Whether you’re a small business owner, an individual, or a corporate marketer, you’ll already know the importance of your content on social media platforms. In most cases, it’s the only form of communication you’ll ever have with your users and followers and may be your only chance to convert them into leads and profitable customers.
With this in mind, your content has to be spot on every time. Let’s face it; this is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face. To give you a helping hand in making your content the best it can be, here are 11 tips you’ll need to ensure perfection.
Remember: Consistency is Key
The followers of your social media profiles will, over time, grow to get to know your business as though it is a person that they follow. This means that consistency is vital to your success. If every post you upload varies in voice or personality, it will be as though they are engaging with someone different each time they read your posts, leading them to become confused and pushed away by your business.
It’s also vital that you’re consistent with your posting times and post regularly. An effective way to monitor and schedule your posts to ensure you’re posting consistently is by scheduling your posts using third-party applications such as Buffer or Hootsuite. There are hundreds more of course for you to choose from.
Create a Story
It’s been proven time and time again that the best way to connect with online users is by creating a story in your posts. Every post you make should draw in your readers, connecting with them on an emotional level where the main character carries out certain actions that the reader could, in fact, do themselves.
This helps you to portray your messages most effectively. Additionally, ensuring your story flows and makes sense without seeming too promotional to your business is key. This involves editing your posts after you have completed the first drafts.
Create an Edge of Mystery
Nothing draws in online users more than adding a touch of mystery to your posts that they simply cannot ignore. By increasing the levels of curiosity within your readers, they simply won’t be able to help clicking on your posts to find out more. This must be achieved in the headlines of your content posts. At its simplest form, a headline such as ‘You Won’t Believe This Fact About Smartphones’ is incredibly effective.
Simplicity is Essential
Unless someone is going out of their way to find deep and detailed research articles on a certain subject, an online user doesn’t want to read an in-depth analysis of something. Instead, they’ll be looking for highly digestible content that can be absorbed easily and with minimal effort. Use simple language and keep things short, precise and to the point.
Be Friendly
Don’t be afraid to use emoji in your content posts. Statistically, posts that contain emoji have a 33% higher share and comment rate, a figure that can’t be ignored when trying to expand your online presence. Play around with smart trial and error to see what works in your posts, and you’ll instantly see a boost in your social media interest.
Succeed Using Subtle Punctuation
Although you may be looking to be as grammatically correct as possible, using punctuation to communicate better your messages are vital. According to the latest statistics, posts with exclamation marks have a 2.7% increase in engagements. Furthermore, posts that have questions marks see an incredible 23% increase in average engagement rates. However, you’ll always want to ensure that the punctuation you use is grammatically correct.
Websites such as Readability Test Tool or Resumention have the most up to date guidelines and advice on how to best use punctuation in your content posts. Similarly, you’ll need to proofread your articles to ensure they are ready for upload. To complete this, you can have your work proofread by an online tool, such as the ones found at Hemingway App. Any errors in your content can damage your credibility as a business.
Make a Conversation with Your Users
Questions are the best way to forward a conversation, both online and in the physical world and including them in your posts are the best way to attract the attention of your users. By asking a question, you’re bringing your users into your posts and included them in what you’re trying to say, not just bombarding them with information. You’re giving them the opportunity to think for themselves, naturally increasing your engagement rates.
Always Provide Value
Hand in hand with the tips above, ensure that every single post you upload provides your users with something valuable that they can take away and learn from or, in some way, benefit their lives. This means your posts will be a high-quality and something that your readers will want to use. Using services such as Tweetdeck, allows you to monitor the current trends in what people are interested in, allowing you to formulate content to match what they are looking to read. By adding value, over time, you’ll ensure that your posts are an essential read in their lives.
Communicate in Second Person
Unless you’re telling a story from a 1st person perspective, which should be practised occasionally, it’s highly recommended that you always write in the second person. This means you should be writing using such as ‘you’ and ‘your’ in a way that connects with your readers on a personal level.
Follow the Tried and Tested Methods
There’s a proven formula that works for posting content online. You present an idea, you connect the idea to your reader, and then you explain the idea. For example, state a problem to your readers, explain why the problem affects their lives and then explain how to fix it or what’s being done about it. This is a very effective way to connect with your readers.
This also relates to the format and design of your content. Using services, such as Canva, allowing you to use templates of tried and tested format methods that will naturally increase your engagement rates.
Everything You Do is for The Reader
No matter what business you’re in or what industry you’re representing, everything you do, write and post should have your readers at the forefront of your mind. Yes, it’s true, you should be focused on your message, but without readers, you’re communicating to a wall. Always put them first.
Creating successful social media content isn’t the easiest job in the world but it’s definitely one of the most rewarding, and it doesn’t have to be as hard as it first seems. Take your time in ensuring all the relevant are covered in every post that your upload so you can be sure you’re maximising your opportunities.
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