Have you noticed that interaction on your Facebook page is down? I have.
And then I noticed that I wasn’t receiving YOUR post updates. Initially I couldn’t figure out why and then I found the culprit…Networked Blogs.
Let me show you:
Your third party posts may not be showing up for most readers.
Beckie was the lucky blogger who’s post showed up today (since I’ve started watching this it’s typically been Heather).Take a look at the copy circled in red, “See 81 more posts from NetworkedBlogs.” That’s you. You’ve all been hidden from me.
Here’s what it looks like when I click through:
And there’s Heather. Right there at the top of the feed. This is great, but when I am scrolling through updates I gloss right over that little option to click through.
Gah! Please tell me I am not alone. Otherwise this whole post is going to make me feel a bit stupid.
The problem isn’t really Networked Blogs per se, but if you’re using that application or something similar most of your fans are probably seeing about the same thing I am.
It’s such a problem, there is a whole chat on the Networked Blogs site dedicated to the issue.
A recent study by EdgeRank Checker suggests that using a third party like Hootsuite, TweetDeck and Twitter to update your Facebook page decreases your interaction by about 80%. Wow. That’s A LOT.
Even worse? Utilizing a syndicated feed like Networked Blogs and RSS Graffiti. I am going to go so far as to say using a third party app to publish your posts might just be the biggest Facebook mistake you can make!
It appears Facebook penalizes posts published by a third party, effectively removing it from, or pushing it down in the news feed. It also collapses third party updates.
In order to ensure that you generate maximum interaction on your page, I suggest that you manually post updates whenever possible from your computer or an official Facebook app (Facebook for iPhone, Android, etc.).
Interestingly, mobile updates had the Facebook highest interaction rate at about 69 percent. Perhaps it’s because a large percentage included exclamation points (controversy or good news) or maybe it’s because most do not include links…
Then again, I schedule posts in advance and then get so busy in the day I sometimes forget to update Facebook. I’ve set an alarm on my phone, but perhaps this could be a bigger problem?
So tell me. Do you currently use a third party to update to your Facebook account? If you do are you going to stop? I am really interested in your feedback.
I do right now, but I’m thinking about stopping… it seems like no one gets my updates at all there 🙁
Sarah,
I have moved my posts to manual…I am going to see how the change affects interaction. If interaction goes up, I am obviously going to stick with it. My biggest concern? That I will forget to manually post….I already did it this morning! LOL
xoxo
Tauni
I guess this is one time when it pays off to be a technology dufus. I don’t know to post updates using a third party, so I always do it the old fashioned way. Never woulda thought it would turn out to be a good thing. LOL!
LOL Kara. I don’t think you are a tech dufus…I think I am going to switch back over to manual and see if it makes a difference though. I still have a small blog and 20% of my readers is teeny tiny. I can’t afford not to reach that other 80%!
xoxo
Tauni
I’m gonna keep using my autopost apps (networked blogs, etc) and then re-post links whenever I have time. Sure, it’s redundant, but only to about 20% of my readers. Ha!
Heather,
That’s probably a good idea. I am torn…It’s such a convenient time saver and I don’t want to forget (like I did this morning), but interaction on those posts has dropped to under 1000 for me…I think I am going to try going manual for a while and see what happens.
xoxo
Tauni
I did use networked blogs but I stopped because of this exact problem. I didn’t know if people were seeing my posts. I also stopped because I like adding a personal touch to updates. I am a human and not a robot and I want my friends/fans to know that.
Great article!
Ginger, I think you’ve made a great point! I think your fans probably enjoy your personal touch. Have you seen an uptick in interaction since you’ve stopped using Networked Blogs?
xoxo
Tauni
That is why I have always posted my posts directly to our page, and like Ginger mentioned, it also makes you look human. You can add something to what you post that way. This is a great article for those who didn’t know about this of course! Hopefully it will help a lot of people. 🙂
Thanks Aimee! I love your perspective.
It’s hard to determine what’s best…I haven’t used Networked Blogs for a while, but I have been a huge fan of utilizing Hootsuite which allows me to schedule updates AND include a more personal message. The extra time savings has been a blessing. HOWEVER, I don’t feel like I can afford to utilize that little time saving measure if 80% of my readers are essentially blocked. I have gone back to manual posting and will continue to try that to see if it helps with interaction.
I don’t have a FB page set up for my blog. When I first started my blog I linked it up to my personal FB…but then I got worried that I wanted to post to my blog more often than I wanted it to show up on my FB. Current solution is to just share a link to a blog post now and then that I really do want to share with my FB friends. It’s worked for me. I don’t know if it makes any difference in who clicks on it, but at least I don’t feel like I’m spamming my FB friends with my blog 🙂
Steph, I post things here and there on my personal page too! I would encourage you to consider a Facebook “page” if you feel you have the time. While it is “just another thing,” it sends A LOT of traffic to your blog 🙂 Anyway, let me know if you set one up. I’d love to come over and “like” it.
xoxo
Tauni
Now are you sure mine just didn’t show up at the top because you love me the best? 😉
Beckie, LOL that very well could be 🙂 You know Facebook does tend to populate the things THEY think you will like. I think they want me to like you…Good thing I do!
xoxo
Tauni
I stopped using Networked Blogs about 6 months ago because I thought it would be better to manually add my posts, but a lot of the time I forgot to add my own posts to my feed. And I have had quite a few people on my FB page ask me why they are not receiving my feed on there anymore. So I am thinking of adding it again. I am interested to see what everyone says 🙂
xoxo
Jen
Jen, I was using Hootsuite to update…It gave me the opportunity to schedule the post and still include a personal note. According to the research it does a little bit better than Networked Blogs, but not much. I have decided to experiment with manual posting and see how it goes. Hopefully it will be better than today. I forgot to add the post until almost lunch time! Sheesh.
xoxo
Tauni
Go figure… that’s why no one is seeing my posts! LOL! I do think I’ll keep using networked blogs because A. I know I’ll forget and B. links through networks blog count as a “follow” link where links posted directly to fb count as “no-follow.” I am going to try and post my links again later in the afternoon though for all the people that aren’t seeing them. Still getting used to all these new face book changes! Thanks for all the great info ladies! {hugs}
I honestly think this is one of those FB updates they thought would be awesome and helpful but actually sucks haha. I think for blog posts, manual sharing might actually be better, since so many people do use Networked blogs and FB does tend to nest those. Manually sharing blog posts might be away around the grouped updates. In my own feed, I have NOT noticed nesting based on updates from Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, though.
Unfortunately, simply not using third party apps to post won’t necessarily solve your problem. FB nests updates by keyword also. You’ll noticed it most on holidays and things like that where everyone is saying “Happy Easter!” then you’ll see “XX and 35 other friends posted about Easter” and with one or two updates shown, then the option to show the rest of the posts.
So, if you post your blog post with a little caption and that caption contains a key word that several of your other contacts may also be using, you still run the risk of being hidden in those nested updates. Same goes for links to products. All my writing friends post links to their books (or other books) on Amazon and so I’m always seeing “XX and 10 other friends posted about Amazon.com” in my feed.
Hello! Such great insight! I hadn’t really even thought about the keywords until you mentioned it. Thank you so very much for sharing!!!
xoxo
Tauni
Thanks for this. I thought people had stopped going to FB! I use Hootsuite and noticed this the other night, – thanks for clearing this up. May have to re-think Hootsuite or just use Google+ more.
Charmaine, I used to use Hootsuite (still do when I am to busy for anything else), but I have noticed that if I just post here and there when I have time it all works out…
xoxo
Tauni
I was using networked blogs, but noticed recently the same problem you did and switched to manually doing it for my blog page.