How to write great social media posts
Social media advertising has gained in stature as one of the most potent mediums to promote, engage and register conversions among the target audience – a testimony to the fact that they have been the sole cause for creating celebrities from scratch, business empires and unique corporate models for some time now.
Clearly, this cannot be possible merely by putting together a string of catchy words and phrases but requires proven expertise in crafting powerful copy backed by research into the target’s online presence and preferences.
First, let’s get into some general directives on how to achieve great social media posts.
Copy Matters
Be Compelling
There are ways you can cut the clutter of the thousands of posts that are jamming your customer’s feed. One of these is, of course, answering the all-important question “What’s in it for me?”
- Describe a benefit: “Get more client referrals with..”
- Display an excerpt: “9 out of 10 people would use their realtor again, if only…
Don’t use weak words
These are words that sound like a mouthful, take up precious space and don’t mean anything substantial, such as, “maybe” or “hopefully” or “try.” Go for more assertive one like “guarantee” or “expect.”
Understand post lengths
Sticking to optimal post lengths and shorter will obviously lead to more reach and consequently more conversions.
Keep it short
Pressed for time and overwhelmed with the post length restrictions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more? The trick is always, always to keep it short.
Image Copy Metrics
Mechanics-wise, the one key takeaway to remember here is this: Facebook ads and boosted posts place a 20% image text overlay restriction. This means if more than 20% of your image is covered in the text, your post will receive reduced reach. That’s bad news if your goal is to cut through the static in your fan’s feeds.
Oversell is overkill
Nobody is here for your sales pitch. Ditch the sales, promotional chatter and go for an authentic and ‘real’ person to person talk, one that feels like you are addressing real-life pain points and not pushing your product down somebody’s throat.
Write for your audience, choose your voice:
- Your voice is your brand personality. Ask: What do you sound like on social media?
- Spend time scanning your follower’s profiles: for the kinds of things they say, do and comment on
- Read the same websites/publications your audience does: to understand their taste
- Understand their language and verbiage: from commonly used terms and phrases
Use Relevant Emojis
Relevantly used, emojis are sometimes more effective than a plain copy!
Plan ahead
When it’s digital media, every day is crunch time. It may pay to follow some measures to plan ahead and save on quality of posts.
- Be ready with a Social Media Calendar: The best way to keep your posts organized is to have a social media calendar ready. The benefits include visibility of your social posts to your entire team and the bandwidth to plan your posts ahead of time as also to judge the best time of the week/month to post.
- Plan Campaigns: This is much better than writing last-minute one-off campaigns without much thought. Think about switching to cohesive campaigns – campaigns with consistent hashtag messaging, a series campaign promoting a single piece of content and the like.
And now, a brief rundown on the dos and don’t for crafting perfect posts for popular social media channels:
Post lengths vary, about 80 words maybe hitting the sweet spot. The medium is big for visual and video content and yields well to engagement using questions and contest posts. Cleverly used hashtags helps you join a larger discussion.
Notorious for its character restrictions, keep your tweets to 250-260 characters in length allowing you to add your twitter handle at the end and other information such as blog link.
While visuals are the name of the game here, writing the perfect caption and description can be tricky, especially since it gives you a long hand. Break up your descriptor, get innovative with emojis and you can even use them in hashtags!
A platform for blog length professional posts, great for sharing company related information like new ideas, insider experiences, and event updates. Stay professional, avoid rants and salesy language.
In sum, crafting the perfect social media post is fast becoming the El Dorado of advertising writers all over the world. As is apparent, customers are increasingly going digital and making informed buying decisions based on online advertising exposure. So get ready for writing those lines of winning a copy. It’s social or so long!
About The Author
Payel Mukherjee
Payel dreams about travelling the world and relaxing in quaint beach cafes – when she is not helping brands find real growth through powerful content experiences. She loves waging the war against mediocre content marketing and is passionate about entrepreneurship and startups. She is also a Darjeeling tea junkie and the founder of Justwords.