Recently, I was looking up on how to properly add a podcast to Facebook, and it was surprisingly difficult learning how to do so. So, after figuring out myself on how to do it, I wanted to write a quick blog on doing this! Keep reading on following my step-by-step instructions on connecting your podcast to Facebook.
Step 1: Ensure Everything is Set Up Properly
Unlike Apple, Spotify, and just about every other publishing platform, you can't simply "submit" your podcast to Facebook. This is because Facebook requires you to have a Facebook page setup first and connected to the podcast. So, you'll need to make sure you have all these things in place:
- Facebook page setup that you want to be connected to your podcast (either a business page, or a new page specific to your podcast)
- Access to the email address associated with your podcast
- Administrator access to the Facebook page (editor or manager access is not enough)
- Access to your podcast's RSS feed
Assuming you can check the boxes for the list above, you can connect up your podcast no problem!
Step 2: Go to the Facebook page and find podcasts tab.
After you go to your Facebook page, take a look at the left-hand side toolbar. This is the "Manage Page" area. On that side, look for a tab that says "Podcasts". If you don't see this, it's likely because you're not an admin of your account.
Click on "Podcasts".
If you've never done this, you'll probably see nothing listed. Click on "Add podcast".
Step 3: Grab RSS feed & Paste it in
Now it's time to find your RSS feed. Grab your RSS feed, which is provided by your hosting provider, and copy that. Paste your RSS feed into the box.
Step 4: Locate code emailed to you
Now, the email associated with your podcast (note that this can be different from your login email on your hosting provider) will have received an email from Facebook. This is to confirm ownership of the podcast. Look for the email and it will have a short multi-digit pin.
Paste that pin in.
Step 5: How to listen to your episodes on Facebook
Now, the interesting thing about Facebook is that at the time of this writing, they do not let you listen to episodes on a desktop computer. You can only listen using the Facebook application.
This is quite confusing for many people, and took me some time to figure this out (I learned later they have a little disclaimer mentioning that it can only be listened to on the Facebook application).
But, if you go to your Facebook app on your phone or tablet, and go to your page, you'll see a new tab on the page (it might be under the "more" section) called "podcast".
Select that, and you can listen directly on the Facebook app!
Why bother connecting to Facebook?
I believe this is a good idea to connect your podcast to Facebook, mainly because, why the heck not? Of course, if you have exclusivities, this won't work for you.
However, connecting your podcast to as many locations as possible will generally only have positive outcomes for your show.
In my experience, for most of the podcasts we manage, we see that about a 20% bump in downloads after connecting to Facebook- That's huge! We have not seen Facebook be the main place people listen to episodes, but we do typically see it being the 3rd or 4th most popular location to listen from. The only two being consistently above Facebook is Apple & Spotify.
So, I hope this article has helped you connect your podcast to Facebook!
