Update Facebook "Like" Page With Each New Blog Post?

crimsonfire

Something I've googled a lot but can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. I have a self-hosted Wordpress blog and a Facebook Like page for said blog. I wanted to set it up so that when I publish a new post to the blog it will automatically post a status update to the Facebook page providing a snippet of the post and a link to it.

I found a tutorial on importing your RSS feed but that doesn't suit me as it publishes the entire post to Facebook Notes. I merely want to inform people of the new post and drive traffic to the blog rather than duplicate it on the Facebook page where I get no ad revenue.

Any way to do this through wordpress plugins etc?

BrianD

I wouldn't recommend this approach. Firstly, it's been reported that Facebooks Edgerank gives a lower rating to automated posts reducing the likelihood of your fans seeing them in the first place.

The other thing is that people cop on when posts are automated and just won't interact with them resulting in the outcome above.

I would recommend that each time you write a blog entry is that over in Facebook you put in a personalised note e.g. "Just blogged about ... " with a link to your blog. You'll hopefully get some traction on Facebook and links back to your blog.

It's also worth while checking that you have all your Open Graph tags in place so your blog links posted in Facebook look good.

crimsonfire

Thanks very much! Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Although I don't know what Open Graph tags are. Are they something I should be aware of?

TheChrisD

crimsonfire wrote: »

Any way to do this through wordpress plugins etc?

Search FB for the RSS Graffiti app. It will read your blog's RSS feed, and can post updates to the page whenever a new post is detected.

jpmiddleton

TheChrisD wrote: »

Search FB for the RSS Graffiti app. It will read your blog's RSS feed, and can post updates to the page whenever a new post is detected.

I would recommend RSS graffiti also. It does more than just blog posts, but can do forum posts, twitter posts etc.

BrianD

I'm sure it's functionality is great but will go against you for your Edgerank. Best not to automate your content into Facebook.

Open Graph tags means that you have some control over how your links appear in, say, Facebook. It means that the image that appears beside each post is consistent, the site title is correct, URL etc. Particularly important if you are using the Like button on your site.

Here's a guide: https://developers.facebook.com/attachment/OpenGraphProtocol_v1.pdf/

crimsonfire

I like BrianDs approach. Seems a bit more personal and would be good for building up a community or a following. I will check out RSSGraffiti though, thanks!

crimsonfire

BrianD wrote: »

I'm sure it's functionality is great but will go against you for your Edgerank. Best not to automate your content into Facebook.

Open Graph tags means that you have some control over how your links appear in, say, Facebook. It means that the image that appears beside each post is consistent, the site title is correct, URL etc. Particularly important if you are using the Like button on your site.

Here's a guide: https://developers.facebook.com/attachment/OpenGraphProtocol_v1.pdf/

I've been reading up on this and have implemented on my site now to test it out. Very powerful tool actually. Thanks for the recommendation!