But rather than looking at Facebook’s frequent rule changes as an obstacle, you should starting seeing them as an opportunity.
Every time Facebook makes an update to the News Feed algorithm, there are going to be winners and losers. The trick is, Facebook makes it very clear who the winners will be and who is going to suffer. Publications and brands like BuzzFeed and Starbucks don’t win on Facebook by gaming the system, they win because they play by Facebook’s rules and reap the rewards.
You can’t build a successful Facebook Page overnight, but by learning to create consistently great posts, you can use the News Feed to your advantage and start turning Facebook into a major driver of growth.
The Perfect Facebook Post
While there are exceptions to every rule, the vast majority of successful Facebook posts follow a set of certain criteria. Start integrating these tips below into all of your posts and you will see your engagement and reach continue to grow.
1. Post As a Link
Always post your content as a Link rather than a Photo with a link in the description. The terminology Facebook uses to describe the different kinds of posts can start to sound trivial, but the effect each has on performance is not.
When creating a Facebook post you have four general options -- post a Status (words only), a Photo, a Video, or a Link. A Link is just a Status with a URL pasted in it.
Pretty simple, but the important thing to remember is that Links reach a larger audience than Photos by rate of 2-to-1.
The reason the Link format performs so well is that Facebook automatically generates a preview of your content using the page's metadata -- title, share image, description, and site name. Facebook has decided this format is the proper way for URLs to appear on the News Feed, and boosts Pages that post Links accordingly.
Pro tip: When you paste your URL into the Status composer, you can erase it before posting and the Link Preview will still appear (see other examples below). This is a great way to make your posts look cleaner while still using the Link format.
2. Use Accurate Title and Description
Sometimes the title and description metadata that gets pulled in by Facebook doesn't look that pretty. Or, maybe you want to test out a different headline based on the context you're sharing your content in.
Either way it's easy to edit a link's title and description copy before you post it to Facebook. Just click on either field on the link preview and make the change before you click "Post".
Pro tip: Since the post above was for a show announcement, Do214 edited the event page's title on the Facebook link preview to make it more engaging.
3. Use an Optimal Share Image
Sometimes the title and description metadata that gets pulled in by Facebook doesn't look that pretty. Or, maybe you want to test out a different headline based on the context you're sharing your content in.
Either way it's easy to edit a link's title and description copy before you post it to Facebook. Just click on either field on the link preview and make the change before you click "Post".
Pro tip: Since the post above was for a show announcement, Do214 edited the event page's title on the Facebook link preview to make it more engaging.
3. Use an Optimal Share Image
Now that you can set the share image for your pages directly from Radmin and the front-end, you can make sure the image that Facebook pulls in for your Links is always optimized for the News Feed.
Facebook's own guidelines specify that share images should be no smaller than 1200 x 630 pixels, and always maintain that 1.91:1 ratio. It should be said that our own cover images are recommended to be 1200 x 450 pixels (2.67:1), so failing to upload a separate share image could really hurt post performance.
The share images you choose should always be high-quality and capture what the content in the link is all about. Blurry images or images only slightly related to the content aren't going to capture your audiences attention. Also, you can use images with words and graphics, but they aren't necessary.
Pro tip: If you plan to boost a post through paid promotion, the share image cannot be made up of more than 25% text.
4. Use the Facebook Debugger
If you've ever been frustrated by the Facebook Link preview pulling in outdated images or description copy, you'll be glad to know that these problems can now be easily fixed by the Facebook Debugger tool.
Facebook's caching scripts automatically pull in metadata to generate those pretty link previews, but if you're sharing the link for the first time or you just updated the image, the scripts will not have had time to pull in the new metadata for your current post.
Thankfully, the Debugger tool can be used to force Facebook to fetch the updated share image, title, or page description. When in doubt, use this tool every time before sharing content to make sure everything will appear exactly how you want it to.
5. Use Conversational Tone, But Keep It Short
Studies have found that the most engaged-with posts are the ones that use a conversational tone, but are kept to 40 characters or less.
Think about it, you know this instinctively. Facebook is where you communicate with your friends, stay up to date with what they're doing, and share links they might find funny or interesting. The last thing you want to see in your News Feed is someone who posts a three paragraph essay about something they're trying to tell you to care about.
It's the same with your metro's audience. If you've followed steps 1-3 above, you're already going to have an awesome looking Link, so all you have to do is introduce it or tease it in a natural and conversational way. Let the image, title, and description do the rest of the talking.
6. Try Sharing At Off-Peak Hours
The most popular times for sharing content on Facebook are Monday through Friday, 10am-7pm. However, most engagements on workdays actually happen early in the morning (when people are drinking their morning coffee and scanning the News Feed) and night (while they're sitting on the couch watching TV or laying in bed trying to get to sleep).
Use this discrepancy to your advantage by scheduling certain posts to go live during these off-peak hours when there's less content being shared but more people engaging. TrackMaven recommends 5:00pm to 12:00am local time as an optimal time to post content.
Also, weekends are usually a down time for brands and publications to post content, but users are engaging on Facebook around the clock Saturday and Sunday. You do it yourself while you're waiting at a bar for a friend, standing in line at a show, or laying in bed enjoying a lazy Sunday.
So before you head out on Friday afternoons, remember to schedule a few posts to go live at strategic times on Saturday and Sunday.
7. It's Part of a Bigger Facebook Strategy
All of these tips are great for crafting the perfect post, but none of it matters if it's not part of a consistent Facebook strategy. Sorry if this bursts your bubble, but there's no way to game the system these days. Social media users are too savvy and you won't get anywhere by bullshitting them.
To become successful on Facebook (and all of us can become incredibly successful on Facebook), you need to get serious about what you want your voice to be and put out great, authentic content everyday.
The most successful Facebook Pages aren't the ones always trying to promote something or bait you into clicking through to their site. They post content that's funny, cool, interesting, useful, or relevant. They behave more like a friend than a company that's trying to sell you something.
Think about it, what's the type of local content you like to see pop up on your news feed? It's not the dry and boring stuff your daily newspaper posts, and it's not the corny stuff some local bloggers posts. It's stuff that speaks to you and your peers in an authentic way and makes you want to be a part of what they're doing. Post that.
Facebook's caching scripts automatically pull in metadata to generate those pretty link previews, but if you're sharing the link for the first time or you just updated the image, the scripts will not have had time to pull in the new metadata for your current post.
Thankfully, the Debugger tool can be used to force Facebook to fetch the updated share image, title, or page description. When in doubt, use this tool every time before sharing content to make sure everything will appear exactly how you want it to.
5. Use Conversational Tone, But Keep It Short
Studies have found that the most engaged-with posts are the ones that use a conversational tone, but are kept to 40 characters or less.
Think about it, you know this instinctively. Facebook is where you communicate with your friends, stay up to date with what they're doing, and share links they might find funny or interesting. The last thing you want to see in your News Feed is someone who posts a three paragraph essay about something they're trying to tell you to care about.
It's the same with your metro's audience. If you've followed steps 1-3 above, you're already going to have an awesome looking Link, so all you have to do is introduce it or tease it in a natural and conversational way. Let the image, title, and description do the rest of the talking.
6. Try Sharing At Off-Peak Hours
The most popular times for sharing content on Facebook are Monday through Friday, 10am-7pm. However, most engagements on workdays actually happen early in the morning (when people are drinking their morning coffee and scanning the News Feed) and night (while they're sitting on the couch watching TV or laying in bed trying to get to sleep).
Use this discrepancy to your advantage by scheduling certain posts to go live during these off-peak hours when there's less content being shared but more people engaging. TrackMaven recommends 5:00pm to 12:00am local time as an optimal time to post content.
Also, weekends are usually a down time for brands and publications to post content, but users are engaging on Facebook around the clock Saturday and Sunday. You do it yourself while you're waiting at a bar for a friend, standing in line at a show, or laying in bed enjoying a lazy Sunday.
So before you head out on Friday afternoons, remember to schedule a few posts to go live at strategic times on Saturday and Sunday.
7. It's Part of a Bigger Facebook Strategy
All of these tips are great for crafting the perfect post, but none of it matters if it's not part of a consistent Facebook strategy. Sorry if this bursts your bubble, but there's no way to game the system these days. Social media users are too savvy and you won't get anywhere by bullshitting them.
To become successful on Facebook (and all of us can become incredibly successful on Facebook), you need to get serious about what you want your voice to be and put out great, authentic content everyday.
The most successful Facebook Pages aren't the ones always trying to promote something or bait you into clicking through to their site. They post content that's funny, cool, interesting, useful, or relevant. They behave more like a friend than a company that's trying to sell you something.
Think about it, what's the type of local content you like to see pop up on your news feed? It's not the dry and boring stuff your daily newspaper posts, and it's not the corny stuff some local bloggers posts. It's stuff that speaks to you and your peers in an authentic way and makes you want to be a part of what they're doing. Post that.
