8 Tips for Great Social Media Content

Writing great content for social media isn’t a matter of luck. There are specific strategies you should follow to get your target audience to take notice. Here are eight tips that will increase your success.

1. Know your brand voice and stick to it.

Determine the voice and tone that reflects the image of your business. It helps to write down concrete guidelines, such as key message points, themes to use or avoid, and keywords.

Apply this concept of voice to visuals as well. Define your color scheme, the types of visuals (people? animals? illustrations?) and how and when they will be used.

Use your brand voice to create a consistent experience for your audience on social media. Every post should be consistently and authentically “you”.

2. Write with purpose.

Every social post should have a meaningful purpose in the relationship you are building with your online community. Writing something because it is Tuesday and you need to get something out is not a successful purpose. 🙂 Know the goal of your post and what it will do to connect you with your audience before you proceed.

Keep your audience front and center. Focus on their needs, not yours. Demonstrate that you understand and how you can help.

3. KISS

People usually skim social media. So, try to avoid writing long-winded and complex posts. Keep. It. Simple. (You know the other “s”).

Remember: Short words, short sentences, short paragraphs, short posts.

4. Use the active voice.

Always write in the active voice. Sentences in the active voice are generally shorter and easier to read. The language is simpler and clearer. Passive voice can also sound evasive.

Passive: It was decided that we needed to speak directly to our customers.

Active: We speak directly to you.

5. Show your community you care.

Few of us enjoy a one-sided conversation. We want to contribute our thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Ask your followers open-ended questions. This increases the engagement on your posts.

Questions can be about their experiences, their agreement with your content, requests for input and ideas, etc. The best engagement reflects the intersection between your brand and your audience. They show your audience you understand and care about them.

6. Be human (aka emotional).

Evoke emotion in your writing. Neutral, polished, corporate is both opaque and boring. Sharing that type of content on social media is counter to the goal of engaging your community.

Some brands thrive on controversy, while others use emotion to elicit a positive response. Whichever you choose, remember it should fit your brand image and language. Stay conversational and approachable. Be straightforward, honest and reachable. Our strongest human connections are often emotion-based at the core.

7. Consistency is key.

Every social platform has it’s own culture. To be effective you need to be consistent to your brand, yet suitable for the platform. It may be tempting to match the hip vibe on TikTok, but you risk sounding like your brand has multiple personalities.

Not all platforms may work for your brand, and that’s OK. Remember your goal is to engage with your target audience. If they aren’t on a platform in ways that create effective opportunities, don’t use the platform.

8. Help people act on your content.

Your followers see and read your great social media content with interest. What now? Always include a call to action (CTA) within each post, usually at the end.

Share what the reader should do next. Give them the number to call, a link for more information, directions on how to get a featured product or service, etc.