You probably know a little about content writing for social media. After all, it’s likely that you spend a lot of your time browsing through your social media sites.

What catches your attention – and keeps it? Lines of text with no end in sight, or short, attention-grabbing writing sprinkled with appropriately chosen media? It is definitely not the long, boring posts!

Quality writing, attractive videos and images are the key to grabbing attention and keeping it.

A content writer for social media knows this and for this reason alone, he can create social media posts that go viral.  Someone who writes content for social media is savvy about what is important to the viewers out there.

So, what makes a good social media post?

The competition out there for your audience’s time and attention is brutal. One of the top secrets to creating a top social media post is not to try and compete, but to set yourself apart from the crowd. This you can do by creating and sharing excellent quality content that your audience is compelled to view.

Prepare a social media strategy – and stick to it. Much like your monthly budget, creating it, and sticking to it will see you meeting your goals.

Here at ConvertSocial, we have provided a number of tips to help your social media posts stand out. Let’s take a look.

1. Research is Essential

Before you begin writing anything, you need to know who you are writing for. In other words, who is your target audience?

If you want your audience to notice and engage with your posts, they need to be relevant. A post that resonates with a viewer is more likely to be a success, generating more traffic.

Additionally, your aim should be writing meaningful content for social media.

Here you can identify – after a bit of research – what your audience wants and needs. By including a solution to a challenge they may be facing, you’ll cement their attention.

2. Develop Your Own Voice

While you ought to write in the language that resonates with your target audience, it should also be uniquely yours. Your voice must be consistent throughout the content you create and the posts you share.

The language you use along with the tone of your writing defines your voice.

Whether you are writing for yourself, or your business, it is essential to keep the same voice throughout your writing. This ensures the professionalism of the content.

3. Short and Simple is Key

No one wants to read long (and potentially boring) content. Research has shown that long-winded, difficult to read content is never read right through to the end.

For most people, time is money. If you want your audience to give you their time in reading your posts, show them that you value theirs too.

A good point is to keep your paragraphs short. It also gives the illusion of space between sentences. The content is then easier to read and take in.

If you do need to write a longer than usual post, use a larger sized font. Small text is a strain on the reader’s eyes.

These pointers can help:

  1. Your content and posts should be easy to read. Write at an eighth grade reading level.
  2. Make use of headings, bullet points and lists throughout your content. It makes your content easier to scan.
  3. Keep your paragraphs short, with only one or two sentences in each.
  4. When writing about your topic, keep your content concise.

4. Descriptions to Entice the Senses

Everyone loves a good story. A good story more often than not has cleverly crafted descriptions.

Think of the stories you heard as a child. The favorites were always the ones with descriptions that appealed to your senses.

As someone writing good content for social media posts, using cleverly crafted descriptions makes your readers identify with what you are writing. When they do, it is a sure way to increase conversions, and ultimately, sales.

The point is to grab a reader’s attention and keep it. People relate to sensory descriptions because they are true and easy to understand.

It does take a little practice to get it right, but there is nothing stopping you from starting now. Use sensory-based descriptions throughout your content and start grabbing your audience’s attention.

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5. Be Positive

This doesn’t mean that all your posts need to be happy, feel good posts. What it does mean is that you want your readers to be inspired and excited by your posts.

You may choose to share your opinion about a meaningful topic. Remember that there is a difference about writing meaningfully and criticizing others.

Simply, do not engage in writing that criticizes others. It is demeaning and unprofessional. Worst of all, it portrays you in a negative way. Now, why would you want to do that?

The result of such writing is more than likely going to have negative effects – on you and your page. The credibility that you have built with your followers can be lost.

6. Add Images

People only retain 10% of what they read. Conversely, they remember 65% of what they see. Therefore, adding images to your content is a great way to ensure that your audience will see your post, and remember it.

Images personalize your post. It adds the ever-important human element. A tip to remember is to keep it relevant. There is little point adding cute images of puppies when your post is about sensible eating habits.

Video remains one of the most successful ways to grab an audience’s attention. It can succinctly sum up your message.

It is also sensible to optimize the video for the platform you are using. This ensures that your post can be shared, and that it looks professional.

How to Create the Best Posts

7. Don’t Forget Your CTA

A call to action will prompt your audience to take action after reading your post. Adding a call to action gently reminds them of the action you’d like them to take.

A CTA is written in different formats and has different purposes. Have a look at these CTAs to spur your audience:

  • Ask questions that they can reply to in the comments section;
  • Guide them to another piece of content on your site;
  • You can send them to a landing page;
  • Direct them to your own website;
  • Ask them to share or like your post;
  • Ask them to subscribe to your newsletter;
  • Ask them to connect with you on other social media platforms.

8. Proofread Your Post – Always

We all make typos. To ensure your writing is free from mistakes, proofread it. And then proofread it again.

An excellent suggestion for proofreading properly is to read your post aloud. Reading it aloud gives you a different perspective. It also lets you spot any mistakes that you miss when reading it on the screen.

Check your grammar and spelling too. A piece of content with these mistakes is unprofessional – and gives the impression that you don’t actually care about your post.

Avoid phone text writing. Never write content for a post that includes the abbreviated words one would use in a text message over a phone. It is just not done.

There are a number of online apps that can help you with your proofreading and, as they are easy to use, they are worth looking at.

These can help make your proofreading easier:

  • Hemingway App: this is excellent for writing clearly and succinctly. It provides suggestions for shorter phrases, indicates whether your writing is active or passive voice and helps you remove the clutter;
  • Slickwrite: free to use online, it provides excellent alternative choices for clutter-free and concise writing;
  • ZenPen: free to use, this app offers distraction free writing;
  • Grammarly: a tried and trusted app used by many writers. It helps make your writing clear, correct and effective.

9. Write for the Platform You Post on

Each social platform is different. Each needs content optimized to meet its particular requirements.

Writing content for a Facebook post is different to a post for Twitter, for example. It is essential to take the time to learn the type of writing that is suitable for the platform you choose to post on.

Here, a little research is also necessary. Ask yourself which platform most of your audience frequents.

Different social media platforms require different content to ensure your post is noticed.

Let’s take a look at the different platforms:

  • Twitter: this is one of the easiest platforms to post content. Hashtags are used here. It’s important not to overuse them though, and should be used only with things that relate to your post. No more than two hashtags should be used per post.
  • Facebook: the most effective post for this platform will include text and visuals. Be sure to include infographics, gifs, memes and links too.
  • Twitter: posts must be concise as there is limited space in which to post.
  • Instagram: they are all about visuals. However, you do need captivating captions for your post to be noticed.
  • Pinterest: like Instagram, they rely heavily on visuals. Again, the right caption will ensure your post is noticed by your target audience.

Content Writing Software for Social Media

Creating the right content for your social media post starts with a great idea. To help improve on your idea, there is software that can give you a helping hand:

  • HubSpot: they provide a blog topic generator. This can help narrow down great new titles and topics for your blog post.
  • Portent: using this app helps generate new ideas for written content for social media posts.
  • Ginger Software: it doesn’t provide you with written content, but it does help you to write better. It offers real time feedback as you write your content. The software also has a grammar checker and sentence rephrase feature.
  • Readable: it provides you with readability scores, including the SMOG index and Fleisch-Kincaid. Remember that when you are writing content for social media, it should be at eighth grade level. Readable lets you know at what level your writing is.
  • ProWritingAid: an editing tool that points out errors and offers style improvements and helps you select the most appropriate word.
  • Crowdtangle: this is designed to collate a list of the people who share your posts. A great way to help build stronger relationships with your audience, it is a free app you can download.

Writing content to post on social media should be fun. Using the tips and ideas mentioned above is an excellent way to get the rhythm and practice you need for a great post. What is important to consider when writing content for social media is highlighted in the list below.

In a Nutshell:

  • Do your research;
  • Develop your own voice;
  • Keep it short and concise;
  • Use sensory descriptions;
  • Be positive in your writing;
  • Add images, videos, gifs, memes and infographics;
  • Remember a call to action;
  • Proofread your content – more than once;
  • Write for the platform you will post on.

Extra tips for top content writing for social media

  • Share success stories from previous satisfied clients or readers. This helps to connect with your audience;
  • Don’t make false promises. Enough said;
  • Avoid excessive use of exclamation points;
  • Back up your points with established references and sources;
  • Respond to feedback;
  • Maintain consistency between your posts and your website content.

Content writing for social media can be done. Use the tips mentioned and ensure that your post stands out from the crowd.

With 10+ years of experience, ConvertSocial offers a global community of people, technology and business intelligence insights. No matter what type of partner, level of service, or tools your online business needs, our network provides trusted solutions and strategies designed to monitor performance, and optimize results.