08/23/2022
Resharing this old post for Angela Kucherenko
Previously my attitude towards having your blog posts sent automatically to Facebook was that busy authors can't post at the same rate as big companies with marketing departments, and having your latest blog sent automatically to Facebook can fill that gap.
But today I've decided I can no longer recommend that. Automated posts just don't get the same engagement as a post you wrote yourself.
An automated Facebook post won't have:
* @-name tags of interested parties (so no guaranteed views)
* A customized headline, different from the name of the link (in most cases)
* A full-sized image that will grab people's attention
I don't have any evidence that Facebook punishes automated posts so they rank lower, but today I've realized that's besides the point. If you are relying on automation to be social for you, the post will fail. Social media will only help build your brand if you engage with people.
The clients I have who do well on Facebook are the ones who spend time there, period. Automation is too easy a crutch.
If you're experienced at marketing, you could still save some time using automation, but most of clients are not experienced marketers. They need to build a habit of engaging with their audience, and if your post automatically goes to Facebook it's too easy to forget it, or assume it's all taken care of. And if that automated post doesn't get traction on Facebook, it's too easy to assume it was the post that was bad. When really no one saw it, not even you.
Karl Schonborn Kristen Caven Kymberlie Calkins Ingalls Corina Berman Vacco California Writers Club Berkeley Cristina Deptula Laurie Panther Heather Haven Steve Cianfichi John Van Dinther Emily Silverman Christopher Wachlin Lynn Brown