How to write Facebook posts that actually get seen

You can do everything right in your business and still have a Facebook post reach almost nobody. Facebook decides who sees a post largely by how people react to it in the first little while. So the job of a post is simple: stop the scroll and start a conversation.

Here is what we have seen make the difference.

Start with a plain first sentence

Only the first line or two shows before "See more," so it has to earn the click. Lead with the most interesting or useful thing, not with "Happy Monday, everyone!"

One specific thing we have noticed: stop putting emojis in the first sentence. In the community groups we run, we have seen emojis in the opening sentence hurt a post's reach. We can't tell you exactly why, and Facebook does not publish its rules, but we have seen it often enough that we no longer do it. If you like emojis, use them further down.

Use your own photo

A real photo from your business almost always beats a stock image or a designed graphic. People stop for faces and for real work. It does not need to be perfect. It needs to be yours.

Write like you talk

Read your post out loud. If it sounds like a brochure, rewrite it the way you would say it to a customer at the counter. Short sentences. One idea per post.

Give people a reason to comment

Comments tell Facebook a post is worth showing to more people. End with a real question that is easy to answer:

• "Which one would you pick?"
• "What's the first thing you'd order?"
• "Have you ever had this happen?"

Then reply to every comment, especially in the first hour. Each reply keeps the conversation, and the post, going.

Keep links out of the way

Facebook prefers to keep people on Facebook, and posts whose main purpose is sending people elsewhere tend to travel less far. When you can, tell the whole story in the post itself. If you need a link, try adding it in the first comment and say so in the post. Test both ways and see what your own page does.

A quick before and after

Before: "🎉🎉 BIG NEWS!! Check out our new fall menu, link below! 🍂"

After: "We spent three weeks arguing about whether the new apple cider donut was good enough to make the fall menu. It made it. Would you try it warm or iced?" (with a photo of the donut)

Do this today

Find your last post that got little response. Rewrite the first sentence in plain words, swap in a real photo, add a question at the end, and post it again next week.