6 Tips for Crafting Irresistible Social Media Posts
Social media is a simple yet integral part of any content marketing strategy. Although it’s one of the easiest methods for distributing content, crafting social media posts for a business isn’t quite the same as posting to your personal social media pages. It’s important that your brand reflects your overall key messaging, unique personality and brand image across social media.
These six tips will help shape your social media content to be consistently on brand and click-worthy:
1. Make Sure Your Social Content is Concise
Using more characters doesn’t always yield more engagement from your social media followers. Many use social media to receive quick updates and scan the headlines for something that jumps out at them. If your message is too wordy, social media followers may skip over it entirely. Craft clear, concise social media posts that tease just enough information to capture the audience’s interest and drive engagement.
An example is Microsoft’s to-the-point approach to posting on LinkedIn. The company’s social media posts briefly introduce a topic, then provide a link that directs interested users to more detailed information.
2. Consider the Context of Your Social Content
Even a well-intentioned social media post can be published at the wrong moment. Consider what’s going on in the world and in your community when creating social media content and be conscious of all the ways your message could be perceived in light of any related circumstances. What may seem harmless could spiral into a communication crisis.
For instance, back in 2011, Entenmann’s tweeted “Who’s #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?!” What seemed like a proclamation of love for baked goods became intertwined with the controversial Casey Anthony trial because of the trending hashtag. The company faced backlash for exploiting the trial and later deleted the tweet.
3. Include a Compelling Visual Element
Including a compelling visual component—such as an image, chart or video—makes for a much more effective social media post. In fact, tweets with images receive 150% more retweets, Facebook posts with images see 2.3X higher engagement, and LinkedIn posts with images receive 200% more engagement than text-only posts. It’s also important to make sure that all images are sized correctly for each social media channel, as these dimensions are updated regularly.
4. Craft Social Content That is Authentic
Your social media presence is an extension of your brand. Although there’s room to step outside of the formal language used on your website and collateral, be consistent when presenting who your brand is and its core values. It’s also important to remember the audience personas you’re targeting and tailor your message to their specific needs.
One great example of a brand that balances authenticity with an appeal to its social media base is the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD). Self-described as a “wonderful mix of poop jokes and information,” the NEORSD Twitter account makes getting educated on the inner workings of Cleveland’s sewer system entertaining.
5. Proofread Your Social Content
Nothing deters your credibility like a typo. It’s ok to use informal language on social media, but your posts still need to reflect the professionalism of your business and the intelligence of your team. Before you rush to publish a social media post, take an extra moment to slow down and carefully review it for grammatical errors and clarity. Otherwise, your social media post could cause confusion or even embarrassment, like Donald Trump’s notorious “covfefe” typo on Twitter.
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