Showing your Facebook posts on your timeline allows you to highlight and share your posts with your friends and followers. Here are some tips on how to make sure your posts appear on your timeline for maximum visibility:
Adjust Your Default Privacy Settings
Your default privacy settings control who can see your posts by default. To make sure your posts appear on your timeline:
- Go to your Facebook Settings
- Click on “Privacy”
- Under “Who can see my stuff?” adjust the audience for “Posts” to “Public” or “Friends”
Setting your default post privacy to “Public” will ensure all your posts are visible to everyone on your timeline. Setting it to “Friends” will make your posts visible to all your friends.
Double Check Visibility of Each Post
Even if you have your default privacy set to public or friends, you can override that on a per-post basis. Before posting, check that the visibility is set to public or friends rather than a more limited group. Here’s how:
- As you are writing a post, click on the audience selector below the post box.
- Make sure it is set to “Public” or “Friends” rather than a more limited group like “Only Me”.
- Post as normal.
Avoid Posting to Your Own Timeline
Sometimes people accidentally post updates to their own timeline rather than making a public post. This limits the visibility to only you.
Make sure that when you post you do not have your own timeline or profile selected. The post box should say “Write something…” rather than “Write on your timeline”.
Enable Timeline Review
Facebook’s Timeline Review feature lets you review posts that friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline. This gives you a chance to delete embarrassing or unwanted posts.
To enable Timeline Review:
- Go to your Facebook Settings
- Click on “Timeline and Tagging”
- Under “Timeline Review” click on “Edit” and change the setting to “Enabled”
Now you will get a notification when someone tags you in a post or photo. You can choose to approve it, hiding it from your timeline, or delete it completely.
Limit Old Posts
If you enabled Timeline Review later on, you may still have old posts on your timeline you want to remove. Here’s how to curate your old posts:
- Go to your timeline
- In the left sidebar, click on “Posts”
- Click on the filter arrow next to “All Posts” and select a date range
- Go through your posts from that time period and delete any you don’t want public
Doing this periodically can help keep your visible timeline filled with your best content.
Pin Featured Posts to the Top
You can pin posts to the top of your timeline so they stay prominently visible even as new posts come in. Great for highlighting your best, most engaging posts. Here’s how to pin a post:
- Go to the post on your timeline and click the three dots in the top right corner
- Select “Pin to Top of Timeline”
- The post will now be pinned to the top of your timeline
You can pin multiple posts. They will appear in chronological order according to publication date.
Best Practices for Pinning
- Pin only your most important, Evergreen posts. Too many pins will overwhelm your timeline.
- Space out pinned posts over time – don’t cluster them all together.
- Un-pin posts once they are no longer relevant.
- Consider pinning different types of content – photos, videos, links, etc.
Use Facebook Adverts to Boost Post Reach
Creating Facebook adverts and boosting your posts is a great way to get your posts seen by more people beyond just your friends and followers. Here are some tips for boosting post visibility with Facebook ads:
Boost Important Posts
Not every post needs a boost. Focus your advertising budget on your best, most important posts that you really want to get maximum visibility:
- Announcements like new products/services
- Special deals, sales, or promotions
- Event reminders
- Holiday posts
- New blog/video content
Customize Your Targeting
When boosting a post, Facebook allows you to customize the target audience. Tailor it to reach the people most likely to engage:
| Targeting Options | Ideal for… |
|---|---|
| Location | Local businesses, events, etc. |
| Age | Age-specific content |
| Interests | Niche audiences |
| Connections | Friends of fans |
Optimize With Split Testing
Run A/B split tests with your Facebook ads to optimize them:
- Test different headlines, images, captions
- Experiment with different target audiences
- Compare results to see what messaging and targeting performs best
Cross-Promote Posts
Cross-promoting your Facebook posts on other social networks like Twitter or LinkedIn can help expose them to new audiences. Just be sure to customize the messaging for each platform.
You can also embed Facebook posts on your website or blog to showcase and drive traffic to your top content. Some ways to cross-promote:
- Share Facebook links on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
- Embed Facebook video posts on your website
- Promote Facebook photo albums on Instagram
- Share Facebook events in relevant online groups and communities
Automate Cross-Posting
Tools like Hootsuite and Buffer allow you to easily schedule social media posts and automatically cross-post content across multiple networks.
Key features include:
- Unified social media scheduling dashboard
- Bulk upload media and content
- Auto-schedule future posts
- Cross-posting between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Automating cross-posting makes it easy to maximize the reach of your top Facebook content.
Analyze Your Results
Use Facebook Insights to track the reach and engagement of your posts so you can see what content resonates best with your audience.
Key Metrics to Review
- Reach: Total number of unique people who saw the post.
- Impressions: Total number of times a post was seen.
- Engagement: Total reactions, comments, shares and clicks.
- Audience Retention: % who saw the post that follow your page.
Compare metrics across different posts to learn what content and post types (video, images, links, etc.) generate the most reach and engagement.
Tools for In-Depth Analysis
Facebook offers additional analytics tools for more detailed insights:
| Facebook Analytics Tool | Data Provided |
|---|---|
| Facebook Page Insights | Likes, reach, posts, demographics, etc for your Page. |
| Facebook Audience Insights | Demographics, interests, behavior of your target audience. |
| Facebook Creator Studio | In-depth metrics for video posts and Facebook Live. |
Regularly monitoring post analytics will help you fine tune your content strategy to maximize reach and engagement.
Conclusion
Getting your Facebook posts seen is crucial for building engagement and driving traffic from Facebook to your website or blog. By optimizing your default privacy settings, pinning important posts, running targeted ads, cross-promoting, and analyzing your metrics, you can make sure your posts stand out in the busy Facebook newsfeed and reach your ideal audiences.
Some key takeaways include:
- Review default privacy settings and post visibility
- Enable Timeline Review to curate posts you’re tagged in
- Pin your most important, evergreen posts
- Use Facebook ads to boost the reach of your top posts
- Share and embed posts across different platforms
- Analyze post metrics to identify best practices
With a strategic, analytical approach to posting you can expand the visibility of your Facebook content and use it to build meaningful engagement with current and potential customers.