Should You Add Facebook Connect to Your Business Blog?

January 13th, 2009 by Easton Ellsworth

Robyn Tippins (Twitter: @duzins) asked me the following question on Twitter last week:

Is Facebook Connect worth the time for a business blog?

Great question, Robyn! Here’s my answer.

First, for those new to this subject …

What is Facebook Connect?

Facebook Connect is a simple way to integrate Facebook into your blog or website. For example, TechCrunch currently has a blog post comment area that looks like this (minus the cool sepia effect):

Facebook Connect

Why or why not use Facebook Connect?

Some reasons to use Facebook Connect on your business blog:

  • Some people have Facebook accounts but aren’t registered at your blog. If registration is something you require in order for people to be able to comment on your posts, Facebook Connect might make it more appealing for these folks to register and interact more with your blog.
  • If many of your blog visitors and commenters use Facebook, they might enjoy seeing each other’s Facebook profile links in the comments section of your blog. Facebook Connect makes that integration seamless.
  • When you install Facebook Connect on your blog and someone leaves a comment, that action shows up in their Facebook wall so others in their network on Facebook can see it. This may get you a little more traffic and a few more subscribers in the long run.

Some reasons NOT to use Facebook Connect with a company blog or professional blog

  • Maybe the culture of your blog is not very Facebooky. Perhaps your readers are not the social networking type, or perhaps your blog is all about how evil and ugly and useless Facebook is (in your esteemed opinion, of course).
  • Maybe you’re concerned about slow page loads. This isn’t a huge concern for most business bloggers, but if your blog is already laden down with cumbersome plugins and widgets, you might not want to lay this final straw on your poor hosting camel’s back.
  • Maybe you find Facebook distracting to the core purpose and audience of your blog. It could be that you just want people to take one kind of action after reading your posts, and that Facebook Connect tempts them to get distracted from your call to action.

So … should you use Facebook Connect with your business blog?

I recommend that you try it out for a few days and see how it affects your blog’s traffic levels, comment levels, and other interactivity on your blog/website. Most importantly, find out what your readers think of Facebook Connect.

You can always remove Facebook Connect later if its slows down your blog too much or your blog readers don’t seem to like it. But I wouldn’t expect it to make a huge difference in most business blogs, either.

The deeper reasoning here has to do with blog and social media strategy for businesses. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should (or shouldn’t). If you really feel that Facebook Connect will help you serve your blog’s target audience and improve conversion rates for your business, use it. If not, don’t.

Facebook Connect Resources

Wondering if I should give it a go here at Visionary Blogging. I think I will. Let me know what you think.

Tomorrow, winners of last week’s $750 blog consulting contest will be announced right here.

Do you think Facebook Connect is worth the time for business blogs?


Related Articles

  1. 25 Ways to Mix Your Blog and Facebook
  2. Blog/Social Media Blending for Business, Part 1: Research
  3. 139 Business and Blog Improvement Tips from SOBCon08
  4. Business Blog Ally #3: How to Develop Hope
  5. The 10 Worst Business Blog Mistakes

Want ongoing expert advice for your blog or social media campaign?
Get VB Pro now.

Twitter       StumbleUpon       Delicious       Facebook

6 Comments - Publish a Comment


    • 1. Scott KarstetterJanuary 13, 2009, 8:09 pm

      With more and more businesses having an online presence on Facebook I think that adding this functionality to a business blog is a pretty good idea.

      I’m trying to think of types of businesses that this wouldn’t work very well for, but I’m stumped at the moment.

      Is there any kind of LinkedIn plugin with the same functionality?

    • 2. Easton EllsworthJanuary 27, 2009, 4:09 pm

      Not that I know of, Scott. I ought to look into that. If anyone else knows, please feel free to comment here!

    • 3. Robyn TippinsMarch 28, 2009, 5:09 pm

      Thanks for answering this. I’m still on the fence. It’s a hassle, not very user friendly, to install, so assuming I have a free few hours, I may do it.

      We’ll see. Of course, I’ll need to rejoin the blogging world before worrying about tweaking my site tho! LOL

    • 4. Easton EllsworthApril 6, 2009, 1:09 pm

      Thanks for telling us, Robyn! Best wishes getting back into blogging!

    • 5. stephanieDecember 1, 2009, 8:09 am

      so should you only use facebook connect if you have a business blog?

    • 6. Easton EllsworthDecember 5, 2009, 5:09 pm

      Not necessarily, Stephanie. I think it depends on your blog’s audience. Good question! Like if your readers don’t use Facebook, it’s probably not a big deal to implement Connect … but if they’re avid fans on the other hand, then it might be a really great way to foster interactivity and relationships of trust.

Publish a Comment