The importance of social media cannot be denied. Businesses, both big and small, need to figure out how to make their stamp on the social platforms to compete for the attention of the vast social media audience. The way you craft each post is crucial to the success of your business’s social media.
We are excited to share a five-part series on general tips for writing a good post, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and finally our predictions of the next wave of social media advertising.
Top Nine Things to Remember Before You Post
- Your writing matters
Your writing, no matter how brief or simple, reflects your brand. Not only does your writing need to match your brand, but it needs to match the platform you are posting on. Your Instagram copy will be different than your LinkedIn copy in its light-hearted and less professional tone
- Be consistent
Do you have brand standards for your copy? A basic style guide is 1-2 pages and it should include a mission statement, audience persona summary, social media brand voice, tone, branding, and message types.
- Put your audience at the center—Don’t talk about yourself too much
Your audience needs to be the center of all of your social media copy. How does this post relate to, intrigue, or inspire your audience? Example: Say “you” more than “us”
- Is it sharable?
To know this you need to know if the brand audience will find your content desirable. Think about these five things: your audience wants to deliver value to their audience, to express and define themselves, to feel connected with others, to make themselves feel valued, and to express their beliefs.
- Does your copy and images match?
Connect your images, articles, and videos to your copy. Reuse the articles name in your caption, reuse the video’s name, match or play off your image’s copy, if it has any. Think of any attachment to your caption as one thing altogether not just a mash of video and copy.
- Make it short—be clear and concise
Use short sentences and clear language. Challenge yourself to keep your posts to -1-2 sentences.
- Don’t be too pushy—your audience does not want to be sold to
Social posts need to be written to inform, entertain and connect with your audience. Social ads are written and designed to sell. There is a time and a place for both.
- Evoke curiosity in your writing
When you link a picture, video or article don’t tell the whole story but just enough to make them stop. If your audience is scrolling what will make them slow down for you?
- Cross promote
And after all of this make sure to share your posts throughout all of your social platforms. Just remember, the way you post on one social platform is different than another. It may be a slight change in length, tone or wording but, that is all very important to reaching the right audience on each platform.
We hope you found value in these tips on social media writing. SMZ has the capabilities and experience to help your business write and manage your social media platforms. Let us know if we can help your business. Next week, we will be breaking down how to successfully post on Facebook in seven easy steps.
Alec Schlitt, Account Coordinator