New Facebook Link Generator Rocks
OK, yes, I admit it… I’m a nerd. Well, at least when it comes to my level of excitement towards new and improved social media updates! Let’s be honest, don’t you get excited when you discover something that makes your job easier and your work more effective? That’s the feeling I had when I realized Facebook had changed its image size for links shared in a post.
As most of you are aware, when you paste a link into your status update, Facebook generates an image and text based on that page’s meta information. Once you shared that post, it would look something like this:
Not very stimulating if you ask me. Personally, I tend to scroll right past these posts on my news feed. In fact, based on our pages’ analytics, these posts typically have far less engagement, compared to ones with a full size photo. So, it would seem, Facebook noticed this trend and did something about it. Now, your same shared link has the potential to generate an image like this:
Incredible! I was so happy when this happened the other day to one of my posts. I thought, “This will save so much time creating images for promotions! Our fans are sure to be more engaged with a post like this! Huzzah!”
My joy was quickly extinguished, however, when the very next link I shared went right back to being its old, tiny, boring self. I couldn’t understand! Why would Facebook toy with my emotions like this? I soon realized there must be certain requirements to the image size in order to get that large, majestic post. So I did some research, and here’s what I found.
Facebook Recommended Link Preview Specs
Basically, in order to generate that wonderfully large preview image, its needs to be in an aspect ratio of 1.91:1. Yeah, not exactly an easy number to work with. To make life easier, I would just make a sticky note with this number on it: 1200 x 627 pixels. That’s the recommended image size from Facebook, which follows that ratio. It can be larger or smaller, but don’t go below 400 x 209 pixels, or it will automatically render to that dreaded, tiny 90 x 90 pixel square again.
You want clicks? Than don’t be a square. (write that down!)
One thing to consider – If you’re sharing links to your website or blog, you might not have or want images in that ratio on your page. Luckily, you can upload any image you want into the preview. Just open the image in Photoshop (or another image editor) crop it to that ratio, and upload!
Why You Should Upload Your Own Image Preview
Facebook will pull in images from your link, larger than 400 x 209 pixels and share them in that large window we’ve all fallen in love with by now, but it will automatically crop to fit the 1.91:1 ratio. In many cases, this will result in a weird cropped shot that misses its mark and could create a loss in credibility among your fans.
So what do you think about this new link sharing image? Can you see the positives? What about any negatives? Feel free to share your thoughts below.
If you have any questions about your business’ social media, contact us at 518-743-9424.
