Did we sound a little too Apple-ish with that headline? We're sorry about that. No iPhone 5s to sell here. But seriously, Facebook's change is a big deal.

The change we're talking about is the new way Facebook shows a link's thumbnail image. Before, the thumbnail image for a link was 90 x 90 pixels or 154 x 154 on the desktop version of FB. In other words, really tiny. There was still a strategic way to use those thumnails (some images are better than others) but the amount of visual real estate they took up made them way less important.

That's arguably not true anymore. Actually, it's definitely not true.

Let's take a look at the new way Facebook shows link's thumbnails:

That's 398 x 208 pixels on the desktop. From 90 x 90 to 398 x 208. These images are going to get a whole lot more visibility and attention.  

For awhile, we've told you that photo posts on Facebook are king. They do extremely well (read: all of the sharez, all of the likez). This may still be true, but photo posts have never been amazing at driving traffic. This is partly because when a user clicks a photo post, the photo just gets larger. If a link was included with the post, they have to look over to the right of the photo and click it. It's an extra few steps. 

With this new display of links that big ol' image is linked to the... link you shared! This might seem fairly obvious, but hello boost in traffic! Now, an image that says "Click to sign the petition" it will actually users to the link to sign it! 

Like anything else, this will require testing. Photos still might grab people's attention. Photo posts are slightly taller and [usually] skinnier than the new link image size. So they may still stand out pretty well in an increasingly visual-first Facebook user interface. But take this new display of links into account immediately. 

I'm Still Seeing Smaller Thumbnails on Facebook Though!

Yes, this is true. But it's based on the photo that is being pulled from the link or the photo you custom upload (more on that further down). It has nothing to do with your "version" of Facebook or anything.

This is why we'd reccomend using the "upload image" button when posting links to Facebook, pointed out in the image below: 

This not only makes sure you don't post a link with the smaller thumbnail images, but it also gives you complete control over what the image is.

For example, during a campaign you may want to share the same link to something over a week, but certainly don't want Facebook to post the same image every time. This is where the ability to upload your own custom image is great. We'd actually recommend it for any link you post, unless the default image is super awesome. 

What Size Should This New Fancy Schmancy Photo Be?