When you share links on your Facebook Page, there are a number of factors that determine whether someone clicks on your link or not.
The preview picture, the title, and your comments about the article all play a role in how clickable your link is. Here are five ways to tweak posted links on your Facebook Page:
1.) Don’t Shorten URLs
BuddyMedia conducted a study that found that full-length URLs get three times as many clicks as URLs that have been shortened. The reason why long URLs do better has to do with trust. Long URLs tell the user what website they’re about to visit, whereas short URLs hide this important piece of information.
2.) Turn The Title Into Clickbait
When you post an article on Facebook–especially one from your website–you want people to click on it! The problem is that the default title Facebook creates for that article may not be very click-friendly. For example, the title may be very long AND also include the name of your website, which is not needed on Facebook.
Fortunately, you can edit the title and description within the preview displayed on Facebook by following these three steps:
- Paste the URL into the status update window where it says “Write something” (you can delete the URL from the update window once the preview is created).
- A preview is automatically generated.
- Double click on the title and or excerpt to edit the text.
3.) Select The Best Image
When posting a link to Facebook, you’ll also be able to choose from a variety of images related to the article. And like the default title discussed above, the default image may not be that interesting.
Tab through these images to find one that stands out. Hi-quality photographs are better than fancy graphics, simply because they convey more emotion.
4.) Post Photos Instead
Photos get the highest level of interaction on Facebook compared to every other types of content, so it makes sense sometimes to post photos as links on your Facebook Page.
The way to do this as follows:
- Select an interesting photo within the article you want to post.
- Post this photo on your Facebook PageIn the “Say something about this” field, post a short description about the article along with a link to the article.
Users will be more likely to share, comment on, and like the photo than they would a link to your article containing that same photo. Voila!
5.) Measure Links Posted on Facebook
When all is said and done, you want to to know which links are actually sending the most traffic to your website!
But how do you know who clicked on a link posted on Facebook if it’s the same one shared on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest? This is where using Advanced Segments in Google Analytics comes in handy (you can learn how to create these by watching this video).
Finding Out What Works For You
These are the basics for mastering the art of sharing links on Facebook. Experiment to see what works best for your organization, and come back here to share your discoveries in the comments!
Nice tips. Need to start working on these asap. Look up http://www.facebook.com/evansakanno
Great information, nothing like a second head to think things out. Really needed the help
I’ve already been doing some of these things. I am one of those people who is reluctant to click on shortened url’s since I am a computer tech and see computers every day that have viruses, trojans, etc. that the owner got from clicking on some link. I also choose the image I want since I don’t like just “any” image on my FB page, since I am a Christian.
my facebook page is very wierd,when i comments even when im using chats when i press enter a bunches of links r send please help me to connect with my friends