Social media and marketing managers today can find themselves spending a lot of time planning content to post. There are several considerations, from figuring out the best time to post to where each piece of content is promoted. If you're planning to post on Facebook as a business, approaching it strategically is key to success. After all, creating content for the largest social media platform on the planet is no small task.
While simply publishing content on Facebook without any rhyme or reason may be tempting, the real key to generating significant audience engagement lies in knowing the who, what, when, why, and how of Facebook post creation. In this guide, we'll break down how to post on Facebook, what to create and share for your Facebook page, and the tips and tools you need to nail Facebook management.
Looking to build out your social media management strategy? Download our Social Media Playbook to learn about creating, managing and analyzing a social media program across all of the major networks.
Table of Contents
What Should a Facebook Post Include?
How To Post On Facebook
How to Create Facebook Ads
How to Manage Your Facebook Page
What Should a Facebook Post Include?
While Facebook isn't a "one-size-fits-all" social media platform, there are some basic elements of a Facebook post that you should include if you want to get more engagement from your audience and community.
To be successful on Facebook you have to be able to understand the needs of your customer (or would-be customer).
An important Facebook marketing concept for companies to grasp is that you aren’t necessarily competing with other companies like yours — you’re competing with your potential customers’ friends and family — not to mention pop culture and puppy videos!
When it comes to offering value, think of creating enticing Facebook content like:
- Tips
- Hints
- Hacks
- Insights
Don’t make it all about you, but do make it relevant to your brand’s industry.
1. Try shorter post copy
Between posts from your family members, friends, brands, and coworkers, the Facebook News Feed can feel very over-crowded and oversaturated. But, most people are not reading the content shared — they are scrolling! People tend to quickly view and skim through posts, so you want to make sure that your post copy is short and sweet to catch the readers eye.
It is recommended to keep your Facebook posts to about 40 characters, where engagement is at its maximum. The longer the post, the fewer comments, likes and shares you'll get from your audience.
2. Adding links
Facebook has studied on the number of clicks that different types of posts get on one's News Feed, and their studies suggest that Facebook posts with links (that generate their own image) perform better than posts with an image but no link to click.
When you share a post that contains a link, Facebook automatically pulls in information on the page’s title, description, and photos and places it in a link format. Here's an example from Meltwater's Facebook profile:
3. Craft compelling CTAs
What action do you want people to take from your Facebook post? This is a question you need to ask yourself before posting. If you don't know the answer to this, then others won't either.
Whether you’re looking to drive website traffic, boost sales or app downloads, or increase engagement, this won't happen unless you create a compelling reason for users to perform this action in your post. Try to use action words in your CTA, like download, subscribe, or register.
Don’t be afraid, ask for what you want…
- “Click the link to read our blog post.”
- “Comment below and tell us how you feel about XYZ.”
Here are 40 calls-to-action you can use for Facebook to help spark more engagement on Facebook and make sure your content is actionable.
How To Post On Facebook
Whether you want to post on your own personal Facebook account or a Facebook Page, sharing content on Facebook can be done in a few simple steps:
- Go to your Facebook Page (or personal profile)
- Enter your copy in the "Write a post" section
- Include some important elements, such as a link and image
- Once you are finished, click "Share now" to publish your post
When it comes to publishing your post, there are 3 features to remember:
- The content box is where you add your text or copy for your post. This is where you can either introduce a new product or service, share updates on an event or get people to sign up for your newsletter. Either way, this is where the text, link and image of your post will appear.
- There are also options for you to select different content types to add to your post. This can be a poll, a milestone, a check-in or a feeling/activity.
- You also have different sharing options to choose where, when and to whom you would like your post to be shown.
Once published, your post will appear on your Facebook Page's timeline as well as on the News Feed of people who like and follow your Page.
Remember to bear in mind the time you choose to post on Facebook. If you don't know when the right time is for you to post on Facebook, use our infographic on the best times to post on social media as a guide. You may want to test out different schedule times in order to reach your specific target audience but this infographic is helpful in giving you a starting point.
Tip: Keep in mind to use the right social media image sizes when it comes to posting on Facebook. Our ultimate guide to Facebook image sizes will help you.
How to Create Facebook Ads
Posting Facebook ads works differently than sharing an organic Facebook post because you have to use Facebook's Ad Manager. This is an ad creation tool that you can use to create and publish ads to Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
After you have created your ad, you can choose to publish it immediately or schedule it for a later date, but only Facebook Page admins have the ability to publish, view or edit ads.
Creating ads in Facebook occurs in three different stages:
- Campaign level: This is where you select the ad objective, or the overall goal of your campaign.
- Ad set level: This is where you define the target audience you'd like to reach, select your ad placements, determine your budget and set a schedule.
- Ad level: This is where you will design the Facebook ads themselves. You can select your ad format, upload images, and add text, links or a video.
How To Create Ads in Ads Manager:
- Create your campaign: From the main table in Ads Manager, select + Create to open the "Create a Campaign" window. Here, you will select the basic settings for your new campaign, ad set and ad. You can also use existing campaigns, ad sets or ads to create new ones.
- Refine your settings: Select Continue to move on to the editing pane. This pane opens in an expanded view, but you can select the right-arrow to minimize it. In the editing pane, you will select a campaign objective, audience, placement and ad format.
- Publish or save as draft: When you're ready, select Publish or Close to save your draft.
- For example, you want to create an ad for your business in Ads Manager with the objective of building interest in your products or services, you might select the Brand Awareness objective. To start, you'll select + Create. In the Create a Campaign window, you have the option to choose the basic campaign, ad set and ad settings. Select Continue to enter the editing pane.
- Here, select the Brand Awareness objective, then select Next. You will progress to the ad set level, where you will use your knowledge of your own target market to define your audience characteristics. Select Next to go to the ad level where you will select images or videos, and write engaging text. Finally, click Publish.
Read our designated blog for more detailed information about how to create Facebook ads.
How to Manage Your Facebook Page
Once you have created a Facebook Business Page, managing it will be a continued effort to ensure that it reaps all the right rewards.
Looking after a Facebook Business Page can be time-consuming if managed ineffectively, but with time and the right knowledge and tools, it can be doable. For a more centralized system, try Meltwater's Social Media Management Suite to manage incoming messages and schedule content. You can also manage your page by analyzing the Admin Panel, creating compelling content for posts and engaging with your audience on a daily basis are all keys to success when it comes to Facebook management.
The Admin Panel
- Notifications display all the recent interactions on the page. It shows who ‘Likes’ your Business page or your content, if you’ve been tagged in any posts and if people want to attend any events that you’re organizing.
- Insights provide information on the page’s activity since when it was launched.
- Messages show any private messages sent from Facebook users.
- Page Tips provides a link to Facebook’s internal marketing suite.
User Role Management
Managing a Facebook Business Page doesn't have to be a one-man job; you can assign different roles to people in your social media or marketing team as one of the following:
- Facebook Page Manager
- Content Creator
- Moderator
- Advertiser
- Facebook Insights Analyst
Each of these roles will have a different amount of privilege and access to the Business Page, with the Facebook Page Manager having rights to everything.
How to add a new admin to your Facebook page
- Make sure the person you want to make an Admin ‘Likes’ the Business page
- Click on the ‘Likes’ box in the top left-hand corner of the page and click ‘See All’.
- Select who you want as Admin, and click ‘Make Admin’ then choose what role you want to assign them.
- Whenever you or an admin sign in, they will see the Admin Panel.
With the tips shared in this post, together with taking the time to invest in your Facebook management efforts, you have everything you need to use Facebook Business Manager and make the most of your Facebook content, ads and marketing efforts.
Want to get the most out of your Facebook Page efforts? Read more about Meltwater's social media management suite or fill out the form below to book a 15-minute guided tour of our platform today!
