Together with your message, share a photo of the deceased. If there is already an obituary, you can share that as well instead as it already contains information about the death. Some people also edit the photos to include the birth and death years of the deceased.
You don’t want to make the announcement right away. It’s better to break the news to the people closest to the deceased personally or through a call rather than have them read about it on social media. You can wait for a day or two. That will also give you more time to collect your thoughts and process your emotions.
Use phrases like “with great sadness” or “with deepest sorrow”. That will help people anticipate what you are going to say, so it’s not as shocking to them. Although there is no easy way to soften the blow, these phrases can help even for a little.

