Best Practices for Good Social Media Articles

Learn how to make your links more likely to be read and clicked with these five tips.

Michael Faliero avatar
Written by Michael Faliero
Updated over a week ago

Take Extra Text Out of the Title

Articles will frequently first load into Clearview Social with a "Title" field that includes blog name, company name, and extra dashes, ampersands, or hyphens to separate it all. This can be changed or edited to suit your Users or Admins needs.

You can always edit the headline of articles in Clearview Social. Simply click in the Headline field and begin typing; when you leave the box your changes will be saved.

Include an Engaging "Preview of Share Content"

The Preview of share content field is sometimes empty and sometimes it contains the first paragraph of text from the article. It is recommended to condense down your description to one or two sentences. Successful approaches include:

  • Write a brief summary of the link's content.

  • Pose an open question, implying that the answer can be found at the link.

  • Mention the author or source, invoking their insight and authority.

Always Include An Image

Numerous studies associate the presence of an image included with a link with a large increase in clickability (one study from Vero puts it at 42%). At Clearview Social, we've observed among our own userbase a consistent 36% increase in clicks when images are included.

If an article you've loaded into Clearview Social doesn't include an image, you can choose from our Image Library of default images. You can also attach an image of your own here:

Write a Comment That Offers Unique Insight

Don't be a social media user who just blasts links out every day without adding value! Social media activity is more sincere and engages more discussion when you add your own unique take on the content.

Don't know what to say? Here are some common approaches:

  • When content is produced by someone you know, it's encouraging to mention so, giving a personal angle to the share: "My colleague ______ has great insight on ______."

  • Used sparingly, direct praise of the article's contents is not a bad thing. Half of the twenty all-time most-clicked articles on Clearview Social include a comment such as "Required reading" or "Best article on this topic I've ever read".

  • Agreeing or disagreeing with the contents of the article in your own comment can invite readers to post their own comments in reaction. A comment such as "I believe there will be negative fallout from this bill. Do you?" or "I agree with the author's main point, although I am unconvinced on the specific case they cite" encourages people to get involved in the discussion.

  • Used sparingly, calls for further sharing do help. Several of the all-time most-clicked articles on Clearview Social include an encouragement such as "Please share" or "Pass this on if you enjoy it".

Share During Commute Times For LinkedIn

Most social media networks peak in traffic in the afternoon, when people are bored at work, and then again in the evening and on weekends, during leisure time. LinkedIn bucks this trend: despite being a work-focused social network, usage dips during the workday and is highest in the hours just outside of the workday, during commutes. Most LinkedIn browsing occurs between 7-8 am and 5-6 pm.

Streamline your article shares between social networks.

When creating queues and shares, we recommend getting into a habit of building your share information in the basic or "General Edit" window first (Advanced Editing is toggled off). This will ensure that your share will be uniform across all three platforms. We recommend doing this even if you do not plan to share to every platform. Once you have made your initial edits, then toggle on "Advanced Editing" to make your per-network edits.

Each platform uses different character limits as described below:

Email

  • comment: Unlimited

  • title: 286

  • description: 250 before the "..."

LinkedIn

  • comment: 700 characters

  • title: 160 characters

  • description: Not displayed on LinkedIn

Twitter

  • comment: 242 characters

  • title: 170 characters

  • description: 137 characters

Facebook

  • comment: 500 characters

  • title: 70 characters - Max 2 lines will be displayed on the Facebook card.

  • description: Max 1 line will be displayed on the Facebook card. If your title takes up 2 lines, no description will be displayed.

I'm just going to share to X platform, why should I use the General Editing option?

It is considered a best practice to build your share in the General Edit mode first for every platform, then customize your share from there on a per network basis.

This way this ensures that you get one consistent share every single time when you use our software.

Any Further Questions?

If there is anything else we can assist you with, you can contact Clearview Social Support either by emailing support@clearviewsocial.com or through the Intercom chat button in the bottom right of the site.

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