Do you have Facebook writer’s block? Is the last post on your company page from December 2013? If you’re still drawing a blank – even after downing gallons of Red Bull – have no fear. Follow these three simple steps to start Facebooking like a pro!

(By the way, most of this advice also applies to LinkedIn, Google+, and other platforms. I’m just picking on Facebook because it’s so popular.)

1. Pick a cool article to share. This is easy peasy! Don’t believe me? Go to www.feedly.com. It’s a free site where you can create a customized, continuously refreshed newsfeed of articles about topics you like. Once you create your newsfeed, pick an article. For instance, here’s an interesting piece about YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. (Susan, you can pay me later for the shout-out. I accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards. I’ll also take free Google advertising.)

2. Write a super-short comment. Believe it or not, updates with fewer than 80 characters get up to 86% more engagement (likes, comments, and shares) compared to posts that read like War and Peace. For our chosen article, the update has just 30 characters: “We really appreciate fact #12.” We simply want to pique curiosity.

Also, did you know you can edit the headline (“12 Surprising Facts …”) and newsfeed link description (“What you need to know …”) below the image? Before the post goes live, simply click on the headline or description and edit away. In this case, I kept both as they are, because they describe the article perfectly. When the headline and description tell the story, you can keep your update above short and sweet.

3. Make sure the image is spot-on. As you write your post, Facebook will grab an image from the web page you’re linking to. Sometimes the image obviously matches the topic … and sometimes not. For instance, here’s an image that pops up with a BuzzFeed article about the iPhone 6S:

Last time I checked, retro comic book romance has nothing to do with iPhones. Fortunately, you can use the arrows in the top left to peruse other images. (You can also upload your own image by clicking toward the bottom of the retro woman’s face.)

Fortunately, this BuzzFeed page has several images attached to it. Here’s a nice option, along with our brief comment at the top:

So, once you’ve done these three steps, what’s left?

Post it!

Writing an effective Facebook post can be simple – so do it today. You can also email your masterpiece to brooke@deshoutout.com. I’d love to see what you’ve come up with!

 

[NEW BLOG:] 3 Easy Steps for Writing a Killer #Facebook Post: https://t.co/5MmzU2VNvu #SocialMedia

— Delaware ShoutOut (@DEShoutOut) October 1, 2015