Maintaining a WordPress blog can be tiresome. After spending hours of research, writing, and polishing a new post, you must then promote it through various content distribution channels, from mailing lists to social media networks.
Facebook is one of the prime platforms for this task. According to Statista, the social media giant had around 1.94 billion monthly users as of 2017 – solidifying its position as the biggest [and most profitable] social network to date.
This post aims to explore the best methods of automating the process of Facebook sharing for your WordPress site.
Quick jump to:
- Method #1: Jetpack Publicize
- Method #2: Buffer
- Method #3: Nelio Content
- Bonus: The best time to post
Let’s begin.
Method #1: Using Jetpack’s “Publicize” Feature
Regardless if you run a niche blog or an e-commerce store, the Jetpack plugin will definitely benefit your WordPress site. It can help you with content creation, security, site analytics, and SEO.
To get started with Jetpack, however, you need to connect the plugin with an existing WordPress.com account. Don’t worry – registration is completely free and should be over within a few minutes. When done, you can now use the plugin’s features on your WordPress.org site.
You will also be asked if you’d like to activate the recommended Jetpack features. This is completely optional, but it can provide your WordPress site with a host of benefits:
Jetpack also includes the “Publicize” feature, which automates sharing to social media networks. To access this, go to Jetpack > Settings > Sharing.
Under “Publicize connections”, click Connect your social media accounts. This will open up the WordPress.com Sharing page where you can link your site to different networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
Go ahead and click the Connect button next to Facebook to proceed.
Log into your Facebook account when prompted and click Continue to grant WordPress the necessary permissions. Lastly, you’ll have to choose whether you wish to publish posts on a specific page you manage or through your own profile. Select the account you wish to use and click Connect.
That’s it! You can now use this account as a distribution channel for your WordPress posts. You should be able to see the option in the post editor:
If you’d like to use a custom message for the Facebook post, click Edit Details. Remember that this will coincide with the publishing date in your WordPress blog.
Method #2: Using Buffer
Online marketers should already be familiar with Buffer – an automation tool used for sharing and monitoring your content.
Its main advantage is that it enables you to publish posts based on a set schedule. Remember, to maximize the exposure of your posts, you need to publish it when your target audience is most active.
To get started with Buffer, sign up and start by linking your social media accounts to the platform. Start by clicking the plus [+] button in the “Accounts” panel.
Currently, free users are able to link up to one account for each of the six networks: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram. To connect Facebook, click Profile, Page, or Group – depending on the account type you wish to use.
After logging in, simply click on the account you wish to use. It should then appear under the “Accounts” panel in your dashboard.
The next step is to set a posting schedule for this account. To do this, select the account and click the Schedule tab.
Here, you can select the posting days as well as add the specific times you want to share content. Take note that, whenever you add new content to Buffer, it will be “queued” and published only during these times.
Now that you have your Buffer schedule ready, it’s time to integrate it with your WordPress site. For this, you need to install the WP to Buffer plugin.
You then need to link your Buffer account by going to WP to Buffer > Settings and clicking the Authorize Plugin button.
Click Allow access when the plugin asks for permission to manage your Buffer account. This will automatically pull all your Buffer account information into the WordPress dashboard.
You should be able to view them now under the Posts and Pages tab of the WP to Buffer plugin. Just don’t forget to “enable” the account by clicking on its picture and selecting the Account Enabled option.
When done, click the Defaults button to specify whether posts that are recently published or updated are sent to the Buffer queue. Do this by clicking the checkbox next to both options.
If you did all the steps correctly, you should see a confirmation at the top of the editor whenever you publish or update a new post.
Method #3: Using Nelio Content
With the methods and tools above, you should now be able to automate posting to your Facebook account from your WordPress blog. But if you want a much simpler solution, then you can try using the Nelio Content plugin.
What it does is integrate a built-in “editorial calendar” to help you manage your content scheduling and distribution needs.
Before you enable auto-posting, connect your accounts first by going to Nelio Content > Settings from the main dashboard.
Just like with Buffer, you have the option to link Nelio Content with a Facebook page, group, or your personal profile. Just click the corresponding button, provide your login credentials, and grant the plugin permission.
When done, your account should appear under Connected Profiles in the settings page. All new posts will also be automatically synchronized with your Nelio Content calendar. This automatically facilitates all involved activities, including the sharing to social media pages.
Bonus Tip: What's the best posting time?
Various studies show that the best posting times for each social network are as follows.
Nathan Ellering from CoSchedule looked at 20 studies and came up with these ‘best time to posts' for major social networks [source].- Wednesday @ 3 PM
- Thursday and Friday @ 1-4 PM
- Saturday and Sunday @ 12-1 PM
- Any day @ 2-3 AM, 6-7 AM, and 9-10 PM
- Monday to Friday @ 12-3 PM and 5 PM
- Wednesday @ 5-6 PM
- Saturday @ 8-11 PM
- Friday @ 3 PM
- Tuesday @ 10-11 AM
Google+
- Wednesday @ 9 AM
- Rest of the week @ 9-11 AM
- Monday and Thursday @ any time EXCEPT 3-4 PM
- Any day @ 2 AM and 5 PM
- Wednesdays @ 7 PM
Is social media a huge part of your WordPress content strategy? Read these golden rules of social media marketing for bloggers!