Let’s cut to the chase: when you’re reading a social media post, if the first few words don’t capture your attention, you probably aren’t reading the rest of it. Crafting social media copy in a way that is engaging and informative while also being concise is easier said than done.
Here are a few tried-and-true tips for making sure your social media copy stands out:
Tip #1: Get to the Point
When writing long-form pieces like a blog post or featured article, you may have a natural tendency to try and bolster the copy with some extra elaboration. On social media, however, the goal is to grab the reader’s attention quickly, and to do that you’ll need to be direct.
In fact, according to Social Media Today, it only takes a reader 1.7 seconds to consume an average social media post on a mobile device, and 2.5 seconds on a desktop device. That means you have an extremely limited amount of time to make sure the person reading your post is understanding what you want to get across.
With attention at such a premium, making sure the message of your social media post is immediately clear means it is much more likely to capture the attention of your audience.
Tip #2: Be Clear and Consistent with Your Brand
Not all brands utilize their social media channels in the same way. For example, our client Klosterman Baking Company has a more fun, family-focused tone, while a client like Rudler, PSC has a brand voice that is a little more buttoned-up.
While it’s good to maintain some flexibility with your brand voice, straying too far from your usual tone can cause confusion amongst social media audiences. If you typically take on a more humorous voice, then it might not be a good idea to abruptly begin posting more serious content, and vice-versa.
Tip #3: Include a Call to Action
When most people are browsing social media, they are doing just that — browsing. Unless there is something that is catching a reader’s attention, they are likely not going to interact with a post for any longer than those brief seconds as they scroll their feeds.
Including a call to action in your copy is a great way to cause audiences to stop scrolling and drive engagement to your post. Whether this is done by asking a question and inviting the reader to answer in the comments or including a link to sign up for an event, giving the audience some guidance in your social media copy will make sure the key message of your post comes through loud and clear.
Tip #4: Incorporate #Hashtags
Hashtags are a key piece of social media copy. Hashtags increase the visibility of your post and allow it to be seen amongst similar content. By incorporating hashtags that are relevant to your post, you are increasing the chances of someone who has interest in the topic discovering your post and (hopefully) becoming a fan of your brand.
There are various ways to incorporate hashtags, whether it is utilizing a tried-and-true staple like #ThrowbackThursday, using a hashtag relevant to your industry, or creating your brand’s own hashtag.
TIP: Not sure which hashtags to use? There are plenty of free hashtag generators out there!
Writing social media copy can be challenging, but following these tips will have you writing social posts like a pro in no time.
Looking for more ways to elevate your social media copy? Check out:
