Now I wanted to discuss using links on your posts and how these work when it comes to organic reach. For the uninitiated, there are a several options when it comes to using links in your posts. I will explain these and then give you the results from Facebook on which option will give you the best organic reach.
Option 1: Text with the automatic preview link.
Below is an example from my page where I have put up a link to my landing page.
As you can see, it is fairly basic. Facebook will automatically generate a preview from the link by pulling information that it finds. In this case, it has pulled an image (not of me but a client who gave a testimonial) and also the default text that sits on the website. It is not really looking too good.
Option 2: Simply include the link
To have only the link included with your text, you need to delete the automatic preview. The delete option is simply a cross that appears at the top right of the preview box (where the arrow is pointing). Many people like the link only option, believing it looks cleaner.
Option 3: Use a photo and text with a link
This is not widely used, mainly because many people are not aware of its existence but there are good reasons for using this method.
When you upload a photo, you can include the link in the post. The benefit of doing this is that the link is now attached to your photo so every time someone looks at it in your album, the link will be sitting there waiting for them to use. If you have products that you sell that you would like links to your website, this is a great idea.
Now that you know the different ways you can use links and images in a Facebook post, the question remains, which one does Facebook favour?
Facebook recently announced that Option 1: text with automatic preview link is the option that will be given the most competitive reach. And Facebook has kindly made this default option as they want it to work for you.
Now that you know this, let me share a little PRO TIP with you. The default preview is quite ugly that Facebook has selected. This is because it is pulling information from the link itself. This is often loaded in the back end but you can edit this to make it look better.
I have taken a couple of minutes to amend the content of this automatically generated link. As you can see, it now looks significantly better. I have used my logo for the image and changed the text of both the header and the content. Look how good this now looks:
And one final HINT: a good rule of thumb for the content you add on the preview is 150 characters. This will mean no text is cut off.
Now, get cracking and post some links on your Facebook page using this best practice and watch your reach soar.
