Lesson 2: Publishing your first posts and stories (M4-U3-L2)

Creating your first post or story

A post is the main type of publication on social media. It can include text, photos, videos, or links. It can be very short, or it can tell a whole story.

If you plan to share your stories more or less regularly, it’s important that your very first post is engaging and easy to understand.

Here are a few simple tips to help you make it that way:

• Introduce yourself and briefly tell a few words about who you are, using simple language.
• Think about the purpose of your first post. Do you want to tell a story, share useful information, or simply convey your mood? This will help you choose the best format – text, photo, or video.
• Choose a good-quality photo or illustration. Images attract attention and increase the number of views.
• Write briefly and clearly. Three to five sentences are usually enough to get your main idea across. If your first post is longer, make it easy to read by using short paragraphs.
• Add hashtags (#). For example: #LindaStories #TheWayISeeIt
  Hashtags help other people find your posts and stories more easily, and they also help you organise them better.
• Check your post before publishing. Read it out loud – it will help you hear if it sounds natural.
• Click “Publish” and see if everything looks good to you.
• Share your post with friends and acquaintances to gradually increase your audience.

Exercise: Quiz – Choose the correct answer

Creating Stories on Facebook and Instagram

In addition to posts, you can publish Stories on Instagram and Facebook — short messages that disappear after 24 hours.
They’re a great way to show interesting moments from your day, announce an event, or share a new story.

Main features of Stories

• They’re easy to create and edit on your phone.
• You can add stickers, emojis, music, polls, and links.
• They attract attention because they appear at the top of the feed.
• You can create a series of Stories to tell a whole narrative.

How to create a Story step by step

1. Open Facebook or Instagram and find the Story option.
2. Choose what you want to show: take a new photo or select one from your gallery.
3. Add a short caption — for example, “Today I want to share a story about…”
4. Use stickers, emojis, or a poll such as “Do you like it?”
5. Check how your Story looks and click “Publish.”
6. Share your Story with friends and followers!

Tip: Don’t try to make it perfect — the main thing is to be sincere and authentic.
Tip: You can save your Story in “Highlights” so that it doesn’t disappear after 24 hours and stays on your profile!