At TwoSix Digital, we continually discuss the importance of utilizing Facebook Link Posts in your social media strategy. These link posts have the ability to be easily customized and are the best way to drive traffic to your website. First, you must first learn which information that Facebook will pull from your link by using the Facebook Sharing Debugger tool. Then, follow these 5 things that you need to know about Facebook Link Posts.
1.) The Effectiveness of Facebook Link Posts
One of the easiest ways to expand your reach and spread information regarding your organization is to share website links on Facebook. Your primary focus while using social media platforms should be to drive traffic back to your website as an organization. Give your followers what they’re looking for by continually posting content on this platform using Facebook Link Posts!
In a primarily visual world, it’s common knowledge that posts that contain imagery perform better versus posts that only contain text. However, to reach the goal of driving traffic to your website – posting a link is your best bet. Although posts with photos may perform better engagement-wise, your posts containing links back to your website will ultimately drive more traffic to your site.
2.) What’s Most Important in Facebook Link Posts
When starting out with Facebook Link Posts, it’s imperative to learn the most important aspects of this feature. In order of importance:
Image
- A good, eye-catching image will grab users’ attention and more likely get them to click on your link. This is one of, if not the most important aspect when using link posts.
Link Headline
- Once you get users’ attention with your photo, draw them closer with an attention-grabbing headline. Make users think “I want to learn more!”
Post Caption
- Don’t overcomplicate this aspect! Your image and headline should speak loud enough that your post caption should be short and sweet!
Link Description
- Ideally, your image and snappy headline will draw users to click your link already, but it doesn’t hurt to go one step further and give them a little sneak peek about what they will find upon clicking.
Website Display Link
- Make sure your link is correct.
3.) You Need a Good Image – You Might Need to Change It!
One of the worst things an organization can do is post a Facebook Link Post without a photo. The majority of users will scroll right past a link post without a thumbnail. Consequently, the most significant aspect of link-style posts is the picture – it’s even more important than your caption.
The photo you choose should be relevant to the topic of the link to get the best results. Use the photo to catch users’ attention and draw their gaze to your headline.
How do you change the image on a link in Facebook?
Facebook has made it easier to change the image you use for your link posts in their “Page Posts” area of Business Manager. When you create a post here, and add in a URL, there’s a “+” symbol that appears, allowing you to upload a different photo for the link preview to use.
4.) Headlines Are What Make People Click
Link headlines are located right under the link post’s photo. It’s big and bold and is where users will look once the image grabs their attention. The reason for a headline is to encourage users to do one simple thing – click. Headlines are what make or break the results of a link post.
A lot of digital marketers are scared of being too “clickbaity” and instead use broad, general copy. People click links because their curiosity is piqued. Think of it as “click-worthy” instead. This should be your goal when crafting link headlines. Aim to write headlines with interesting and specific wording. Ideally, that employ urgency, the curiosity gap, or other tools in digital marketers’ war chest.
5.) Don’t Prioritize Post Captions and Link Descriptions
This caption is worthwhile, because it asks an “or” question. Yet, it’s still secondary to the interesting headline and bold imagery.
Captions are not the primary way users are drawn in – however, they add an extra layer of content to your link preview. Although it can tip the scales, it won’t ultimately grab a user’s attention. In a world where the average mobile user spends 1.7 seconds on each Facebook post, most users will not take the time to read the caption after reading the headline thoroughly. Only the first three lines appear in a post before “See More” cuts off the rest. A best practice is to keep your social posts short and sweet. Try adding in an emoji to convey the main theme of the landing page.
Bonus: How to Change Your Headline & Image
Wondering how to change your link preview? The short answer is that it can only be done by editing the landing page on the backend of your website.
The title or H1 heading on your website is likely going to be your headline. “Featured Images” are usually the images that populate. You can also change the Open Graph tags on a landing page to alter the appearance of a link preview on sites like Facebook and Twitter. This will allow you to keep your search engine optimized (SEO) title while also having a better headline on social media.
If you use a WordPress-based website, then you probably use Yoast SEO — which makes it so much easier. Yoast SEO has a customization tab for Facebook Previews. So, if the headline isn’t catchy enough in your link post, or you want to change your image, do it! There’s nothing stopping you.
Wrapping Up: Reach Out for Questions!
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