There are few things that instill more fear into social media marketers than being required to drive organic traffic to a site, campaign, or even a Facebook tab via Facebook.
Facebook’s strong suit has never been click-throughs. As a result, social media marketers have done everything in their power to boost the presence of links. Shorten the link – done! Post photos and include the link in the status/caption – done! Use a call-to-action in caps, e.g., CLICK HERE – done!
Doing one, two or all three has not yielded the sort of click-throughs that we see organically on Pinterest or Twitter. This has led to an earned click-through approach on platforms like Pinterest and a paid approach on Facebook.
However, the tables may be turning — links are finally getting some Facebook love. Last month, Facebook announced that posts with links are going to be 3x the size they have been in the past. Size matters in the newsfeed world, and this is a major visual upgrade. (Links will be going from 90 pixels by 90 pixels to 154 pixels by 154 pixels.)
The link summary is also getting a boost, as now you’re able to add more copy to the description. So, what does this mean for marketers?
Larger Photo Sizes On The Sites You Link To
You can’t ensure that all sites you link to have high quality images that are at least 154 pixels by 154 pixels or larger, but you can ensure that your owned sites do.
While the most recent update to Facebook’s Edge Rank weighs text posts greater than photos when it comes to reach, it’s still the post with the image that garners the higher engagement. Making sure that all photos on your site are high-res, eye-catching and — most importantly — on topic will help to ideally get your fans interested and garner more click-throughs.
Craft The Link Title & Description As Carefully As You Craft Your Post
Often times, people are in shock and awe when they find out that link titles and descriptions can be changed. And often times, they should be changed.
Every word counts, especially when you’re asking someone to move outside of Facebook. That’s the equivalent of asking someone to go out when they are sitting on the couch in their PJs with a warm cup of tea. You have to give them a really good reason to get up and go.
The metadata that is automatically pulled may not be compelling, catchy or on-point, and with the additional space being added, there’s no excuse not to update the copy. Just be careful. These titles and descriptions should be as thoughtfully written as the post copy that’s associated to the link.
Again, it’s incredibly difficult to get someone to click-through; so, be sure to take your time in crafting the right message.
What Next?
It remains to be seen whether the-bigger-the-better philosophy applies when it comes to click-throughs; but, Facebook’s recent move to draw more attention to links is most certainly a move in the right direction.
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