How to Add a Post on Facebook

Learning how to add a post on Facebook is the first step, but a truly great post involves more than just hitting the “publish” button. This guide will walk you through the simple, step-by-step process of creating a post and then cover the strategies you need to craft content that captures attention, drives engagement, and helps you connect with your audience.

The Absolute Basics: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your First Facebook Post

If you're new to this, don't worry. Uploading a post to Facebook, whether on your personal profile or a Business Page, is a straightforward process. Here’s how to do it on both desktop and mobile.

On a Desktop Computer:

1. Locate the "Create Post" Box: Go to your Facebook News Feed, profile, or the Business Page you manage. At the very top, you’ll see a prominent box with your profile picture and text that says something like, “What’s on your mind, [Your Name]?” or "Create post" on a Page. Click on it.
2. Write Your Caption: A larger pop-up window will appear. This is your composer. Start by typing your message in the text area. You can write something short and punchy or a longer, more detailed story.
3. Add Your Visuals: Below the text box, you'll see several options. The most common icons are for "Photo/Video," "Tag people," or "Feeling/activity." Click the “Photo/Video” icon (it often looks like a small green square with a mountain landscape) to open your computer's file explorer. Select the desired image or video and click "Open."
4. Refine and Tag (Optional): Once your media is uploaded, you can hover over it to "Edit" it with basic filters or cropping tools. You can also tag other people or Pages by typing the "@" symbol followed by their name or use the menu options to add a location check-in or feeling.
5. Choose Your Audience: Look for a button right below your name. It will say "Public," "Friends," or perhaps "Only Me." Clicking this lets you control who can see your post. For a Business Page, this is typically set to Public by default.
6. Post or Schedule: When you’re ready, you have two options. You can click the blue "Post" button at the bottom right to publish it immediately. Or, if you're on a Business Page, you can often click a scheduling button to choose a future date and time for it to go live.

On the Facebook Mobile App (iOS or Android):

1. Find the Composer: Open the app. Right at the top of your News Feed, you’ll see the "What's on your mind?" field. Tap it to open the post composer screen.
2. Type Your Text: Just like on desktop, you can type your caption here.
3. Add Media and More: Below the text area, a menu allows you to add elements. "Photo/Video" is usually the first option. Tapping it will open your phone's camera roll. You can select one or multiple photos and videos to include.
4. Use Mobile Features: You can also choose from other engaging options like creating a poll, starting a Q&A, going live, adding a GIF, or checking in to a location - all from the menu at the bottom.
5. Select Your Audience: Similar to desktop, tap the button under your name to switch between "Public," "Friends," etc., to set the post's privacy.
6. Hit Publish: Tap the "Post" button in the top right corner, and your message will go live.

Beyond the Basics: What You Can Add to a Facebook Post

A simple text update with a photo is great, but Facebook gives you a toolkit of other features to make your content more dynamic and interactive. Using these strategically can significantly boost your engagement.

Working with Different Media Types

• Photos & Carousels: You can upload multiple photos at once. Facebook will automatically arrange them into a gallery or a "carousel" format. This is perfect for showing off different angles of a product, sharing a set of images from an event, or creating a step-by-step visual guide.
• Videos & Reels: Video is king on social media. You can upload pre-recorded videos or native Facebook Reels (short-form, vertical videos). Vertical videos especially perform well because they fill up the entire mobile screen and stop the scroll.
• Create a Slideshow: Don't have a video? No problem. Facebook allows you to select a series of still photos and transform them into a simple video slideshow, complete with music and transitions. It's a quick way to create video content without a camera or editing software.
• Go Live: Going live creates an immediate, unedited connection with your audience. Perfect for Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes tours, or event broadcasting, Facebook Live sends a notification to many of your followers, drawing instant attention.

Tapping into Facebook’s Built-In Features

• Tag People or Pages: Mentioning another person or business in your post (using the "@" symbol) is a great way to increase reach. Not only does the tagged entity get notified, but your post might also appear to some of their audience, creating a cross-promotional effect.
• Add a Location: Checking into a physical location is essential for local businesses like cafes, shops, or service providers. It puts your business on the map - literally - and helps people discover you through location-based searches.
• Add a Feeling/Activity: This feature humanizes your brand or profile. Sharing that you're "celebrating a milestone" or "feeling grateful" adds a layer of personality that resonates better than a sterile corporate update.
• Create a Poll: Want quick feedback from your audience? A poll is the perfect tool. Ask which product design they prefer, what content they want to see next, or settle a fun debate. Polls are incredibly easy to interact with, so they often get high engagement.

From Posting to Performing: Crafting Content That Connects

Knowing how to post is the technical side. Knowing what to post is the art. The most successful Facebook content doesn’t just broadcast a message, it starts a conversation. Here’s how to build a content strategy that works.

The Art of an Engaging Caption

Your caption can be the difference between a post that gets ignored and one that earns likes, comments, and shares. A great caption should aim to do one of a few things:

• Grab Attention with a Hook: The first sentence is your most valuable real estate. Start with a question, a surprising fact, or an intriguing statement that makes someone want to read the rest.
• Ask Questions: The simplest way to get comments is to ask for them. Pose open-ended questions like, "What's your favorite tip for...?" or "If you could only choose one, which would it be?"
• Tell a Story: People connect with stories, not sales pitches. Share the story behind a product, an employee spotlight, a customer success story, or even a challenge your business overcame. Authenticity builds trust.
• Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): What do you want your audience to do after reading your post? Tell them directly! Simple CTAs include "Tag a friend who needs to see this," "Drop your favorite emoji below," or "Visit the link in our bio for more."
• Use Emojis: For most brands, emojis are a great way to inject personality, break up text, and convey emotion. Just be sure they’re relevant to your brand voice and don’t overdo it.

Visuals are Your Most Powerful Tool

We are visual creatures, and on a crowded feed, your image or video is what stops the scroll. Adhere to these principles for better visual content:

• Prioritize Quality: Invest in good lighting. Use a decent smartphone camera. Avoid blurry, low-resolution images. Your visuals are a direct reflection of your brand's professionalism.
• Maintain a Consistent Aesthetic: Use similar colors, filters, or editing styles across your posts. This creates a cohesive and recognizable "look" for your brand that feels intentional and helps followers instantly identify your content.
• Think Mobile-First: Over 98% of users access Facebook via mobile. Design your visuals with a small screen in mind. Vertical formats (like 4:5 for images or 9:16 for Reels) take up more screen space and are more effective than horizontal ones.

Work Smarter: How to Schedule a Facebook Post

Posting consistently is critical for keeping your audience engaged, but you don't have to be glued to your phone or computer every day. Scheduling your content in advance is a game-changer for anyone managing a social media presence.

Scheduling Natively with Meta Business Suite

For those managing a Facebook Business Page, Meta (Facebook's parent company) provides a free tool called Meta Business Suite.

1. Navigate to your Business Page and look for "Meta Business Suite" in the left-hand menu.
2. Once inside, click the "Create Post" button.
3. Compose your post just as you would normally - add your text, photos, video, and links.
4. Instead of hitting "Publish," look for the "Schedule" option below. It's usually a small button or found under a dropdown next to the publish button.
5. A calendar and time selector will pop up. Choose the exact date and time you want your post to go live.
6. Click "Schedule," and you're done! Facebook will publish it for you at the selected time.

This is fantastic for planning your content for the week or month ahead and ensuring your posts go out when your audience is most active, even if you’re not.

Final Thoughts

Adding a post on Facebook is mechanically simple, but making it resonate requires a plan. By combining compelling text, high-quality visuals, and a consistent schedule, you transform a basic function into a powerful tool for building a community and growing your brand.

We've found that managing a full content calendar - especially when trying to keep up with video formats across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook - can turn into a bigger job than creating the content itself. At Postbase, we designed our platform specifically for this modern reality. Our goal is to give you a clean, visual calendar, rock-solid scheduling for all platforms (including Reels and Shorts), and a unified inbox so you can handle everything in one spot and get back to what you do best.