Anatomy of an Effective Facebook Post, Part 1
Everything today is begging for likes. On the radio and TV hosts remind their audiences to “like” them on Facebook, and even your local coffee place probably has a sign directing you to their page. But what do all the likes mean? For a business, Facebook can be used for more than just garnering likes. It can help build brand awareness, introduce a company to new leads, and develop client relationships.
There are two sides to an effective Facebook post: using the right anatomy, and posting the right mix of content long-term. As part 1, we’ll cover post anatomy. Stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll discuss content strategy for your Facebook posts. In a Facebook post there should be a caption, media, and call to action.
The core component of a Facebook post is the media: articles, blog posts, pages from your site, videos, photo slideshows, case studies, etc. Making sure that it’s displayed correctly on the platform is important to the posts’ success. A post without a photo is less likely to be viewed or shared. When you’re sharing photos, you can put them into a video slideshow or carousel view to best display them, and this will vary based on what you’re posting. If you’re sharing a few product photos the carousel might work better, but photos of an installation may do better in a moving slideshow. Video especially does well; ever notice that half the content in your own Facebook feed is video? You can make your own with photos that will auto-play. If you’re sharing an article, you can add a photo.
Once you have your media set up, you can work on a caption. The caption is important; it explains to your followers what you’re showing them. What are these photos about? Why should they care about this article? What’s interesting on your page? Sharing a website link on its own is hardly tempting to click on, make it interesting! Be careful of getting overly wordy in your caption, short and sweet is going to be more effective than many paragraphs – remember, social media moves fast.
Within your caption is the third element: a call-to-action. Now that you’ve shared why what you’re sharing is important or interesting for your followers, the call to action suggests what to do with it. What’s in it for me? The call-to-action could be: read this article, RSVP for our event, hear from our CEO, watch how we installed this, etc. The call-to-action in a Facebook post is what can differentiate your social media activity from just garnering likes, to becoming a tool that can help grow your business and its reputation.
Not sure what to share? Stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll talk more about what content you should be sharing to keep your audience engaged and interested. Or if you can’t wait, register now to online courses on Caster Academy to learn that and much more about PR and social media for your business. Catch us on Twitter @CasterComm @LauraShoebell.