Best Tips for writing engaging social media posts. Can you outsource it?
Best Tips for writing engaging social media posts. Can you outsource it?
Kavi Ranjan
‘Killer content’ writing engaging social media posts is the only ship that can ensure you stay afloat in the ocean of ‘Social media’.
Only crackling content can work like a magnet to draw readers and create a place in their minds and hearts.
Social media not only helps you to understand your audience’s expectations but it is also a useful tool to distribute your content.
Understanding the audience’s expectations calls for knowledge about ways different platforms work and expectations of the audiences. And a mastery of both of these parameters contributes towards killer content creation required to feed various social media platforms.
There was a time, say about a decade and a half ago- when social media was a novelty! Today social media has left the ‘innocent’ and ‘uncharted’ stage to turn into a matured medium, and any business who hasn’t tapped a benefit giving source is likely to lose out on a LOT!
Now that you have understood what engaging social media posts can do to your business, the next question you need to find answers for is- how a business can connect better with its target audience?
Table of Contents
Tips On Writing Engaging Social Media Posts
Do you feel the social media marketing efforts your business is taking are not producing satisfactory results and your brand is not being spoken about by people?
If yes, then the solution to these concerns is plain and simple- it is your content on social media, which isn’t powerful enough to draw the attention of your target customers!
Posting engaging content for social media is not possible without a well-defined social media strategy and cannot lead to beneficial results!
We at Towards90 have listed down 15 tips on how to write social media posts for business. Let’s take you through them-
Research
Only when the target groups can relate to your content will they notice and engage with it.
When a business has a clear picture of the needs, challenges, and obstacles of your target audience, it can be more effective in engaging content for social media. This can be possible when a business takes efforts to carry out in-depth research of their target group, details much more than basic demographics.
Create a persona. Know about their lifestyle, interests, and values. The more research you do, the easier it would get to create content that works for your target audience.
Speak in their style and language
Have a clear idea about the people you are intending to speak to. The style and terminology used to write content matters a lot.
Choose your language and tone from funny/ professional/ serious/ casual/ relaxed etc. based on your target audience.
The kind of content that works on LinkedIn (that targets professionals and executives) would not stand a chance on a medium like Facebook.
Similarly content for students and elderly people cannot be the same- as both groups have different points of view and challenges. Also, the language and phrasing of words significantly differ!
Craft your ‘own’ voice
Don’t think we are confusing you!
Yes, you need to talk in a language understood by the target audience, but as a brand, you need to create your ‘own’ special voice in the form of a tone, emotion, and personality. And such a voice needs to be consistent throughout the posts and any interactions from the business across social platforms. Consistency ensures emotional connection with your target audience and leads to developing trust.
Let the voice be casual
What a business needs to understand is that social media accounts should not be a duplication of your website.
Ensure the brand voice you create is casual and soft although yours is a serious brand.
Are you wondering why so?
The answer to this is simple- why do people spend time on social media? To be casual! Else they would rather log on to your official website!
So you need to use shorter, and ‘non-business’ terminology while creating engaging content for social media.
Positivity and perkiness
Ensure your posts reflect positivity.
And no, positive posts do not mean happy posts. Positive posts are the ones that inspire and generate excitement. This drives the readers to take positive next action.
Ensure to keep your posts perky (unless it’s a social page for a funeral home!) and upbeat.
Yes, you as a business need to take a stand if required, but never criticize others. It can turn out to be harmful and undesirable.
When you encounter complaints posted on your social profile, social media content creators suggest you acknowledge it publicly, although you may take over the resolution to private messaging. Never delete such posts. Nor send out negative relies on such posts. It creates a dark mood on your pages, which harms your brand image.
Short, instructive and simplicity is the key
Social media posts are meant to draw attention, but also be sure you as a business value the time readers are spending on your content. Social media is not the right avenue for in depth musings! Don’t tell a story for 30 minutes, when you can do it in 30 seconds!
Keep the language simple and easy to understand. Succinct and shorter posts are better received.
A concise paragraph structure keeps the audience hooked. Ensure the formatting is clear and has headings, lists, images, bullets- and all such things that make it easier to read the content.
Longer posts are not welcome. The attention span of readers on social media does not go beyond the first 3-4 words, so such words better be the best!
So, even though mediums like Facebook allow you 400 characters, please don’t use them all!
This means when you wish to share longer content like a story or a blog, talk about it short and give a link that directs readers to it.
Use emojis to express to avoid longer sentences.
Images, infographics, videos
A picture is worth a 1000 words!
Whenever possible, communicate with images, graphics, videos, etc. It can not only leave a lasting impact but attach a human element to your post. High-quality visuals that connect with your business’s message ensure better user experience.
Unscripted videos work even better than planned ‘marketing’ videos.
Call to action
A good social media post is one that ends with a call-to-action (CTA).
But this does not mean the content needs to be promotional always. It should not be a pressing one, but a slight nudge, a prompt to the audience about the action you desire them to take.
Without a CTA, the audience may like your content, but you would not derive any benefit from it.
CTA is not just about asking the target to buy your product or service. CTA’s can also-
- Ask the audience to like/share the post
- Ask the audience to follow your business across other social platforms
- Guide them to your website
- Seeking answers in comments for questions you have for them
- Guide to more content
- Propose to subscribe to your newsletters
- Even a simple “Contact Us” or “Learn More” or “Watch Now” does the trick.
But also ensure not to confuse the readers by asking multiple actions like ‘check out the link, then return here to share/ comment!’
Let it be personal
Ensure your posts have a personal touch. Talk in words like ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘me’, ‘you’ and not ‘the company’, ‘clients’, ‘customers’, ‘the team’, etc.
The tone you use should be such that it makes the reader feel you are talking directly to them. This ensures a healthier engagement rate.
It’s ok to break punctuation rules
On social media, it’s perfectly ok to break punctuation rules and use abbreviations- after all, it can help you save on characters and stay in limits.
Use block capitals- they create excitement.
Use hashtag words and emoji to communicate.
Write great replies
Social media posting is not about posting updates alone. You also need to post replies.
Professional social media content creators suggest you maintain the same brand voice consistent throughout. Even in the replies, you post out. Also, replies need to be polite, friendly, and informative even when you come across complaints.
Audience interactions
Imagine spending an hour with someone who can’t stop talking about themselves? They come across as boastful, selfish, and rude right?
It’s the same for social media. Social media isn’t a broadcasting medium for your business where everything you put up needs to be about your product/ service.
Social media is a venue to interact with your audience. So, use it for that purpose- take polls, seek answers/ opinions/ feedback.
Say no to weasel words
Words like ‘try’, ‘maybe’, ‘hopefully’ are weasel words. They just give an impression of something meaningful, but in reality, are truly meaningless. Usage of words like “guarantee” or “expect” sends out a better image.
Let us explain with an example-
Weasel Statement: IndiaBulls real estate tries to build you the best home for your money.
Non-weasel Statement: IndiaBulls real estate guarantees you the best home for your money.
Active/ passive voice
The active voice is straightforward and current. A passive voice brings a third party or past in the picture. Stick to an active voice as it is more powerful.
Best Practices On Creating Content For Social Media Networks
Post on Facebook
Facebook has nearly 2.4 billion users.
That’s almost 1/3 rd of the world population!
That makes this medium a HUGE opportunity!
It provides some of the best precise targeting capabilities.
For example, your brand targets women in the age group of 20-30 who have just begun their career, moved to a new city, and like playing tennis. Facebook can help you target them, something no other social media can.
But a lot of different techniques work here! This is a tricky medium!
Post Length
The thumb rule for the length of the post on ANY social media network is- “KEEP IT SHORT.”
Anything between 80 to 120 words is ideal.
Best Practices
- Include a visual( image or video)- for every single post.
- Ending the post with an exclamation mark boosts engagement.
- Stick to positive sentiments.
- A good avenue to ask questions to generate involvement from the audience.
Hashtags
The wise use of Hashtags helps to connect posts to a wider discussion. Create and use your very own business-related hashtag. But limit to 1 or 2 as hashtags aren’t huge on Facebook.
Tweet On Twitter
Twitter has nearly 330 million monthly users, and about 500 million tweets a day. Twitter is tougher to get right, thanks to its length guidelines.
Post Length
Since twitter does not allow more than 140 characters, ensure you can pack everything you wish to convey within them. A tip that can help is, stick to talking about one topic at a single time, and not venture into multiple topics. Keep the tweet to 120-130 characters, leaving the balance for ‘Twitter handles’
Best Practices
Want to say more, but character limitations worry you?
- Add a URL that takes readers to another blog post!
- Include compelling images alongside the tweets.
Twitter allows you to tag up to 10 people in your tweets. As a business, you just need to ensure the tag is relevant to the post. Random tagging does not benefit.
Hashtags
Space being a constraint, ensure to use hashtags wisely. Do not hashtag every other word. Having 2 hashtags per post is perfect!
Instagram Captions
Instagram, with roughly 800 million active users, is popular for sharing 24-hour stories/images/ quick videos.
IGTV is a notable Instagram feature that can create and promote longer-form videos/ live streams/ podcasts.
Instagram can also be linked to Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.
Alongside visual communication, captions equally bear the burden to draw attention to your posts.
Caption length
Although the caption length doesn’t matter much, you do have a limit. You could
- Describe the photo
- Ask followers questions
- Put in call-to-action.
Best Practices
- Write short sentences leaving line gaps in between.
- Use emojis creatively. Emojis can even be used as hashtags, but ensure they are relevant.
Hashtags
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags! So feel free to go wild!!!
LinkedIn Posts
LinkedIn is a perfect platform to share business news or industry insights.
Post length
LinkedIn works well for longer posts.
Use this medium to share
- Company updates,
- Fresh ideas,
- Company events
- Insider experiences
- Enlightening topics
Best Practices
LinkedIn posts can be formatted in the same way as blog posts. Have a title, headline, subheaders, pointers all in a well-organized manner.
The key is to stay professional with the content avoiding any sort of rants or casualness.
Include images.
Hashtags
Add about 3-5 hashtags at the end of the post, but unobtrusively.
Pins On Pinterest
Just like Instagram, visual content is the focus of this medium.
According to Hootsuite, Pinterest can drive 3x times more traffic than Twitter and YouTube.
Did you know the lifetime of a ‘pin’ is roughly 1,680x more than a Facebook post?
Pins would be available to Pinterest users for weeks/ months! What’s more? You could even repin your old pins, to continue traffic generation!
Also, estimates say that about 85% of Pinterest users are women. So if your business targets the female demographic, then Pinterest is for you!
Post Length
Using about 150-300 words to describe a pin a good standard.
In the description, do not forget to include relevant keywords.
Best Practices
Avoid internet slang and acronyms and stick to correct punctuation and grammar.
Keep the tone informational.
Do not indulge in salesy language, strictly.
Hashtags
Say no to hashtags when on Pinterest.
Choosing ‘the right’ social platform
Each social media platform comes with its unique strengths and weaknesses.
All of them are powerful, but not all can be beneficial to your brand. As a business, you need to take to figure out your brand’s marketing strategies and then choose the best suitable social media platform.
Social Media Post Ideas
Ok, you understand the benefits social media can get but are you lost for social media post ideas for business? These are some ideas that can help!
- Share your company’s blog posts
- Share your company culture
- Industry news
- Talk about top-achieving employees
- Ask question to readers about the topic they think your business should talk about next
- Previews or teasers about upcoming products
- Videos/ images about products
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Share about contests you are organizing
- Company new accomplishments
- Past yet noteworthy company accomplishments
- Show your holiday spirit, share holiday-related posts
- Upcoming event promotion posts
- Pictures from company events
- Answers to FAQ’s
- Job openings in the company
- Hiring announcements
- Promote subscription lists your business may have
- Ask for feedback from customers
- Live ‘on the floor’ videos or behind the scene photos.
If no other social media post ideas for business works, opt for the evergreen idea–>regular inspirational quotes!
Still Feel Stuck? Why Don’t You Consider Outsourcing?
Now that you very well understand that compelling content posted on various social media avenues can work marvels in enhancing your company sales so that your business can zoom past its competitors, you should not take such an opportunity casually.
But, are you still feeling unsure and stuck for writing engaging social media posts?
Don’t worry, you can always consider outsourcing. And that’s the place we at Towards90 come into the picture!!!
Our professional social media content creators can glide your business along the entire social media landscape. With us by your side, you can drop any worries you might have about your entire social media campaign, including writing engaging social media posts.
Our team knows what exactly works and where. Infused with the knick-knacks of all the different social media mediums, our team can churn out masterpiece contents that resonate with your target audience and create an extraordinary brand presence in their minds.
Come ‘towards’ us, and see your business roar new heights!
