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There’s an easy way to get your blog posts to show up in Facebook. Well, actually, there are a few different ways. You can take your pick.
Many different Facebook applications will actually post status updates for you when you have a new blog post, or display your latest posts on a tab on your profile/fan page (i.e., Networked Blogs).
If you’d rather not use an application within Facebook, you can actually import your blog directly… each new blog post will be posted as a new note (import notes).
Let’s talk about importing notes first, and then I’ll discuss the “other” way to get your blog updates in Facebook.
To import your blog, you just have to browse to the screen below and enter your feed URL (or a website address, and Facebook will automatically search for your feed URL). And that’s pretty much it. Once this is set up, everything that shows up in your feed will show up as a note. So, if your feed shows excerpts, your Facebook notes will be excerpts of your blog posts…. and if your feed shows the full blog post, well, you get the idea.
The one caveat with setting things up this way is if you want the notes to show up on a fan page (instead of your profile page… which is the default link). Here’s how you can set up the import process for a fan page.
See the link below? It contains a page ID number (every fan page, profile, etc, has one).
http://www.facebook.com/editnotes.php?id=1234567890&import
You can find your ID number by clicking on the “edit page” link on your fan page. The URL that will open contains the ID number. Just copy that number, paste it into the URL above, and you’ll be at the right spot to setup the blog import.
Ok, now onto the “flashy” way of doing things: Facebook Applications. If you search applications for “rss,” you’ll find a LOT of results. Most of the applications have a similar purpose — to make it so your blog posts can be visible in Facebook. As I mentioned earlier, I’m going to demonstrate this concept with Networked Blogs.
When you install Networked Blogs, it automatically creates a “Blog” tab on your profile or fan page. Take a peek at the image below to see what I mean. You’ll also notice it says “No Blogs Found.” That’s because you have to set things up first. We’ll get to that…
When you go to add your blog to Networked Blogs, you’ll see the screen below. Notice that this application does the same thing as Facebook — you give it your website/blog address, and it searches for the RSS feed address.
Just follow the instructions, and if you get hung up on figuring how to have this work on your fan page, just consult this help document. It is pretty thorough, and should help get you up and running in no time.
Once you have it working, Networked Blogs lets you “test” to make sure all is well. Here’s what that status update will look like:
So, the choice is yours. Stay within the framework of Facebook completely by relying on the Notes functionality, or expand your blog’s presence by giving it its own tab on your page. Either way, it’s your call. Both methods get the job done.
