How to write a social media post and make it suck less
You’ve been tasked with managing social media posts for your company. Maybe, it was never in your job description. Maybe, you are great at graphics and so you’re now the social media guru for your office (damn that Canva subscription!) Maybe, you love social media and spend time on it, and you’re good at it personally. Still you can’t understand why no one seems to care when you post that Ball Peen Hammers, Inc. (BPH) is celebrating its five millionth hammer sold. And the president of BPH, Inc. is really pissed that none of his golfing buddies liked the post and wants to know why. And without a study of the social media habits of middle-aged golfers, we’ll have to look for the solution someplace else.
Over the years as a copywriter, I have taken on a social media gig from time to time. I’ve also taught clients to manage their own social media accounts. If your organization has chosen you to maintain their social presence, social media writing is an important skill to hone and these ideas will make it suck less and help you get the word out on the proverbial street.
What’s the overarching message?
Go talk to Marketing or someone in charge of messaging and find out what your organization’s messaging themes are. What is the tone of voice for social media? What do they want people to see/feel when they interact with your organization? This is a good time to ask about imagery and graphics guidelines, if you are responsible for that, too.
Identify your audience for this post.
Is your audience really the CEO’s cronies? Maybe. But ask yourself why. Who needs to hear this story and why does your organization’s message matter to them? This might send you into an existential crisis – if so, go back to step one. Then, spend some time on the different platforms where your organization has a presence. Now, pay attention to when your targets are online. When do they post? What kinds of posts do they like and share? What action do you want them to take? When is your audience most likely to engage with social content?
Plan out the post(s).
Make an outline in a document on Google or Word, or your notebook, if you have nice handwriting. Think through the important points that you want to get across. Don’t try to come up with this on the fly in the post window. This isn’t a photo of your dog or what you had for dinner, this post will be part of your brand’s image. See point number one.
But I actually would love to see a photo of your dog.
Lead with the important stuff.
Think like a headline writer, and if you need to, talk in a 1940s movie reporter voice while you come up with it. Seriously, write a HEADLINE for people to care about. Lead off with Who and What and if there’s a deadline for action, lead with When. This is especially true when writing on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Scrollers only see the first few words—you need to make them want to read the whole thing, and then you want them to click that like/heart/clappy-hand reaction to your post, and then you want them to share it.
Finish it off with more important stuff.
Scroll through social media. As I said, Linked In, Facebook and Instagram all show only the first few words of a post. And on Twitter brevity is a necessity. It is also the soul of wit. Keep your post short and sweet and get your point across and get people caring about your post with as few words as possible.
No matter what, respect your audience. Even if you are being silly and it’s a fun post. Now get out there and write those posts. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.