Latest / Abbey the Podcast Lady / Facebook Is Limiting Links: How Podcasters Can Still Get Listeners

Transcript

Facebook Is Limiting Links: How Podcasters Can Still Get Listeners · Abbey the Podcast Lady

• 0:00
  Remember when we could post links on Facebook
• 0:02
  for free? What a time to be alive. Hello, welcome
• 0:10
  to another episode of Abby the Podcast Lady.
• 0:12
  Today we are talking about the podcast slash
• 0:16
  Facebook crisis of 2026. It's not a crisis. It's
• 0:20
  a crisis in my head, I think, because I remember
• 0:23
  when I first started posting content professionally
• 0:27
  on the internet, I was required to post at least,
• 0:31
  at least three links on the company Facebook
• 0:35
  page per four hour shift. I was a radio DJ. And
• 0:40
  in addition to that, I was also an online content
• 0:42
  creator. I had to write blog posts and share
• 0:44
  content on the radio station Facebook page. And
• 0:47
  for seven years straight, I posted at least three
• 0:51
  links to a story I wrote on a website on our
• 0:55
  Facebook page per day shift that I worked. And
• 0:58
  I was also in charge of a bunch of the radio
• 1:00
  station Facebook pages too. So I was scheduling
• 1:02
  like dozens of links a week on Facebook. Probably
• 1:07
  hundreds. It was a lot. I was posting a lot of
• 1:09
  external links on Facebook and I think I'm really
• 1:11
  fired up about it because now we are limited
• 1:14
  to two links per month. Two links per month can
• 1:19
  go on Facebook. That's it. And that is a wild
• 1:23
  concept to me. But is it really that wild? Because
• 1:26
  I think it's just Facebook being money hungry
• 1:28
  piggies, which like... I guess they kind of always
• 1:31
  have been. And now this is just their newest
• 1:33
  way to shake us down for another $10, $20, $500
• 1:37
  per month. And that's not an exaggeration. Some
• 1:40
  of these accounts are $500 per month if you want
• 1:43
  to post links on Facebook. So what we're getting
• 1:46
  into today is how this affects you and me as
• 1:49
  podcasters and what we can do to still grow our
• 1:52
  audiences, but not link them to our shows, but
• 1:55
  still kind of link them to our shows. We're going
• 1:58
  to dive into all this. So you may have noticed
• 2:00
  this on your Facebook page. You may have not.
• 2:02
  This is something that they are slowly but surely
• 2:04
  testing and rolling out. I know it impacted my
• 2:07
  Facebook page because I went to share a link
• 2:10
  in the comments to my own personal website for,
• 2:13
  I think it was someone looking for like a wedding
• 2:15
  DJ or something. And I posted the link to my
• 2:17
  page and I'm like, hmm. what, why isn't this
• 2:20
  link clickable? That's weird. And I thought it
• 2:22
  was just a glitch. I'm like, okay, it's just
• 2:24
  something with Facebook. It'll figure itself
• 2:25
  out and that link will work later. Well, that
• 2:27
  link never worked later. And then I'm like, okay,
• 2:29
  that's strange. And then I follow a real estate
• 2:32
  agent in my area and she had posted this really
• 2:35
  cool video of a property she was selling. And
• 2:37
  in the comments, I went there to click on the
• 2:40
  link to check out the property and that link
• 2:42
  didn't work. It looked like a link, but it wasn't
• 2:45
  clickable whatsoever. I'm like, okay, this is
• 2:47
  really strange. So I did. some research i did
• 2:49
  some googling and found out that this is the
• 2:53
  new meta one subscription that they are testing
• 2:56
  out so the average joe gets two links per month
• 2:59
  and then you have to pay to play afterwards which
• 3:02
  is so incredibly frustrating like last i checked
• 3:06
  facebook was a place to connect and share with
• 3:08
  those in your life and not so much anymore now
• 3:11
  it's just give me money if you want to share
• 3:12
  your link how does that sound we can all be suckerbergs
• 3:15
  for zuckerberg So I was looking at the plans
• 3:17
  for this and meta one is ranging in different
• 3:21
  things. They have like a personal, a creator
• 3:23
  and a business tier to it. And then within those
• 3:26
  tiers is like some sub tiers as well. And they
• 3:29
  range in price from $7 .99 a month to $500 per
• 3:34
  month. And I think with the $500 one per month,
• 3:37
  it's like you get unlimited links on Instagram
• 3:40
  and on Facebook. And of course you get the blue
• 3:43
  check mark. Remember when blue check marks used
• 3:45
  to be free, just like verify people to say like,
• 3:49
  yeah, you're not, you're not a scammer. You're,
• 3:51
  you're a real human. It's, you just get this
• 3:53
  blue check mark and it was like a coveted thing.
• 3:55
  It's like, oh my God, you have a blue check mark.
• 3:57
  Wow. You must be important. No, no, no. Now you
• 3:59
  just buy them. I mean, we've been buying them
• 4:01
  for a long time, but still it's out of hand.
• 4:04
  So how do we fix this link problem as podcasters?
• 4:08
  Well, there's nothing we can directly do unless
• 4:10
  you are someone who is working for Facebook currently
• 4:12
  and on this project team, in which case, hi,
• 4:15
  my name is Abby. Let's chat. But what we can
• 4:19
  do as podcasters, because I know I've told my
• 4:21
  clients in the past, like when you are sharing
• 4:23
  your content on Facebook, share the clip, share
• 4:27
  the reel, share the static image, and then write
• 4:30
  your caption and then put the... link to the
• 4:32
  show in the comments so people can go and listen
• 4:35
  to the show and that's how you funnel people
• 4:37
  from that social media to listen to your podcast
• 4:40
  now what we have to do is be selective about
• 4:43
  the links that we're sharing so maybe you have
• 4:45
  a big product launch that you need to save your
• 4:48
  link for maybe you have a really big guest that
• 4:51
  you have on you can save your link for that But
• 4:54
  we really have to be mindful about the links
• 4:57
  that we are sharing now because we don't get
• 4:59
  to share a weekly episode multiple times anymore.
• 5:03
  If you are putting out a weekly podcast, you
• 5:05
  can only share two links a month. So pick your
• 5:08
  two favorite episodes, I guess, and share those.
• 5:10
  It is going to be a lot harder to get people
• 5:13
  from Facebook to some sort of medium to consume
• 5:17
  your podcast. So something we can do to combat
• 5:20
  that is you can... post juicier reels I have
• 5:24
  definitely seen clips and highlights and reels
• 5:29
  from podcasts where it's just a really juicy
• 5:31
  nugget of information or a really good part of
• 5:34
  an interview that they have lopped up into short
• 5:36
  form content and that has been enough for me
• 5:38
  to go okay I need to exit this app I need to
• 5:42
  go to my podcast listening app and I need to
• 5:44
  search for this show. So that is something we
• 5:46
  can do. Another helpful thing is when you're
• 5:49
  editing those short, juicy reels and you're making
• 5:52
  more of them now because volume is going to be
• 5:54
  key, put either the call to action of what you
• 5:58
  want people to do. Make an overlay of your podcast
• 6:02
  cover art and say, search on your favorite podcast
• 6:05
  platform and overlay that onto the video. Or
• 6:08
  you could even say it in the video and say, hey,
• 6:11
  by the way, if you want to hear the full episode,
• 6:12
  check out the podcast. It's on Apple, Spotify,
• 6:14
  YouTube. Now, with saying it out loud, Lord knows
• 6:18
  if the AI is going to flag it. Too soon to tell
• 6:21
  on that sort of thing. But if you have just like
• 6:23
  an overlay image in like the top corner of the
• 6:25
  reel that says. Listen to Abby the Podcast Lady
• 6:29
  on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or wherever you
• 6:32
  want to send people to. At least they have that
• 6:33
  visual of like, okay, that's the cover art I
• 6:36
  need to go and look for on that platform. So
• 6:38
  I would say overlay, overlay, overlay, or...
• 6:42
  over say and say it at the end. So those are
• 6:45
  kind of your two options for short form content
• 6:47
  when it comes to that. More graphics, I would
• 6:49
  say that really match your podcast branding.
• 6:52
  Make sure when you're posting things like quote
• 6:54
  posts or static images or carousels, make sure
• 6:57
  that you put something. on there that matches
• 7:00
  your brand colors, has your podcast artwork on
• 7:02
  it in some sense. Give someone a visual that
• 7:05
  they can go seek out on their listening apps
• 7:09
  because they're not going to have that direct
• 7:10
  link anymore. It's not just going to take them
• 7:13
  straight to it. So you need to make sure that
• 7:14
  it is something that they can go, yep, I recognize
• 7:16
  that from that clip that I watched. That's what
• 7:19
  I'm looking for. Now, I've also seen in my research
• 7:21
  that Meta is testing out a new kind of many chat
• 7:26
  feature where you can do the comment word and
• 7:29
  I'll send you the link to the podcast through
• 7:31
  messenger. I've heard that that's going to be
• 7:33
  a added feature in the business suite. I have
• 7:37
  been looking for it on my business suite as part
• 7:39
  of this rollout. I have not seen it yet at the
• 7:42
  time of this recording could be there tomorrow
• 7:44
  could never show up. Who knows? So they are testing
• 7:46
  out their own kind of many chat thing. So it's
• 7:49
  not as link heavy on the feed but it should in
• 7:53
  theory you could set it up where comment podcast
• 7:55
  and it'll automatically send you the podcast
• 7:57
  is it going to work if it works anything like
• 7:59
  meta business suite don't hold your breath it's
• 8:02
  a little clunky sometimes but if this works then
• 8:06
  that would cut down on a subscription to many
• 8:08
  chat are they going to make us pay for this version
• 8:10
  of their own many chat probably because that's
• 8:14
  kind of their mo lately but In theory, that would
• 8:18
  be how they are getting around the not letting
• 8:21
  us post links. If that is the case and it is
• 8:24
  accessible to all of us and that is something
• 8:26
  that they're rolling out, it's going to be an
• 8:28
  extra step for us. Unfortunately, we're going
• 8:30
  to have to set up those code words. We're going
• 8:32
  to have to set up those links. We're going to
• 8:34
  have to make sure everything is getting redirected
• 8:36
  right. And if you're doing it for new podcast
• 8:38
  episodes, that could get a little dicey, especially
• 8:41
  if you're trying to work ahead to go on vacation
• 8:43
  or something like that. There's going to be more
• 8:45
  tedious tasks involved, but that's just kind
• 8:48
  of the nature of the beast when you are promoting
• 8:49
  something online when it comes to your brand.
• 8:52
  your business, your podcast. Like I said, at
• 8:54
  the time of recording, I do not have access to
• 8:56
  this feature yet, but if I do, I will. happily
• 8:59
  do an in -depth walkthrough of what it looks
• 9:01
  like how it works and see if it's going to be
• 9:04
  beneficial to us as podcasters because being
• 9:06
  limited to only two links per month I think is
• 9:09
  asinine honestly because especially if you're
• 9:12
  using like a personal page and you're limited
• 9:13
  to two links per month what if you're like trying
• 9:16
  to recommend something to someone on a page and
• 9:18
  you use up your link on something that doesn't
• 9:20
  even necessarily go to your podcast you're trying
• 9:22
  to send Aunt Gladys to your favorite florist
• 9:24
  down the road that's going to be a huge hindrance
• 9:26
  so I'm a little worried about this. I don't love
• 9:29
  this rollout from Meta. Honestly, it's been a
• 9:31
  long time since I can think of something that
• 9:33
  I truly love. Marketplace. I love Marketplace.
• 9:35
  Don't we all? But I am waiting, not holding my
• 9:41
  breath on anything, just kind of figuring out
• 9:43
  what we can do for workarounds. Now, obviously,
• 9:45
  the ultimate workaround is you pay to play on
• 9:48
  Meta. If you want more links, if you have something
• 9:51
  where you're really like... You rely heavily
• 9:53
  on Facebook for your podcast, for your brand,
• 9:56
  for your business. Chances are good this is going
• 9:58
  to be another monthly subscription for you that's
• 10:00
  going to range in price from $7 .99 to $4 .99.
• 10:03
  And that is just unfortunately the world we live
• 10:06
  in. It's death by subscription these days. And
• 10:09
  it's just the nature of the beast. So if you
• 10:12
  rely heavily on it. You're probably going to
• 10:14
  have to invest. If it's not your primary platform,
• 10:16
  I would say hold off. Don't pay for anything
• 10:19
  just yet. Because like I said, this is a testing
• 10:22
  thing. They're rolling this out. This isn't an
• 10:24
  everyone thing right here, right now. So just
• 10:27
  kind of pause, evaluate, and maybe even take
• 10:30
  this time to look at other platforms. Where are
• 10:33
  you not spending your time that you could maybe
• 10:35
  throw your content on and build a new audience
• 10:38
  and have access to links? Looking at you, LinkedIn.
• 10:42
  Hi, I'm showing up more. Good to see you. But
• 10:45
  yeah, take this time to really see if Facebook
• 10:48
  is the platform for you, if Instagram is really
• 10:50
  where your audience is growing, or maybe it's
• 10:52
  a place like TikTok, or maybe it's that new platform,
• 10:54
  GIST, that is really pushing hard to get new
• 10:57
  users. I have been playing around with it and
• 11:00
  kind of trying to learn it myself. Or maybe it's
• 11:01
  Pinterest. Pinterest is a sleeper agent, and
• 11:04
  that is where some links can go, baby. Pinterest
• 11:07
  is a... If you do not have your podcast on Pinterest,
• 11:11
  I should do an entire dedicated episode on that.
• 11:13
  But it is literally a search engine and you can
• 11:16
  actually put clips like reels can go on Pinterest.
• 11:18
  It is formatted for that if they are under a
• 11:21
  certain. megabyte. If it's like a 30 second reel,
• 11:23
  it'll fit perfectly on Pinterest and you can
• 11:25
  link directly to the episode. So maybe take some
• 11:29
  of that energy you were expounding on Facebook
• 11:30
  and throw it over at Pinterest and see what happens.
• 11:33
  It can't hurt, right? I mean, it's going to sit
• 11:35
  there forever anyway. And if you are using keywords
• 11:37
  that are SEO friendly, Pinterest could be a real
• 11:40
  powerhouse. So take some of that Facebook time
• 11:42
  and transfer it over to the old pin daddy. So
• 11:45
  to wrap this all up, is this going to be the
• 11:47
  nail in the coffin for podcasters promoting their
• 11:49
  show on Facebook? Probably not, but there's a
• 11:52
  few things that we can do. We can make sure we
• 11:54
  add overlays to our videos or we can make sure
• 11:56
  we say our call to action. We can also really
• 11:59
  evaluate if this is the place to be promoting
• 12:01
  our podcast. Maybe a different platform is the
• 12:03
  place to be. And we can also try upping the volume
• 12:07
  of the content that we post to see if that makes
• 12:09
  a difference as well. So a few things we can
• 12:11
  do to roll with the Facebook punches, but otherwise
• 12:13
  we'll just keep an eye on it and keep making
• 12:16
  your show, keep promoting it, keep creating.
• 12:20
  and putting it out into the world because even
• 12:22
  if you're just getting it on to those podcasting
• 12:24
  platforms and writing good show notes and really
• 12:27
  making good content that resonates with your
• 12:29
  audience and serves them long -term, your show
• 12:31
  is going to keep being found forever and not
• 12:34
  just on Facebook. So keep making that content.
• 12:36
  If you need help with anything, do not forget
• 12:39
  to join the free school community I have. I have
• 12:41
  a link down in the show notes below. There is
• 12:43
  a totally free tier where we hang out. Talk podcasting,
• 12:47
  share ideas. Be sure you join down there. And
• 12:49
  I will catch you next week on a new episode of
• 12:51
  Abby the Podcast Lady.