The 5 Types of Facebook Posts

Now that you have a Facebook business page set up, it is time to talk about how to use that page to achieve the results that you want.

You did set up a business page after reading last weeks post… right?

If not, go do it now!

As I said last week, action is the only thing that will lead to success. If you don’t take action you will be in the same position a year from now.

Ok back to the topic.

This week we are going to begin talking about all things that have to do with posting on your Facebook business page. We will be going over all the different types of Facebook posts and when to use each.

Originally, this week I was also going to be covering the difference between live posting and scheduling posts, the tools you can use to make your posting more efficient, and what it means to “target” posts. But, after breaking down the topics I feel it is better to spilt it into two weeks rather than one so that we can go a bit more in depth on each. We will be coving these remaining topics next week.

POST TYPES AND WHEN TO USE EACH

On Facebook there are 5 basic types of posts: status posts, image posts, video posts, link posts, and event posts. Each of these types of posts has positives and can be a useful part of a social media campaign.

As you learn more about each of these post types you may find that you have a favorite. However, it is important to consider using all of these post types in your Facebook marketing plan, or at least using a good mixture of a number of these post types.

Remember, your Facebook marketing plan is meant to communicate with your audience, to connect with them in ways that are best for them. Just because you prefer one post type does not mean that your fans prefer to see that same post type.

By using a mixture of each of the types of posts you can make sure to keep your updates relevant to all of your fans.

Status Post

The status post is the original “wall” post or “status update.” It is a strictly text post. For a long time it was the most popular post type, but it no longer holds that position.

Here is an example of a status post:

When To Use A Status Post

There are a number of times when you can use a status post effectively. Some examples include:

• Asking questions
• Sharing quotes
• Sharing an idea
• Making an announcement

If you have had any interaction on Facebook in the past I am sure you are very familiar with status posts.

Image Post

An image post is exactly what it sounds like, a post that contains an image. It can also have text in addition to the image, and it can even have a link as well. This type of post has quickly become the most popular type of post on Facebook. According to Kissmetrics, image posts get 53% more likes, 104% more comments, and 84% higher click-throughs than posts than status posts.

What is the reason for that?

We all love photos, and while scrolling through our news feed it is very easy to let a good photo grab your attention.

The key to that statement is the word good. If you use a photo, it needs to be a good photo.

What do I mean by a good photo?

I meant that the photo needs to be consistent wit your brand, correctly sized, and it needs to clearly communicate the message you are trying to get across. You may also want to include your logo.

Why do I say that you may want to include it?

There are a number of people who take each side of this topic. I personally believe that including a small logo can be a great thing, but some others say that a photo without a logo is more “real” than one with an overlaid logo. This is something that you should test out for yourself to see what works best in your business.

Here is an example of an image post:

When To Use An Image Post
Image posts are extremely effective in any situation where you are posting a “real” or “live” looking picture. Just as you would expect to see your friends post an image that you believe they just took, it is very effective for business to post this same type of photo.

Some examples of good images would be:

• A cool feature of a home you toured, or have listed
• A visual quote (an image with a text quote overlaid)
• A picture of something you found interesting
• “Behind the scenes” type photos of you ( and your team if you have one) on the job

How To Make Sure You Get a Image Post Rather Than A Link Post
When you begin a new post, if you choose to create the post while the “status” is selected you can make it into either a status post, link post, or image post. By default if you only enter text it will be a status post. However, if you choose to include a link it will by default become a link post.

If you would like your post to be an image post rather than a link post, you will have to click the “x” on the link box, and then go below the text and click on the camera icon to upload an image. If you do not click the “x” on the link box, the post will be posted as a link post.

The second way that you can choose for it to be a image post rather than a link post, in the case that you have a link in the description, is to click the “Photo/Video” tab at the top of the post box, choose “Upload Photos/Video”, choose your image, and then enter a description and link.

Video Post

Over the past few months video has become more important, and more prevalent than ever before. With the growth of platforms like Meerkat and Periscope, video is becoming a more common way of communicating through social media.

Currently it is being reported that over 1 billion videos are viewed on Facebook every day, which is a growth of over 75% from 2014.

So why are we watching so many more videos this year?

Probably because video is the most engaging type of media. While scrolling though your news feed it is very easy to let a video capture your attention.

Also, Facebook made it possible for you to natively upload videos this year. Before, you would have to link to a YouTube video, or a video on your website, but the video would not natively play on Facebook.

With the addition of native Facebook video, the power of sharing video has been increased significantly. Just like with other post types, you now have the ability to get insights into the interaction of the videos that you share over Facebook.

There are a couple of important things to remember when sharing video, as it is different than other post types.

1. Make the beginning of your video compelling. You want to catch peoples attention as they scroll and entice them to click on your video to watch it.
2. Do not put important audio at the beginning of the video. Until someone clicks on your video it is silent, so having important audio in the first few seconds can cause people to be confused once they finally click on the video. If you do have audio (words) at the beginning of your video, make sure they are shown in text in some form in the video as well.
3. Test the length. Videos of 1 to 2 minutes are reported to be the most popular, however every market is different. You can test this by trying out different length videos to see which ones your fans respond to the best.

Here is an example of a video post:

When To Use A Video Post
Video posts can be great for a number of scenarios including:

• Showcasing a listing
• Featuring a testimonial
• Showing a “behind the scenes” look at your work or team
• Explaining something clients ask about often

Link Posts

A link post is very similar to a image post, in the fact that it contains an image. When you insert a link to a page into a post, it will by default be posted as a link post.

What makes it different from a image post that has a link in the description?

The main difference is in what happens when you click on the image in the post. In a standard image post, clicking on the images will pull up the image in a lightbox and increase the size of the image (depending on the resolution of the photo). However, clicking on the image in a link post will take your off of Facebook, and to the page that the post is linked to.

In essence it creates a larger probability that people will click through to the link than by just putting the link in the description on a image post.

Here is an example of a link post:

When To Use A Link Post
It can be great to use link posts if you are wanting your fans to click through to any of the following:

• Blog posts
• News articles
• Home search
• Company information

Event Post

Last but not least we have event posts. These can be a great post type for real estate since it is mainly a “local” topic. An event post is broken down into one of the three following categories:

1. Event
2. Milestone
3. Poll

The main area that this can be used in the real estate world would be with your listings. If you are going to hold an open house for a listing that you have, an event post is a great way to go. One of the great things about an event post is that it creates a “join” button on the post. Your fans, or other Facebook users, can then click this button and you will be able to track the amount of people who plan to attend.

The milestone and poll features can be used as well, but the event category has a larger set of possibilities for real estate professionals.

Here is an example of an event post:

When To Use An Event Post
The top ways to use a link post for real estate would include:

• Open House
• Customer appreciation event
• Anything else that involves a specific date

Where to go from here

Now that you have a Facebook business page set up, and are familiar with the different types of posts, it is time to figure out what works for you.

Every market, and every business, is different.

You will want to experiment with the different types of posts to see which ones your fans respond to the best. Don’t worry about having an answer right away. It can take time. Just start using the different types of posts, and over time you will begin to see which ones have a stronger response from your followers.

Next week we will talk about the timing of posts – live posting vs scheduling posts, as well as the tools you can use for posting, and the ways that you can target your posts.

In the meantime I would encourage you to try to come up with at least 3 to 5 posts that you can post within the next week. Mix up the post types and see how you feel about each. Some may feel better to you than others, but remember that your Facebook marketing plan is about figuring out what works best for your fans, not for you.

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