You’re probably aware of the importance of having introduction copy for your Facebook post. We’re talking about the part of your Facebook post above the image and headline. But did you know that small changes can significantly impact your post’s reach? Getting it right involves both art and science. To give you a head start, we combed through the data from our Social A/B testing tool to pull some Facebook intro examples to help you generate the right Facebook intro ideas.
1. You should always write Facebook intro copy — even if it’s not perfect
Our data shows that Facebook will show your post to 20% more people on average when you use intro copy than when you don’t. So no matter how short, long, direct, or passive your intro copy is, write some.
Sidebar: Our A/B testing tool lets you A/B test all of the intro copy, image headline, and post description. Even when testing images, it’s a good idea to write an intro copy for each variation as well to make sure you’re getting maximum exposure for your tests.
2. Keep your Facebook intro copy short
We’ve read before that shorter posts get better engagement. Now we can prove it. Looking across all our Social A/B testing data, we found that:
- Good Facebook intro comprised 18 fewer characters than losers, by median.
- Regardless of the content, shorter messages had higher lift and better reach (see below) more than 60% of the time.
Our favorite Facebook intro examples:
| Winner | Loser | Difference in length | Lift |
|---|
| Movie of the year? | Crude, raw, three years in the making, and maybe one of the best movies of the year. This is a must watch. | 89 | +30% |
| Will snowboarding exist for future generations? | Is our thirst for adventure threatening our environment? Whistler Blackcomb asks the tough questions in part 1 of “The Big Picture”. | 87 | +46% |
3. Use direct language in your Facebook intro copy
Intro copy that is simple, active voice, and to the point performs better than passive or vague messages. Use this tip in conjunction with “be short” to win the internet.
Our favorite Facebook intro examples:
| Winner | Loser | Length Difference | Lift |
|---|
| Learn how to increase your engagement by 50% | What you need to know about how the changes behind Facebook’s algorithm impact publishers | 45 | +47% |
| Must-watch | Is this the best ad of 2016? | 17 | +19% |
4. Facebook rewards better CTR with more reach
Now that you’ve written short, active intro copy, how can you maximize reach even more? Through A/B testing.
It turns out that Facebook posts that have higher engagement are doubly rewarded with extra reach by Facebook’s algorithms. So finding just the right intro copy can have the double reach impact.
Here are some examples:
| Winning CTR | Winning Reach | Losing CTR | Losing Reach | CTR Lift | Compounded additional clicks |
|---|
| 5.6% | 1,500 | 4.2% | 780 | 33% | +66% |
| 3% | 650 | 1.1% | 340 | 170% | +300% |
With these four fun facts in mind, you’ll be driving bigger audiences to your content in no time. Just write short, direct intro copy and run A/B tests to find the most engaging message. It’s that easy.
This has been part of the Facebook Marketing Strategy series in which we share the best practices for how to use Facebook for business! This is part 1 of the series. In this post, we’ll share tips on how to write good Facebook intro copy that gets attention and clicks.
- Part 2: The secret to designing click-worthy Facebook Ads
- 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
- Part 12: The winners and losers of Facebook’s News Feed changes in 2018
Want more shares and clicks?
Considering that the new Facebook algorithm favors content from friends and family over content from publishers or businesses, you need to work harder to get your content seen on the platform. Learn more about Facebook marketing with posts like our guide to pinned posts on Facebook, and empower your readers to share your content (and help you boost followers of Facebook) by planting the Facebook share button on your blog posts and pages.
