# Made You Click, Volume 1: Facebook and Twitter

- Link: https://chatterblast.com/blog/made-you-click-volume-1-facebook-and-twitter/
- Published: 2016-05-24T16:53:38-04:00
- Author: Jackie Kollar

As authors we assume our content is the **BEST** all too often. We forget that not
everyone has the same sense of humor or cares about what we have to say. When we
post content on social channels we’re opening up to a whole world of eyes and ears.
[The audience is vast and ](https://38.media.tumblr.com/289a776a0930905c48f752b7f84d9b39/tumblr_nbceea4Yde1tja9y3o2_500.gif)
[extremely](https://38.media.tumblr.com/289a776a0930905c48f752b7f84d9b39/tumblr_nbceea4Yde1tja9y3o2_500.gif)
[ moody](https://38.media.tumblr.com/289a776a0930905c48f752b7f84d9b39/tumblr_nbceea4Yde1tja9y3o2_500.gif),
and as digital publishers, we’re never going to appease everyone with our interests,
point- of-view or wit.

While it’s nearly impossible to make everyone happy, what we _can_ do is educate
ourselves to optimize content for each social platform using simple tips and tricks
in order to hit the end goal.

What’s the end goal of content? Did my post: _make you stop and react, make you 
engage and the Holy Grail – _**_did it make you click_****?**

In this edition of _Made You Click,_ we’ll review Facebook and Twitter.

### **Facebook:**

[⌊JackieBlog-facebook⌉⌊JackieBlog-facebook⌉[

**1. Pin:** Pin a Facebook post to the top of your page for users to view and engage
with first. The types of posts that are ideal to pin are those with:

 * A link to a high-priority blog post or webpage
 * An announcement (i.e. new products, services or an event)
 * A customized visual (i.e. infographic, graphic or video)
 * A timely or urgent topic
 * A high amount of ad spend
 * A post that’s already received a lot of engagement

**2. Post Copy and Links:** Keep your post copy brief and to the point. Facebook
users respond best to posts [around 40 characters](http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/character-limit-social-media-blog-posts).
Think of your Facebook post as the “sexy” headline for whatever you’re linking your
audience out to.

That brings us to the next topic: links. When you’re sending your users to find 
out or read more, make sure the link provided is customized and shortened. This 
not only looks much cleaner, but tracks the amount of click and traffic. We recommend
using [Bitly](https://bitly.com/), [Google URL](https://goo.gl/) or [Ow.ly](http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url).

**3. Multimedia: **Living in an age of diminishing attention spans and the unwillingness
to read more than 300 words at a time, including imagery and video are MANDATORY
in a Facebook post. Those with images see up to [2.3 times](http://buzzsumo.com/blog/how-to-massively-boost-your-blog-traffic-with-these-5-awesome-image-stats/)
higher engagement than posts that do not.

While the concept of including images is nothing new, research over the past year
_strongly indicates_ the new key to Facebook marketing is **video content**. Last
year between April and November, the average daily video views on Facebook doubled
from 4 to [8 BILLION views](http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/04/facebook-video-views/)
per day. Don’t believe me? If you’re on Facebook there’s no way you’ve avoided the
addictive awesome and hyper-lapsed deliciousness that is Tasty:

**4. Engage**: Last, but certainly not least, after publishing your post be sure
that all comments get the attention they deserve, whether this is in the form of
a reply, reaction or in worst-case scenarios, hiding. _**No comment left behind!**_

Also, pay attention not only to the comments but to specific users that are consistently
reacting or responding to your content. These could be future potential online influencers,
and those you should engage with.

### **Twitter:**

### 󠀁[⌊JackieBlog-TWITTER⌉⌊JackieBlog-TWITTER⌉󠀁[

**1. Pin:** Similar to Facebook, pinning a tweet to the top of your page forces 
users to view and engage with that content first. In addition to tweets including
links, customized visuals and announcements, _**make sure** _to leverage pinning
on any messaging that incorporates breaking news, alerts and other time-sensitive
material that thrives on the platform.

**2. Post Copy:** By nature, the [limit on a tweet is 140 characters](https://dev.twitter.com/overview/api/counting-characters),
meaning you don’t have a ton of space to get your point across. This places the 
author in a situation where the most important message, interesting fact and/or 
call-to-action must be conveyed in 140 characters or less – but comparability speaking,
_that’s 100 more characters_ than Facebook’s “optimal” character amount.

**3. Tagging: **The ideal hashtag length comes in at a whopping [six characters](https://www.hashtags.org/platforms/twitter/what-characters-can-a-hashtag-include/).
However, with an ever-growing encyclopedia of hashtags, hashtags can take up as 
many as 15 characters before they start appearing obnoxious. _#ifyourereadingthisitstoolong._

Another common mishap is the overuse of hashtags in a single Tweet. Once you start
racking up hashtags the entire tweet appears to be a link and it’s a huge turn off
to the reader. Keep it simple and limit your messages to _two hashtags per tweet._

In addition to hashtags, tagging other Twitter accounts —_or @mentioning_ — is another
way to extend the reach of your message and interact with a specific user. Again,
steer clear of over-tagging users; only include crucial accounts to _avoid looking
like spam_.

**4. Links: **Similar to Facebook and really _anytime you direct the reader off 
your social page_, make sure the link provided is customized and shortened to look
both professional and keep track of click-throughs to your website.  

**5. Media: **Most people assume that tweets are short, simple and require little
creative attention. _This statement couldn’t be farther from the truth_. Twitter
requires just as much love and attention in the creative department as the next 
social channel.

Including an image not only increases the vertical space your Tweet takes up in 
the newsfeed, but also has proven to boost the engagement level. It’s a fact that
tweets including an image resulted in [35 percent more retweets and 18 percent more click-throughs](http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/adhutchinson/2015-10-21/3-ways-improve-your-visual-branding-twitter).

And it doesn’t stop there, over the past year [Periscope](http://chatterblast.wpengine.com/blog/hack-your-periscope-game-with-these-three-tips/)
and other live-streaming tools (you know, _prior to Facebook Live_) took off on 
Twitter, making it a breeding ground for video content. Last July, Periscope users
were watching [40 years’ worth](http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual-content-marketing-strategy#sm.0000820rg28ljfh6x6f2enpkd8nir)
of video streams EVERY DAY – that’s a lot of video and a LOT of eyeballs.

And finally, we can put the rumors to bed: Today, Twitter has confirmed that, in
the near future, @mentions, images, GIFs and links will officially [NOT be counted toward](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/276373)
the 140-character limit. (Note: Media attachments and links currently take up 24
and 23 characters, respectively.)

Meaning, get ready to fire off some tweets with 140 characters of text, imagery 
and link and say #ByeFelicia to those old-school tweets. Welcome to the future. 

[⌊tumblr_o12szlRLyf1rqe0rbo1_540⌉⌊tumblr_o12szlRLyf1rqe0rbo1_540⌉[

And this completes part 1 of _Made You Click. _Next up, Instagram and Snapchat.