On Facebook, the competition for attention is tough. You’re up against baby photos, cat videos, party invites, and that new hit song everyone’s talking about. Sometimes, it can feel like it’s impossible to stand out among the crowd.
The good news is that there are a few key tactics you can use to earn readers’ interest and generate referral traffic back to your site.
Let’s take a look.
Use images with minimal text
It’s as simple as this: The less text you have in your image, the better. Specifically, Facebook recommends making sure your text doesn’t take up more than 20% of your image. This includes logos, watermarks, and numbers.
While it’s best to use no text at all, if you want to include some words, Facebook says to keep the font size small and the text contained to one area. Before publishing, you can even double-check your image with Facebook’s handy text overlay tool.
Keep descriptions short and sweet
It’s official: Humans now have shorter attention spans than goldfish. While that doesn’t sound great for mankind, you can’t blame us, right? With so many screens, platforms, and networks on which to consume content, we’re always looking for the next interesting piece of information.
That’s why it’s crucial to keep your Facebook posts short and to-the-point. In fact, Facebook recommends using no more than 90 characters in your caption, and no more than 25 in your headline (if you’re posting a link to a web page).
Don’t forget: Even when you publish a link to an article, you can edit the title and description on your post so it appeals to your Facebook audience. If you’re not sure what to include, try testing your options on the ShareThis Social A/B tool.
Plant a compelling call-to-action
When readers see your social post, they shouldn’t have to guess which action to take. Just tell them directly—without being too pushy, of course. Whether you want them to click on your link, subscribe to your email list, or shop at your online store, make it clear what they can gain by taking a certain action.
If you sponsor your post or run a Facebook Ad, you can even choose from the network’s pre-made call-to-action buttons, including “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” “Sign Up,” and “Contact Us.”
Listen to your audience
Always remember to tap into your best source of information: your audience. If they’ve already interacted with your publication by liking, sharing, and commenting on your posts, that data is there for the taking. Simply use it to make more informed decisions going forward.
For example, do people respond better to black-and-white images than they do to images full of color? Are they inclined to click on headlines that start with a number? Are they hungry for certain types of content and oversaturated with others? By answering questions like these, you can effectively deliver more of what readers want, and cut out what isn’t working.
At the end of the day, no one wants to go up against baby photos and cat videos. Who could possibly resist them? And yet, you need to make sure your content catches the attention of the right audience. With these tools and tips embedded in your strategy, you’ll be well equipped to drive engagement for your brand and provide a more customized experience for your audience.
This is the Facebook Marketing Strategy series in which we share the best practices for how to use Facebook for business! This is part 2 of the series.
- Part 1: How to craft effective Facebook intro copy
- Part 3: 5 tips for A/B testing your Facebook posts
- Part 4: How to craft killer Facebook headlines that leave readers wanting more
- Part 5: How to pick the right image for your Facebook post
- Part 6: 5 ways to increase your Facebook engagement
- Part 7: 4 ways to use Facebook’s algorithm to your advantage
- Part 8: 7 next-level Facebook marketing tactics to increase your readership
- Part 9: 6 Copywriting Tips to Drive More Facebook Shares
- Part 10: The best ad types for B2B Facebook Advertising
- Part 11: How to promote your business on Facebook with Messenger Ads
Want to learn more?
Content marketing on Facebook is a complex subject. We got you covered — you can read more about how to get your first 500 Facebook followers fast, creating high quality content, optimizing content for Facebook’s changing algorithm, what pinned posts on Facebook means, and converting fans into customers.
