by Jonathan Towell
July 13, 2011
Have you noticed how sharing a link on Facebook will display a thumbnail and description?
Or, have you taken the time to look at your friend’s interests?
And have you wondered “How can I customize the thumbnails and descriptions for my links?” The answer is Facebook’s Open Graph. With Open Graph, you can put HTML meta tags on your page that supply this information to Facebook. When somebody “likes” or shares your page, Facebook will pick up the information you supplied via Open Graph.
For example, suppose you are managing a site for Aloha BBQ, Smooth Fusion’s favorite caterer of fine Hawaiian cuisine. You can use the og:type property and classify the site as a “restaurant.” You should also use the og:image property to point to a thumbnail of a hot plate of BBQ. Next, you could add a Facebook like button to the site’s home page. When you are done, fans that click the like button will have the BBQ photo show up in their list of favorite restaurants. Facebook users who send other users messages with a link to the Aloha BBQ site via Facebook will also see the BBQ photo (see screenshot above).
In the same way you identify a photo, you could identify a video.
You can classify you site content in any way you need. However, Facebook has a list of recommended object types that you should try to use first. When you use the recommended object types, Facebook will know to put the info where it is most relevant.
Adding Open Graph meta tags to your website is usually easy and will help your users share your website’s content with other users on Facebook. And, of course, if you need assistance or have questions, that is why we at Smooth Fusion are here.