Can You Include a Photo and a Link in a Facebook Post?

Typing or pasting the URL address of a website or Web page in a Facebook post automatically activates the link and displays a link preview in a pane below your post. The preview includes a thumbnail image sourced from the linked page, providing the external page includes photos or graphics, along with the page title and a brief description. The preview adds to the prominence of the shared link and may encourage your friends to click on the link when they see your post in their news feeds.

Facebook allows you to share photos in several ways. You can either create photo albums and upload your images directly to your preferred album, or you can upload photos with the photo and status update tools in the share section on your Facebook homepage or Timeline page. During the upload process, you can add a description to the photo, tag friends and select a privacy setting with the audience selector tool, which controls who can view the uploaded photo.

Creating a post with a photo and a link in the same post is possible with the status and update photo tools on your Facebook homepage. Select either "Update Status" or "Add Photos/Video" followed by "Upload Photos/Video" on your homepage, and then click inside the "What's on your mind" field. Click the camera icon in the post pane and upload an image file from your computer. You must add the photo before the link; if you add the link first then the photo upload option disappears from the post pane. After the image has uploaded, type or paste the URL address of the link you want to add in the "Say something about this field." Select the share setting for the post with the audience selector tool and, if you want, tag friends or a location in the post. Click the "Post" button to post the update with the photo and the link.

Although updating Facebook with a post that includes a photo and a link might be useful if the linked content is directly relevant to the photo or adds useful additional information about the image, the downside is that Facebook won't display the usual link preview pane and this can reduce the prominence of the link. If you really want your friends to see and click the link when it appears in their news feeds, consider creating a separate post and adding a message or description that will encourage your contacts to click through and view the content.