I share a lot of links with my friends on Facebook, and I'm always frustrated when the site I'm sharing from is coded in such a way that there's no useful or interesting info in the link text.

CNN is a prime offender when it comes to their videos. For example, if I want to share this video of a man who helped a robber several months ago and then the robber sent him a letter to pay him back, and I enter the URL in the Facebook link box, this is what comes up.

Not exactly attention-grabbing. It gives absolutely no information about what you're linking to. Of course you can always add your own note in the text box above it, but then if one of your friends now wants to share it, your note doesn't go along with it and so he or she will have to add one as well.

Fortunately, I accidentally stumbled on the fact that you can actually change the title and blurb that goes along with the link, simply by clicking on them and typing in your own info. In this case, I just copied and pasted the info that appears on CNN's own page.

Now, when a friend sees it in her news feed, she can simply click the Share button and the new title and description will go along with it.

Note that this can be especially useful for Facebook Page administrators who want to ensure their message gets shared with a link.

Posted in Facebook, How To, QuickTips, Social Media