I’m happy to report there have been improvements to the Facebook news feed and how third party posts are handled since I wrote Is saving time posting to Facebook losing you customers?, but it still may not be the best way to be sure your people see your posts!
Are your posts getting lost in a group?
Facebook changes up the News Feed on a regular basis and we all need to keep an eye on how changes might be interfering in our interactions with our people.
Posts from Networked Blogs is a good example. While you thankfully can no longer “hide all from Networked blogs” from an easy drop-down list, Facebook is back to grouping all posts from this third party app.
What does that mean to you? Well, your people will still see that you’ve published a new blog post, but only if they read the fine print at the bottom.
The problem is, the fine print doesn’t catch anyone’s attention. On Facebook, people know you by your thumbnail. They love you, so when they see that beautiful tiny representation of you they are eager to click through and see what you have to offer.
So when your name gets lumped into the “13 more posts from…” fine print, they are almost sure to miss you.
No thumbnail = no Facebook love.
If you want to interact with your people on Facebook you might want to reconsider the convenience of posting from Networked Blogs.
What has been your experience of posting to Facbeook from third-party applications?
Like this kind of detailed information? Want to get more of it in a workshop with two fun instructors who know their stuff? Join me and Kazia Mullin at our Fabulize your Facebook workshops in Vernon BC in January and February 2012. Sign up today!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I had the privilege of working on a project a few years ago with Waleed Abdulla, who is the author of the Networked Blogs application. He has been programming on Facebook for a long time, at least 4 years and certainly before it was cool. Waleed is one of the good guys for sure.
So this kind of sucks for him. =(
Dave Doolin recently posted..Choosing Your WordPress Theme (4 questions to ask)
Twitter: picsiechick
January 3, 2012 at 11:05 am
Hi, Dave!
Facebook definitely has its own agenda and has the numbers to let it do what it wants. Unfortunately that means that many great products and the people who create them are getting shut out in a variety of ways.
Networked Blogs is not being treated the same way as other third-party apps. The others are no longer being grouped, but it’s super easy to hide every post from that third-party app. NB is the opposite. And it’s not like Facebook would ever tell us why!
Hopefully, he’ll find a way to work with the big Blue F in a way that reaches people again.
hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
well, huh. and thank you. that explains it . . . and then some. i noticed the posts looked different on facebook, and i (thought i) noticed that my peeps weren’t sharing their blog posts on facebook. me thinks it’s time to spend 4 extra seconds opening hootsuite . . .
Twitter: picsiechick
January 3, 2012 at 11:11 am
Oh, yes, I think we’ve been missing out on lots of great content because of this.
Unfortunately, Hootsuite has its own issue. Like most other third-party apps any user can click in the top right, select “Hide All by Hootsuite” and they’ll never see your posts again. The problem is, they would never do that because of your posts, but they might do it because of someone else’s. And they would never even realize they have hidden you.
Using the share button or posting directly to Facebook just seems like the best way to get your post into their News Feed.
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
okay, i’m willing to show my lack of techspertise . . . how do i disentangle from networked blogs, sugar?
wholly jeanne recently posted..sticky note: following the cloth crumbs
Twitter: picsiechick
January 3, 2012 at 11:00 am
Hi, Jeanne! I have never used Networked Blogs so I’m not 100% sure, but here are some ideas you can try:
If you want to keep using Networked Blogs, just not to Facebook, this should work:
On your personal Facebook you can disable the app through Home/Account Settings. Apps is the 4th item down on the left hand side. Click Edit over on the right and then click Remove App.
It’s possible your Networked Blogs has some syndication settings also where you can disconnect the access to your Facebook account.
It looks like you haven’t made the connection to your Facebook Page, so there’s no action needed there.
Let me know how it goes!
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
Twitter: Tweet4ok
January 3, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I use Networked Blogs but I can’t say I like it
I find it much more satisfying to tell my Facebook and Twitter Fans directly about it. I guess it’s different when you publish a lot of posts in a schedule.
I also believe it is most beneficial to post in every Social Network individually…. hey, that reminds me that my next Colunm is supposed to be about that
Yes, it’s kind of hard keeping up with the quickly changing Facebook platform. I believe the grouping of posts in the news feed happens when too many posts come to your news feed together. So, maybe, you don’t notice it with other apps if you don’t have many friends using them and it’s easier to notice it with NetworkedBlogs because you have many friends on it. But I could be wrong, because Facebook doesn’t document their algorithm.
Also, it’s worth noting that we just pushed an update to get around this issue and other kind of post grouping that happens on the timeline. More details here:
http://blog.networkedblogs.com/2012/01/New-Format-for-Published-Posts-to-Timeline
Waleed / NetworkedBlogs
Twitter: picsiechick
January 4, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Hi, Waleed! Nice to meet you and thank you for stopping in!
On my own News Feed Networked Blogs is the only third party app that is acting exactly like this. And my feed has many posts from Hootsuite, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, to name a few. The cool thing of it is that Facebook News Feed gives users the ability to “hide all” from those other third party apps, so when someone gets annoyed with one person using #hashtags and @mentions in Facebook and just hides everything, those who use the tools smartly are still hidden. There isn’t an option to Hide all from Networked Blogs anymore. And that part is pretty cool.
I’ll watch to see if it behaves any differently on my end after your cool change. I’m crossing my fingers for you.
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
Hi Teresa,
This is a bit off topic, but does have to do with news feeds…I’ve been searching for this answer FOREVER, so maybe you can help. It’s in regards to adding a URL to the status update of a page (fan page). For example, if this was my status update:
“Get fanclub tickets on sale now at our website http://ourbandwebsite.com”
Does this URL keep it from being posted in our fans’ news feeds? Is it smarter not to include a URL so that we can reach more people with our status update?
When you include a URL, does FB look at this as advertising, (which they would like you to pay for), so they limit the people you can reach? Does the post cease to become a status update and revert to a “wall post”, seen only by people who happen to be perusing your wall?
Would LOVE any insight you have or links to relevant articles. Thanks in advance!
Shoot, just noticed a typo in my email address as I was posting the above. This is the correct email address for me. (I added an extra ‘s’)
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