7 ways to post better links on Facebook | Connecting Up

You can use URL shortener services such as bit.ly and HootSuite (ow.ly and ht.ly) to track individual URLs. Many URL shortening services have their own reports ... Login HelpCentre Call 7waystopostbetterlinksonFacebook PostinglinkstoFacebookisfairlyeasy,buttherearetricksandtipstomakingthemostofthesecommonlypostedupdates. EveryFacebookPageandaudienceisdifferentandrelatesdifferentlytodifferenttypesofcontent.It’sworthtakingthetimetofindoutwhatsortofcontentworksbestforyourcommunity. LinksarewidelyusedbyindividualsandPagestosharecontent.Whetheritsyourowncontentorsomeoneelses,sharingvaluableresources/articles/videosisagreatwaytoaddvaluetoyourFacebookPageforyourcommunity.So,howcanyoumakeyourlinksstandoutfromthecrowd? Thebasics ‘Topostalink,simplypasteitintoyourtextupdateandFacebookwillautomaticallygeneratealinkpreview.Thepreviewincludes: Title Introductorytext(usuallythefirstparagraphorsoofthearticle) Selectionofthumbnailstochoosefrom Here'swhatagenerallinkmightlooklikebeforewestartoptimisingit: Now,let'slookathowwecanmakeitlookandworkbetterforus! 1)Tellthemwhatit’sabout Nothing’sworsethanalinkpostedwithoutanexplanationaboutwhyitwasposted.Makesureyousaysomethingusefulaboutthelinkbeforepostingit.Forexample: Saywhyitmatters Askaquestion Giveabriefsummary 2)RemoveunnecessaryURLs Whenpostingalink,youcanremovetheURLonceFacebookworksoutthelinkpreview.AsmostURLsarefairlylong,it’sgoodpracticetotakeremoveitfromyourtexttomakeyourpostslooknicer. 3)Chooseagoodthumbnail Oftenpagesyoulinktohaveanumberofimagesincludedonthepage.Facebookwillfindassociatedimagesandallowyoutochoosewhichimagetouse.Clicktheleft/rightarrowstochoosethebestimage. 4)EditthetitleanddescriptionANDthumbnail Beforepostingthelink,Facebookallowsyoutoupdatethetitleofthelinkandthedescription.Thisishandyifyou’relookingforamoreengagingtitleorwhattohighlightapart ofthearticleinparticular(e.g.aquote,statisticsetc).Alsothinkaboutaddinganothercalltoactioninthedescriptiontoincreasethechanceofpeopleinteractingwithyourlink. Here'swhatourfinallinklookslikejustbeforewepostit: It’simportanttonotethatwhenthelinkshowsinsomeone’snewsfeed,youonlyget5linesoftext(includingtheURL).Asaruleofthumb,tryandkeepyourtitleto1line,givingyoumoredescriptiontext.Theremaybecaseswhereyouwanttohavea2lineheadline(e.g.adateforanevent) Here'sourpostinthenewsfeedwithasingle-linetitle: Here'sanotherlinkusing2-linesforthetitle,usingthesecondlinefortheeventdateandlocation: *UPDATE*Youcanalsouploadacustomthumbnailtoyourlinks.Ifyoudon'thaveanappropriateimageonthepageyou'relinkingto,youshouldnowseeanoptionto'uploadimage.'  5)Trackyourlinks(advanced) Ifyouwanttotakelinkstothenextlevel,youcanbemorespecificwithyourURLtracking.Thisishandyifyouwanttomeasuretheperformanceofindividuallinks.Here’show: UseacustomURLshortener(e.g.bit.lyorHootSuite)YoucanuseURLshortenerservicessuchasbit.lyandHootSuite(ow.lyandht.ly)totrackindividualURLs.ManyURLshorteningserviceshavetheirownreportsbuilt-in,givingyouextrainsightintotheperformanceofyourlinks. Note:thedownsideofthisisthatwhenthelinkappearsonFacebook,itshowstheshortenedserviceURLandnottheoriginalURL.Ifyou’reconcernedaboutpeoplenotclickingonitbecauseoftheshortnedURL,youcanlookintousingacustomshortURLtoo. UseaUTMParametersforGoogleAnalyticsIfyou’reusingGoogleAnalyticstomonitoryourwebsitetraffic,youcanaddabitofextratexttotheendofyourlink’sURLtoallowGoogleAnalyticstogetmorespecific.KISSmetricshasagoodoverviewofhowtouseUTMParameters. VisitKISSmetrics:HowToUseUTMParametersInGoogleAnalytics5 6)OptimiseyourcontentwithFacebook’sOpenGraph(advanced) WhileFacebookisprettygoodatautomaticallyfindingthetitle,descriptionandthumbnailsofthecontentyou’relinkingto,it’salsohelpfulthinkingaboutwhatshowsupwhenpeoplepostyourcontent.Withthisinmind,youmaywanttogobackandoptimiseyourcontent(e.g.blogposts/casestudies/videos)forFacebook. YoucanalsouseFacebook’sOpenGraphtagstoalterthesefurtherwithabitofcodingninjitsu.XLDStudioshasagoodoverviewwithlinkstomoreinfo. VisitXLDStudios: AddFacebookPreviewImage,TitleandDescriptionwiththeOpenGraphProtocol 7)Usepicturesinsteadoflinks Ifyouwanttotrysomethingdifferent,youcanusepictureswithalinkinthedescriptionratherthanpostingalinkbyitself.Seetheexampleofaphotopostwithalinkontheright. Thebenefitofthisare: Photos/imagestakeupalotmorereal-estateonthenewsfeed,drawingmoreattention Photos/imagescanincreaseyourengagement Photos/imagesallowgreatercustomising ForafullrundownonhowyoucanuseimagesonFacebookbetter–includingpointsonusingimagesinsteadoflinks,haveareadofourarticle“HowtomakepostingimagesonFacebookworkforyou.” Facebookandlinks Finally,themostengagingcontentcomesdowntohowwellyouunderstandyourcommunityandwhatcontentyoupostaccordingly.Mixupthetypesofcontentyoupost,tryYouTubevideos,yourownblogposts,articlesfromothersitesyoufindusefulbutalwayspostwithyourcommunityinmind-whatdo theycareabout? Tagsfacebook