What You Need to Know about Status Updates and Shared Links
There are two primary formats for posting your content to Facebook: Status Updates and Shared Links. Using dlvr.it, you can choose which format you want to post to Facebook. Below we describe each and provide details on the layout options available when posting via dlvr.it.
Facebook – Status Updates and Shared Links
Status Updates:
Facebook Status Updates contain text and links, and the formatting is somewhat basic.
- They do not contain images or other media.
- The format is similar to the bare-bones nature of tweets on Twitter.
However, Facebook’s character limits per post are higher than Twitter’s. Facebook Status Updates posted via dlvr.it are capped at 420 characters, whereas 140 is the maximum number of characters in a tweet.
When posting Status Updates from dlvr.it, you can select which fields from your items to include: Title, Body and/or Link.
The Status Update example below includes the Title and Link of the item posted.
Shared Links:
Facebook Shared Links contain the title (linked), summary and (optionally) a thumbnail image from the content you are posting. The formatting of Shared Links is richer than Status Updates and Tweets — largely due to a) the inclusion of an image and b) the differing type formats for the Title and Summary portions of the post.
The formatting of Shared Links is richer than Status Updates and Tweets — largely due to the following two factors:
a) the inclusion of an image and
b) the differing type formats for the Title and Summary portions of the post.
When posting Shared Links from dlvr.it, the Title (linked), Summary and Thumbnail Image are automatically included in the post. dlvr.it users may select the method for choosing thumbnail images.
More on thumbnail image selection in our next Facebook Distribution 101 entry.
Setting it Up in dlvr.it
You can select your Facebook posting format from within the Facebook Destination editor. Open the Post Content tab and set your Post Style as either “Shared Link” or “Status Update”. The setup process will guide you through additional Facebook configurations.
