Get Facebook Follows from your website
I’m working with a client who has a fairly big Facebook following, so I wanted to learn how to put a "Follow” button on a website. It turns out there's a Button Configurator in Facebook that does most of the magic. You then put the code the Configurator generates into your website as code. Here are the steps I used to test this on my website.
1. Go to this page on the Facebook developers site:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/like-button
2. Set up the options you want. These were mine.
3. Click Get Code and you will see the custom code. This is what it generated for me.
4. In your website building platform, go to the configuration settings where you add Header Code. Paste the Step 1 JavaScript SDK code generated by the Facebook Button Configurator and save the settings.
Squarespace instructions (with Business plan or greater)
Go to Settings - Developer Tools - Code Injection. Copy the Javascript SDK code (Step 1) and paste it into the Header section, adding it to whatever you already have in the Header section. Save the settings.
5. In your website editor, go to the page where you want the Facebook Follow icon to appear. Add a design element that lets you place code into it. You can also put your code into the footer if you want it to appear on every page. Paste the Step 2 code into the design element and save.
Squarespace instructions (with Business plan or greater)
Go to the page where you want to add this button and put it into edit mode. Create a Code block or Markdown block and paste the second part of the code (Step 2) in the code box. Save the page.
6. Here’s an example of what it looks like on a page.
If your Business Facebook page is an important part of your marketing strategy, you now have a way to help your audience find you on Facebook. I like that, Facebook!
I recommend starting your business with a Google Workspace Business account so your business email address includes your domain name. But a personal Google account can be useful for many everyday tasks. In this blog post, I cover how the two types of accounts differ.
The clickable image that shows up on social media posts is called a link preview image. In Squarespace and other website editors, you can designate a specific image to show up when you share a website page on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter/X.
Understanding in advance how your website will support your business will inform your website's design and content.
You can add a Social Sharing image to Squarespace to be shown as a link preview for your website when you share a URL on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The size of 1200x628 pixels works best for those platforms. You can also set custom images for specific website pages or blog posts to draw extra attention to them.
Squarespace lets you promote your blog post automatically on your connected social media accounts through the Share settings for the post.
Taking the time to add a note to your invitation to connect to someone on LinkedIn improves the chances of the invitation being accepted. Adding information about how you know the person or mutual connections you have builds trust.
Use the Facebook Like Button Configurator to generate code to add a Facebook Follow button on your website.
I used the free version of MailChimp for several years and found it easy to use. I now use MailerLite because it allows a Welcome letter automation sequence that MailChimp no longer offers on the free plan. Still MailChimp is a good choice for small-business owners who want to add a newsletter to their site without the monthly cost of an email marketing plan if they only need to send new subscribers a single Welcome letter.
As you start a blog, first determine the focus of your blog. Then choose topics that are relevant and that are in your area of expertise. Blog posts can contain text, images, videos, links to other blog posts, links to podcasts, and personal or creative endeavors. Each blog post adds content to your website and gives you cumulative client-attracting and SEO benefits.
Adding a blog to your website and keeping it updated is a great way to publicize your business. Search engines like Google reward websites that produce fresh content. Employing SEO best practices to add keywords to your blog posts increases the likelihood that potential customers will find you in online searches.
After reading an article about self-employment time management, I started keeping a log of how I was spending my time on marketing and educational activities related to my website design business. Now I am much more deliberate about how I spend my time online and I've narrowed down my business-related social media focus to a few platforms.
One of the first pages you create for your website is the About page. It helps customers put a face and a story to the person behind the website. You don't need to be intimidated by the prospect of what to write. Think of it as a reply to "What do you do?" when someone asks you that question at a party.
Service-based businesses usually have one or more pages that describe the services they offer. They should also provide enough information for people to take the next step toward hiring you.
The importance of posting testimonials on your website has been on my mind lately. Clever ads and slick marketing just can't take the place of testimonials. Nice words from real people serve to reassure people to take the next step of contacting you for a consultation or attending your upcoming event.
A blog has many benefits for increasing traffic to your website and improving SEO. But if you don’t love writing, there are alternatives.
A coat rack is a central location in your house where all the coats, hats, and scarves are kept. It's a meeting place for all of that outdoor apparel. A website is like a coat rack that organizes all the marketing apparel for your business: your About Me information, your Services descriptions, testimonials, photo galleries, product pages, blog posts, a contact form, and links to social media accounts. So what are you waiting for? Get that long-postponed website designed and launched. After all, your home (page) is where you hang your hat.
I use social media for my website design business to establish my expertise and promote my business, to get ideas from others in my field or related fields, and to inspire or share information with my potential or current small-business clients. I do my best to post on a few social media channels several times a week. I create original posts and I also share helpful posts from others in my industry. I researched where my potential customers are spending time online and now focus on posting in those locations.
Kerry A. Thompson
You don’t need a big agency to get your website done. You just need the one right person. I offer Squarespace website design and content development services for creatives, coaches, and healers. Learn more in a free 30-minute consultation.