Write Good Status Updates on Facebook

Facebook isn't in its infancy anymore and your status updates shouldn't be either! It's time to get savvy about writing status updates that intrigue, interest, and inspire your friends and anybody else who can glimpse them. Here are some suggestions for writing good updates.

Steps

  1. Try to write an update that is both compelling and relevant. Instead of repeatedly telling people how boring work is, or how much sleep you've yet to catch up on, it's best to leave information that's a little out of the ordinary. Try to:
    • Be witty;
    • Find interesting ways of phrasing what you'd normally say without over-thinking it - for example, instead of saying "I just ate a calorie-laden muffin", say "My svelte body deeply regrets that muffin";
    • Word updates as if they're news headlines, or opening lines aimed at drawing in the reader for more; and
    • Keep them short.
  2. Focus on good news. Whether it's your own good news or the good news of a friend, most of us enjoy reading the positive, uplifting news. There's enough bad news out there already without your status updates adding to it.
    • Find things that make people laugh - good jokes, funny stories, hilarious anecdotes
    • Find things that make people smile - happy photos, sweet sayings, friendly banter.
  3. Ask questions or ask for advice. Either of these two approaches can help to draw in people who like to give their advice, opinions, or ideas. It can spark off a two-way conversation that can last for days. And often, it's interesting for others to learn from too. The key guidelines are brevity, ease of reading and answering, and interesting topics. Also, multiple choice questions can be a great way to draw people in because they're easy.
    • Use pop/short quizzes or surveys/polls to get people answering and sharing their thoughts. Facebook has a questions feature that makes it easy for you to add a poll. Try to avoid the polls that "data mine" and make it easy for identity theft (like those that ask what your first pet's name was, what your mother's maiden name is, what street you grew up on, and other questions that are typically security questions).
    • Ask for tips. You don't know how to do something or you just plain don't know something? Use your Facebook Page to ask for the answer! Use this as a chance to "share experiences".[1]
    • Ask questions with an edge to them, like "Do you live near a nuclear power station?"[1]
    • Use "fill-in-the-blank" questions. Make sure you use the term "Fill in the blank" at the commencement of your post.
    • Avoid questions that require too much thinking. It should be as easy as "What's your favorite color" in terms of being able to answer fast. In terms of closed versus open-ended questions, there is a divergence of opinion. Social media expert John Haydon says closed questions (that elicit yes or no answers) are fine on Facebook because nobody wants to chew up time answering in long ways.[1] On the other hand, that shuts down the chance for interesting comments, so it's best to try a little of each, while ensuring that your open-ended questions are short and easy.
    • Be careful asking for too many details; be specific rather than general in your question. For example, asking people what they do to reduce their carbon footprint might encourage your die-hard fans to leave a response but everyone else will think "whoa, too big a question" and move on.[1]
  4. Share Your Copyrighted Article on wikiHow interesting links, photos, and causes with your updates. If there is a beautiful photo, it'll be hard to resist checking it. If there's an appeal for a cause, a lot of people will take time to check it out. And links - if they're good, topical, and regular, you'll have friends clicking on them and leaving comments and likes.
    • Photos are great for sparking comments. Ask a question about the photo, such as whether people like it, or if they know where/what it is a photo of. Or ask people what's wrong about the picture if you're dealing with a provocative issue.
  5. Be mysterious. If you can inject a little intrigue and unknown into your updates, it might encourage your friends to ask "Hey, what's going on?!" Be careful though, the mystery touch can really annoy the more cynical, "been-there-done-that" crowd. If you want to use this method, tease your friends with messages about:
    • 5, 4, 3, 2, day Create a Countdown to a Special Event
    • Secret information
    • Knowledge of hidden objects whereabouts that you're not telling
    • Strange illness leaks that you or someone else has... "Oh I am dying", "Oh, I can barely breathe..."
    • Don't make the explanation long-winded though.
  6. Be adventurous. Oddly, the people sitting around online all day aren't being that adventurous but they are clinging to the hope someone else is. If you're adventurous and you really are skydiving, pole vaulting, or base jumping, get on once in a while and tell your friends. It'll brighten up their day–dramatically–and perhaps remind them that there is more to life than being hooked to status updates all day.
  7. Discuss topics people love. There are some topics guaranteed to get a response:
    • Music, that is bands, songs etc.
    • Chocolate
    • Current disasters
    • Current sports events
    • Seasonal changes and what to do for summer, winter activities
    • A cause you're clearly passionate about (some of your friends will have followed you for this very reason)
    • Gifts you've given or received
    • Things you should be doing instead of letting Facebook time-suck you.
  8. Search online for ideas. Search for topics such as "funny Facebook updates", or "best Facebook updates", etc., if you need inspiration or you're completely lost for ideas. You can "borrow" someone else's ideas until the creative flow starts on its own account.
  9. Don’t try too hard. Status updates should be short bursts of brilliance – the less you think about them, the better they’ll be.
  10. Respond to Congratulations. Facebook is about interacting and being responsive. When people reply to your updates, it's not only polite to acknowledge their interest but it can also take things to a new level if you continue to interact about a particular topic and you never know what you might learn or what good might come from it!



Tips

  • Watch for the "sunny side up" approach creeping into your daily updates. If you lead an otherwise unexciting life, you might find yourself adding a ton of exclamation marks after perfectly ordinary comments about not succumbing to a doughnut at lunch!!!!! or narrowly avoiding stepping in doggy do-do!!!!!! Not only poor grammar, but also a poor attempt at making your life seem more exciting than it really is. While commonplace, avoid doing it like the plague. It might be a sign you need to find something truly exciting to do instead.
  • Self-exposure is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can make you seem endearing, real, poignantly tragic but highly approachable and possibly lovable. On the other hand, it can make you seem like a twit, and risks giving too much information out about bodily functions, stuff-ups, and moronic moments that are perhaps best kept to yourself. Use good judgment to get this balancing act "just right".
  • Try to avoid these "diary" like entries - people want to know what you are doing or what you are up to, not all your inner thoughts. This is not a LiveJournal account or Myspace anymore, and "emo" is not cool anymore.
  • Just avoid status updates about your plans for the day altogether. Not only is "Got laundry done, now just work 11-3 and then the beach~" annoying, it's also tantamount to saying "Hey, weirdo from high school I added one day because I figured why not, even though I never want to talk to you again! Here's where I'll be throughout the day! Feel free to show up at my work and creep me out."

Warnings

  • Avoid posting embarrassing information about other people. This includes posting embarrassing photos; first, you wouldn't like it if it were done to you and second, it's just not netiquette.
  • Definitely keep your meltdowns, political or religious rants, and social networking anger offline. If you start cursing, losing it, and whining about how nobody is answering your updates, guess what? Not only will nobody keep not answering but you'll scare people off, annoy people off, and lose friends. If you've got an anger attack coming on online, it's time to get right off until you feel better again. Moreover, starting fights on Facebook over religion or politics is ridiculous and harmful; there are more constructive ways to voice your opinions and concerns.
  • Be very careful with the "this job sucks" updates. Likely your boss or very jealous work colleague is reading it too. Facebook updates let more people pry into your work habits than perhaps you realize...
  • Just avoid status updates about your plans for the day altogether. Not only is "Got laundry done, now just work 11-3 and then the beach~" annoying, it's also tantamount to saying "Hey, weirdo from high school I added one day because I figured why not, even though I never want to talk to you again! Here's where I'll be throughout the day! Feel free to show up at my work and creep me out."
  • Try hard to avoid leaving song lyrics. Not only unoriginal, but your moment of being deeply moved or powerfully re-energized by a long lost song of the 80s is both passe and lost on everyone else who isn't listening to it. If the song matters so much, link it.
  • Don't flood your friends' news feeds with dozens of status updates each day. This is an especially important guideline to follow if you feel the need to write updates about every mundane thing occurring in your day, such as waiting for the bus or throwing your hankie in the washing machine.
  • Avoid inside jokes. So few people will get them that everyone else will be left feeling out or scratching their heads in irritation.
  • Avoid diaper discussions. While your babies are the apple of your eye, they're not anyone else's. In fact, even that other mom might be a bad target for baby talk just because she's gone onto Facebook for a break from diaper changing! Take it easy and keep the kid updates sweet and interesting.
  • Control your app use. Apps are not great updates; they're annoying and dull. Who cares how many achievements you've got on FarmVille? Disable the default broadcasting of your app activities.
  • Keep your status updates clean. Once your friend circle is above a manageable amount of say, 6, you really can't know how people in your circle of friends will react to rude, lewd, or just plain crude updates, so don't do it.
  • Try to avoid these "diary" like entries - people want to know what you are doing or what you are up to, not all your inner thoughts. This is not a LiveJournal account or Myspace anymore, and "emo" is not cool anymore.

Things You'll Need

  • Facebook account
  • Grammar book and spell-checker
  • Facebook Statuses Collection

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 John Haydon, 16 ways to ask questions on Facebook, http://www.socialbrite.org/2011/04/08/16-ways-to-get-more-comments-on-your-facebook-page/
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