Writing a great update for your Facebook page is a lot like writing for any medium – there’s tonnes of creative licence, but there are a few guidelines and points to tick off to ensure your post covers all the necessary bases.
There are four things to consider when crafting an update for your small business Facebook page, and there’s a simple way to remember them – think POST.
Picture: Whatever your update is about, make sure you’ve done everything you can to find an image to go with it. Speaking generally, updates with an image have a better chance of being noticed by people who have liked your page – which is the aim of the game. If you want to post a link, but the picture options thrown up automatically by Facebook are limited or non-existent, post an image and insert the link into the update text (preferably shortened in order for it to be made trackable).
Open up debate: It’s a great idea to include a ‘call to action’ in your posts – for example linking people to a page of your website and encouraging them to discover more. It’s also a good idea to ask for people’s opinions in your update text. Try to stimulate debate with every post if possible, as engagement is key on this platform. Give people a push to press that ‘like’, ‘comment’ or, ideally, ‘share’ button.
Succinct: If you have a habit of writing very long wall posts, chances are people will switch off before the end. If they need to press the ‘See more’ link on your update it’s not ideal – so make posts short and snappy. As users like more and more things and gain more and more friends, it’s a harder battle for attention, so grab it by being as to-the-point as possible.
Topical: Take a look at some of the household names on Facebook like Waitrose and restaurant chain Giraffe – lots of their updates hang off of events, things happening on TV or even just the time of the week it is. Can you do something like this? It’s timely, gives your updates an extra dimension and can provide ideas when it comes to thinking about something to post on. People’s minds are on topical things, so if you acknowledge them it helps build a link between you.
