How to Be Cool on Facebook

Pick a sharp profile picture that flatters your features.

Go for a shot that makes you look handsome or beautiful. Sort through flattering photos of yourself and choose one that shows off your best features. Maybe you have one where soft lighting is hitting your hair just right and highlights your amazing hair color, or maybe you've got a fantastic shot of you smiling coyly at the camera. Keep in mind that Facebook will make you crop down your selected photo so you don't need a unique or creative background since people won't see it. Save these kinds of images for your cover photo. It's completely fine for you to crop down a photo of yourself, especially if you're in a group or crowd. You should be the only one visible in your profile photo. Use a photo that's crisp and in focus. Grainy profile pics are for the early years of Facebook!

Use a cover photo that shows your interests.

Pick an action shot to share something you're passionate about. Now, it's totally okay to post a picture of you with a group, your family, or a pet. It's also an opportunity to let people see something you love doing like pilates, theater, or making music. The cover photo is what you want people to associate you with. For bonus cool points, choose a cover photo of you in an amazing location that you've been to. Again, use a photo that's crisp and in focus. Nothing says Facebook amateur like a cover photo where the people have been cut off or you can see the individual pixels! Have fun with the cover photo. You could use a group shot of you with a team or band that you're into or a crazy cool logo that you designed, for instance. For example, if you're into fashion, use a cover photo of a runway or you shopping somewhere iconic like Saks Fifth Avenue.

Write a few keywords that describe your unique personality.

List who you are, what you do, and things you like. If people are trying to get a sense of who you are, they'll probably skim over the bio section on your profile page. Instead of writing in detail about who you are, come up with a few catchy phrases to describe you. Think of your bio as a quick elevator pitch so you can quickly tell people who you are and what you like. This looks sleek and is useful if you're an influencer who's trying to gain followers. For example, if you're a fashion influencer with a health streak, you might write, "Fashionista---Model---Keto life."

Post original updates.

Share an insight that's totally unique to you instead of re-posting content. Most people scroll through Facebook at dizzying speeds, but a post that you've written may stand out since it's not a link. Keep your post short so you grab their attention. For instance, you might post, "Travel planning. Bali or Thailand. Thoughts?" This also has the added benefit of getting people to comment which makes your page look popular. Sure, you probably won't be doing something cool all the time, so wait a few days until something newsworthy happens and then share it. By doing this, you'll keep your cool reputation. For example, instead of re-posting a link from a band's page, write a short, catchy post like "My local band. New album dropped. #youcantstopthemusic." Posting your own perspectives is also more interesting and can help you build your individual brand.

Skip common updates or app invites.

Give infrequent, awesome updates instead of lots of standard posts. You've probably seen people who post about everything that happens to them, or they send you invites to play games and quizzes all the time. If you're trying to give off a cool vibe, avoid doing this since it makes you look like you're always on Facebook. Instead, share a picture or video occasionally of something that's memorable. For instance, if you go sky diving, definitely post a short video or take a picture that shows you all suited up. Think about it—you know cool people do boring everyday stuff, too. The difference is, they're not posting about it.

Limit your daily posts to 1 or 2 a day.

Keep your wall simple and streamlined. If you post constantly, you'll spam your own page! This will also make it look like you're always on Facebook. You want people to realize that you've got an amazing life outside of the social media site and that you're too busy to post updates all the time. Want to be mysterious? Wait several days in between your posts. This will make your posts really stand out.

Avoid replying to everyone else's posts.

Wait to comment on someone's post, and be original. Make a point of only responding to people you know really well so it doesn't look like you're just commenting for the sake of posting something. If you do want to reply to a new post, wait at least a few hours so it looks like you're not always on Facebook. If a friend posts about something happening in their life and a bunch of people have already posted comments like, "What happened?!" make your comment stand out. Instead of also saying, "What happened?" reply with something cool like, "Ooh, cryptic post. Care to tell more?"

Share amazing images and videos of your life.

Show people how awesome your life is. Sure, you can share a post and tell people what's been going on in your life, but people might scroll past it. Grab their attention with a stunning photo. You can just post the picture or include a brief description to pique interest. For instance, post a stylish black and white picture of a classic car with you leaning against it or share a video of you standing near a waterfall. If people start commenting on it, you can respond and give more details.

Use Text Delights in your posts.

Make your responses stand out from the crowd. You've probably responded to someone's popular post with a "Congratulations," or "xo." Did you notice how sometimes the word or phrase turns a bold color and makes an animation? This feature is called Text Delights and all you have to do is use a trigger phrase in a post to activate it. Try these out the next time you're commenting on someone's page: "Wonderful/lovely time" makes a flower bouquet "You're the best/bestest" creates a flying star "bff/bffs" shows dancing hands "rad/radness" gives shooting star thumbs up "xo/xoxo" shows lots of hearts

Avoid complaining or gossiping.

Cultivate a cool persona by focusing on yourself. Don't let other people stress you out and definitely don't rant about people on your wall. Think of your Facebook as a drama-free zone that's laid back and chill. If you do have problems with someone who's on Facebook, send them a direct message instead of interacting with them publicly.