I’ve been noticing a trend over the past few years on linkless social media posts. I started to notice it on the Facebook pages first, then on Twitter and LinkedIn as well.
So, I began to start creating social media posts with no links to test out the theory on the various social media channels.
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The Theory of Posts Without Links
The theory began on my own Facebook page. I always test things on my own social network channels before doing anything on clients’ pages.
I call my social media channels the “social media playground” where I experiment.
As you can see below here were some insights back in November of 2019 when I started doing videos on the Facebook page. You can see the big spike with them. They have no links anywhere, they are straight videos with tips.
Videos are a form of linkless posts on Facebook pages as long as you don’t include a link in the text area.
You can create great ones now with the help of an AI tool. Today in 2024 shorter videos are the rage, anyway from 5-30 seconds is best.
However, longer videos still do well over on YouTube.
Twitter Linkless Posts That Rock
As you can see some other social media giants have figured this out too. Notice the use of listicles in their tweets as well.
Unfortunate truth:
— Ross Simmonds (@TheCoolestCool) January 29, 2020
Some of your biggest fans are complete strangers. Some of your biggest haters are people you’ve known for years.
The 10 Commandments of Online Content:
— Kim Scaravelli (@KimScaravelli) January 27, 2020
-Write like you talk
-Short sentences
-Short paragraphs
-Sub-headings
-Catchy titles
-Cool images
-Alt tags on images
-Add links
-NO KEYWORD STUFFING!
-Edit. Edit. Edit.#blogging #contentmarketing
And over on X Twitter today, videos are becoming more the rage as they are trying to take away market share from YouTube and Facebook. Soon they are releasing vertical videos and the ability to watch X on your TV.
Facebook Posts Without Links
To really showcase what I’m talking about here is an average Facebook page post of mine that is not boosted and includes a link.
Here is a Facebook page post I did a while back with only an image and a quote.
Now, check out this Facebook post below that was a “check-in”.
Check-ins do NOT include any links and they perform better too. This particular post reached 95 people. (About 10% of the audience reach.)
Facebook posts with links tend to reach only 1-3% of your fanbase. So for instance, if your business page has 1,000 fans you will only reach 10 to 30 people.
And, that small number of reach leads to almost always no engagement.
But, of course, video is where Facebook pages really shine. Facebook wants us to do videos and loves it when we do 3 minutes or longer on our Facebook pages.
Why? They want to keep people on their network. However, reels now get more views than anything on the Meta platforms. (Both Instagram and Facebook.)
Hence, they will show those videos to more of your page followers.
Of course, Facebook is really in business to make money so if you boost your Facebook posts you will reach more people and increase your engagement.
You can also do boosted ads over on X Twitter for much less money.
LinkedIn Linkless Posts
Next, I went over to LinkedIn as I had been noticing fewer activities of my shares on that social network. At first, I thought it was the algorithm on this professional social network.
Then, I tried one myself and saw a difference as well. Most of my LinkedIn posts with links were receiving just under 50 views.
Notice now, this one below received 133 views. (LinkedIn Embeds don’t show views.)
Adding Emojis To Your Social Media Posts
Emojis today are hot on all social networks. According to the social insider:
Across the board, posts with emojis in the caption lead to an increase of engagement in comparison with posts that do not include emojis.
The Social Insider
So, do not overlook the use of emojis when you are scheduling your social media posts. They can really make them pop and make your readers feel something. Emojis are essential on the Instagram network.
Social Media Algorithms
Again, the same theory applies to LinkedIn as does the Facebook algorithm with the reach of posts in the feed. However, the only way to combat this is to mix up your post types and boost them for business.
The different types of social media posts may include:
- Quotes.
- Listicles.
- Paragraph with emojis.
- Video.
- Your opinion or in your own words.
- Images alone.
- Check-ins.
- Experiences.
Engagement Farming In Linkless Posts
Of course today you must be aware of engagement farming. Recently I had a Facebook post taken down because I asked a question.
They concluded it was spammy and that it was used to manipulate the algorithm.
After all, I thought social media was to engage with others on the networks by asking and answering questions.
Even X Twitter came out with a rule that if you are caught engagement farming your X account will be suspended.
Your Thoughts On Linkless Social Media Posts Today
I’d love to know your thoughts on the use of social media posts without links. Do you prefer your connections post updates vs. links on their postings?
Do you get more engagement from doing them on your own social channels? Please drop a comment so we can discuss it below.
