Are you looking to enhance your social media presence and make your Facebook shares more enticing? One simple solution is to activate the Open Graph feature and use an image preview tool to display a media-rich snippet when your posts are shared on Facebook.
By including Open Graph METAs in your code, Facebook can identify the title, type, image, URL, and description of your shared post, which results in a more visually appealing and informative snippet.
Here’s how you can use the image preview tool on Facebook to optimize your posts and increase engagement.
Activate Open Graph
To begin, you need to activate Open Graph in your Squirrly SEO configuration settings. By sliding the toggle right, Squirrly will automatically pick up the data from your posts and add the necessary METAs to your code. This ensures that your Facebook shares always look good and are optimized for engagement.
It’s important to note that the option to Activate Open Graph is set to ON by default. However, it’s always good to check that your settings are up-to-date and that you’re taking advantage of all the features available to you.
Add a Default Open Graph Image
When using the image preview tool on Facebook, it’s essential to have a custom, attractive image set for Open Graph for each URL you want to share on social media. However, there may be times when you forget to add a custom image. In this instance, Squirrly will pick up the featured image or the first image it finds in your post and set it as the image for Open Graph.
However, if there are no images in your post whatsoever, your shared post will appear without an image. To avoid this scenario, you can use the Default Open Graph Image option to set a default image to accompany any URLs that don’t have an image set.
To select a default image, go to Squirrly SEO > SEO Configuration > Social Media > Open Graph Settings > Default Open Graph Image. Click on Select Image and choose an image from your media gallery that is at least 500px wide. This will ensure that Facebook displays your image correctly and makes your post more visually appealing.
Set Facebook Share Language
In addition to using the image preview tool on Facebook, it’s also important to define the language you use to share information on the platform. Defining the language you use makes it easier for Facebook to automatically translate your shared texts into your readers’ language.
This is especially helpful for reaching a global audience and improving the readability of your posts. By default, Squirrly SEO sets the Facebook Share Language according to the WordPress language selected at Settings > General.
Defining the language you use to share information on Facebook makes it easier for Facebook to automatically translate your shared texts into your readers’ language. This improves the readability of your posts and makes it easier for your audience to engage with your content.
Add Facebook App ID
Adding the Facebook App ID is another important step in using the image preview tool on Facebook to optimize your posts. Once you add the ID, Squirrly will add it in the meta for every article, allowing Facebook to make the association between your Facebook account and your website.
To add a Facebook App ID, you need to create a new dev App for your website and then add the App ID in Squirrly SEO. If you don’t add the App ID, you will get a warning when you check your URL with Facebook Sharing Tool.
Once you add the Facebook App ID, Squirrly will add it in the meta for every article. This way, Facebook will know to make the association between your Facebook account and your website, which is especially important in the context of fake news and the spread of fake information.
Add Facebook Admin ID
Adding your Facebook Admin ID is helpful in terms of defining who publishes on Facebook at an author level. This helps Facebook know who is the author who publishes on your site and attribute the content shared on Facebook to a creator (source).
Adding your Facebook Admin ID is also helpful in terms of moderating the comments on your site. To connect your website to a Facebook admin/moderator, you can add one or multiple admin IDs from your profile account. If you don’t know your Admin ID, you can add your profile URL, and Squirrly SEO will grab the Admin ID from it.
To add multiple Facebook Admin IDs, use the “Add multiple Facebook Admin IDs” button shown in the screenshot above. Once you’ve added your Facebook Admin ID(s) in this section, Squirrly will add it in the meta for every article.
Set Open Graph Type
Another way to optimize your Facebook posts using the image preview tool is by setting the Open Graph type for all posts that belong to a certain Post Type. This can be done by going to Squirrly SEO > Automation > Configuration, selecting the Post Type you want, and scrolling to Load Squirrly Open Graph. From there, you can select the Open Graph type from the drop-down menu.
This feature allows you to customize the Open Graph type for different types of posts, such as articles, products, profiles, and more. By using this tool in conjunction with the image preview tool on Facebook, you can ensure that your posts are always visually appealing and informative.
By default, the Open Graph type is set to Website (for the Home page post type – and any other post type with the exception of: Profile, Post, Page, and Product post types), Profile (for the Profile post type), Article (for the Post and Page post types), and Product (for the Product post type).
Optimizing your Facebook posts with an image preview tool is an important step to increasing engagement and driving traffic to your website. By activating Open Graph, adding a default Open Graph image, setting Facebook Share Language, adding Facebook App ID and Admin ID, and setting Open Graph Type, you can ensure that your Facebook shares are always visually appealing and informative.
Remember, it’s important to always have a dedicated image for each post and not rely solely on the default Open Graph image to ensure your Facebook and LinkedIn shares look good. By using these image preview tools and optimizing your Facebook posts, you can increase engagement and drive more traffic to your website.
