How do you start growing your Facebook page when you have no content?

Start with: Why are you trying to do it?

---

 

Do you have a cheat sheet for how to get started growing your Facebook page? I literally only have the posts that are copied over from my Instagram account, and I know that’s not enough, but I feel totally at a loss. I don’t even have a group yet. I’d just like to start using the page more. Any good websites or checklists you can link for me? Thank you!

- Laura

Hi, Laura,

First, TL;DR: Why do you want to grow a Facebook page in the first place. Is it FOMO?

If it’s not for FOMO, and growing a FB page on top of your YouTube and Instagram accounts is worth your precious time, start by repurposing every bit of content you can extract from your YouTube posts.

Keep reading for details and examples.

Background sleuthing

I did some searching and discovered Laura’s new Instagram page, with a handful of posts. She also has a new YouTube account with several videos.

My response: Don’t let FOMO influence your marketing

Why do you want to grow a Facebook on top of your YouTube and Instagram pages? Because you think you should also be on Facebook? Because it’s a missed opportunity if you don’t?

Those are too-common anxieties about marketing. So many small business owners try to stay on top of a half-dozen marketing tactics and become servants to their work.

But it’s just another manifestation of FOMO.

There are tons of valid reasons to market your small business on 3 separate social media platforms when starting out. FOMO isn’t one of them. There will always be more to do; you have to draw a line if you don’t want your small business to consume your life.

If you can’t think of a good reason to add Facebook into the mix that doesn’t have to do with anxiety over missing out on customers, skip it.

Good and bad reasons to add another platform

So FOMO’s not a reason to market on multiple social platforms. What does make it worth the effort?

• When you need to build an audience quickly (as in a couple months), and you can put in the time for 3 platforms without making yourself crazy.

(If you have a high threshold for crazy, try these parameters: If you’re spending more time on social media than sleeping or you’re eating exclusively breakfast foods for dinner — that’s craziness by my certifiably minimalist definition.)

• When you don’t know for sure where your ideal customers spend their time and you want to test which platform(s) work best for you

• When you have tons of content and not enough places to share it (ha, we wish!)

But if you’ll struggle to give your finite living hours to 3 platforms — and be realistic here about how you want to spend your time — there are plenty of good reasons to stick with only Instagram and YouTube for now.

• Save your sanity from having to create for 3 separate platforms

• Protect time for other work or, gosh, rest from work

• Devote yourself to the 2 platforms you’re already on so you do well by those followers

Then, when you’re in the content-creation flow and you have some breathing room back in your days, pivot back to Facebook.

So you’ve considered all that and still decide to put in the effort to grow your FB page. It sounds like what you’re really asking is how to post a bunch of content to your new FB page, fast.

Steps to get content on your FB page, fast

In that case, start with these four steps, in order:

Step 1: Continue repurposing your IG content. The easiest, most minimalist way is to allow Instagram to post to FB for you.

This takes no effort and at least puts activity on your Facebook page. It’s an easy compromise between not posting on Facebook at all, and putting time into its own strategy.

Step 2: Repurpose your YouTube content. I watched just one of your YouTube videos, 5 Things to Stock Before the Election, and discovered a trove of content treasure that can be quickly repurposed for Facebook.

In this case, the 5 Things To Stock video can become countless graphics and detailed FB posts that provide genuinely helpful information:

• 1 graphic listing all 5 things to stock

• 5 separate graphics or posts, one for each thing to stock

• Graphics or posts about the supporting details you mention throughout: Why you might experience disruption following the election, Other situations where sustainable prepping helps, The most important items for your first aid kit

From that one YouTube video, you have enough content for several posts each day for a week.

View fullsize

Examples of quick and simple graphics I made from the 5 Things to Stock Before the Election YouTube video

Step 3: Search similar-themed social media groups for new content ideas. This advice is what finally kicked me in the butt to create more content.

You’ll find inspiration and people who need answers in other posts, and you’ll learn from fellow group members as they talk about their own prepping strategies.

Then you take the topics and put your spin, perspective, and experience on it.

Step 4: Finally, to keep generating content without becoming unfocused and overwhelmed, come up with 3 (or 2 or 4, but not > 5) major themes for your posts, blogs, videos, etc.

My 3 major themes or topics are minimalism at home, minimalism in small business, and good marketing writing. Yours might be prepping for an emergency, low-waste solutions for prepping, and knowing how to use the items during an emergency.

Consider these 4 strategies and make quick decisions about them. The decision doesn’t have to be right; there’s rarely an indisputable right answer when it comes to social media and marketing. Just make a decision and run with it.

Happy creating, Laura!