The Resurrection Of Facebook Notes
Remember Facebook Notes? Probably not, but it’s back, new, improved and ready to take – well – notes.
Did you know that before March 2009 a Facebook status could only have 160 characters? That’s not much larger than a tweet. The number quickly grew to 5,000 characters by September 2011, and they didn’t stop there. In November 2011 Facebook created an update that allows users to create posts with up to 60,000 characters. Few of us knew what to write with all that potential space, but now we do.
Facebook Notes is pegged as a modern day throwback to LiveJournal, but really it’s a bit more than that. Think LinkedIn blogging abilities within our Facebook platform which are available to our Facebook friends. While many will assume that Notes is a new feature added to compete with Medium or Tumblr, its roots stretch all the way back to 2006.
If you are one of those who had no idea that Facebook Notes existed, here are the steps to take to add your own notes:
- Log in to Facebook
- Go to your profile page
- Click the ‘About’* button at the top
- Scroll down and click Notes
*You may have to select the More tab to find it if Notes isn’t included in the first screen.
Facebook’s revamp of Notes is most likely a call to their 1.4 billion users to publish directly on Facebook rather than a separate blogging site. While this might be extremely useful for bloggers who operate a website specifically as a platform to post blogs, this won’t work as well for businesses who blog for traffic and search engine benefits.
Facebook recently made deals with The New York Times, BuzzFeed, National Geographic and six other publishing agencies to use their Instant Article platform to publish content directly on Facebook. The agencies will benefit from a larger readership and the portion of advertising revenue that Facebook is sharing with them. While the articles won’t get priority placement within newsfeeds they will have a larger available audience and greater shareability.
Now that Facebook has made blogging so easy you might want to get started on your own treasure trove of expert advice and opinion. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Stick to a blogging routine.
Content always reads better when viewers are updated on a regular basis. Set some goals about when and how often you want to post. Aim low at first and you can always adjust later.
- Understand your audience.
Who will be reading your content? Where do they live? What do they like? What do they hate? If you can answer these – and other similar – questions then you are off to a great start! Be sure to look into Facebook Page Insights for help with specific analytical questions.
- If you like it, share it.
Even though you are already posting your content directly on to a social media site you will still have to do some work to get it out beyond your Friends list. Take advantage of other social media platforms like Twitter or Pinterest for maximum readership.
- Be honest, respectful and cite everything.
It is important to understand that there is no easier way to lose readers than by offending them, stealing someone else’s work or by telling half truths or lies. We’ve all seen the photoshopped pictures, words taken out of context and bold faced lies on Facebook: make sure you don’t add to them or make promises you can’t keep.
What do you think of Facebook Notes? Let us know on Twitter @Midphase