The other day, a reader asked me the following question in an email: “Now that Facebook has revamped its Notes, should I abandon my blog and just publish complete posts there?”
I have seen this question posed on social networks and in posts. So, he is obviously not the only small business owner who is unsure of what to do.
The short answer is: No. But a no without an explanation isn’t too helpful, is it?
Let me start with a little story.
In 2013, Social Fixer, an unofficial app created to improve the Facebook experience, had a Facebook Page with 338,000 likes and a flourishing community of 13,360 members.
Then one day, the page was deleted without notice or explanation. Founder Matt Kruse was bummed, of course. But as he really wanted the page back up, he accepted Facebook’s demands and removed some of the tool’s key features. You can read all about it here.
Over the years, many people have complained about the social network deleting or disabling their pages or profiles. From spammy content to badly run contests and reports gone wrong, the Facebook team can decide to sever all your ties with your subscribers with a push of a button.
It doesn’t matter if the decision is justified or not. It’s more important to understand that your Facebook page isn’t your property. Actually, the same goes for any social media account you have. Whatever you publish there could be gone tomorrow.
What belongs to you, though, is your website / blog. If you own your domain name, no one else but you can tell you what to do.
I get it. The appeal of writing original Facebook Notes or LinkedIn long-form posts is real. After all, you are tapping into a huge audience — a great opportunity to be found!
However, this cannot be your only tactic.
Work on making your mark with your blog as well. Publish your content there first. Then, republish and/or curate it on social media platforms to draw traffic to your site. Plus, if your accounts get deleted for any reason, your hard work won’t be lost.
Worried about duplicate content? Just rewrite or tweak your posts. The results you can achieve that way may surprise you.
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