good in the long run to know what might or might not work.
Mitch it is hard to get people to share your stuff. It is like they either do not want to help you or they think it will cost them.
I share other people stuff without them asking. Because rejection is hard to take. Most people get tired of the excuses people will give you.
I also hate to be seen as begging, because once I make it do not come running to me then.
True Michael. I don’t beg for anything, but I do share liberally these days. But I encounter so many people, like you, who say they don’t have the time to read or comment or share things; such is life.
I agree, liking loads of fan pages does open a lot of doors for networking. Personally, I don’t just stick to fan pages that’s in line with I do. I do that to diversify but different stroke for different folks 🙂 Great tips!
Thanks Lexi. I share lots of stuff, but it’s a strategy worth exploring for other purposes as well.
Hi Mitch
As usual, superb ideas for increasing visibility on FB without a doubt. Now i’m extremely pleased and also enjoy to choose the matter. I do believe Your current publish is very important to me due to the fact I possess are cluess regarding it.I suggested, eveyone must adhere to your path.
Thanks Shan. If you try it I hope it works for you.
Hi,your all 7 points about visibility on facebook is really awesome. These ideas helpful for us to increase our visibility on facebook.
I was totally unaware of this fact.
thanks for sharing this information with us.
Hey Mitch, I haven’t been active on FB in a while. I am about to see if you’ve un-friended me for a lack of activity. 🙂
You’d best start playing the game Marcie! lol Nah, I’d never drop you.
Great tips! Increasing your visibility on Facebook is quite common and most beneficial task to get hold off huge amount of traffic. #2 , #6 and #7 has worked out for me well. For #7, you need to be quite particular as people may share it in some random sites or pages which are not appropriate for your business. One thing I have notice is that you need to be regular and relevant enough in posting stuff to increase your visibility on any social sites.
That’s an interesting thought about #7 Charls, but the way I see it is if someone else shares your stuff, it’s on them as to whether it’s in an appropriate place or not. Me, the writer, won’t have anything to do with that. Me the sharer needs to know better.
Sir, if i can add one point here, what about participating in facebook forums related.There will be lot of people and you might get introduced to new people.
Raj, I don’t know anything about Facebook forums; I didn’t even know they existed. Do people go there to talk about Facebook?
The best way among all the points that have been described is to share the content of others.In this way we can benefit along with others.This is the greatest way to improve Facebook visibility.Thanks for sharing this wonderful article.
Thanks for publishing such a good article with awesome tips given. I am sure these wonderful ideas will definitely help me to increase my Facebook visibility.
Great tips im trying to get more visabillity on Facebook. I think your tips are really usefull, im going to try them out. I’ll let you know how it worked out!
Good luck to you Jason; I hope some of it works for you.