Before you post that link…

If you want to get technical, it all started with a link.

Then, a client asked me to post a link to their social media site(s). I then asked them “why” do they want me to post the link.

At first glance, folks may think that I have an attitude. (Trust me, the Brooklyn comes out when it needs to.) I was actually asking the question millions of people ask everyday when they see a link in their feed.

I first noticed this when folks started to connect their Facebook accounts to their Twitter accounts. The post might look all snazzy in Facebook with the link,  a few lines of content and maybe a thumbnail , but by the time it gets to Twitter, the tweet translates into a link with no content.

“I’m just a link, a lonely link, swimming in the Twitter sea.”

So after trial and error, I’ve gotten into the habit of saying something about the link before I post the link.

I said at least twice before on Twitter (see tweet below for last time.)

that a link by itself is just data. Data is meaningless without the information to go along with it.

After explaining that a sentence and/or statement needs to accompany the link, then they gotten the hint.

So before you post that link, ask yourself, how will your followers and fans benefit from the link?

Once you have the answer to that, then you can create the copy to go with the link.