Top Tips for Engaging Social Media Posts
1. Question, Image, Answer
When conceptualising social media content, the magic trio is ‘question, image, and answer’. Using these three features together can effectively stop a potential customer in their tracks and encourage them to engage with your brand, or at least read your post.
The question draws them in and encourages their active participation. Suddenly, they aren’t just passively reading; they are answering your question in their heads. The image keeps their attention, and finally, you answer your own question. That way, they can see whether their answer corresponds with yours or not.
2. Keep It Simple
Did you know that posts that are between 120 and 139 characters are 13.3% more engaging than posts with 140-159 characters?
Keep your posts short – people don’t want to read a whole block of text! When creating engaging social media posts, remember that people have a super short attention span on social media.
Headlines of 60-100 characters earn the highest click-through rates, so again, keeping it shorter is much better.
3. Research Competitors For Free
Thinkroom offers a complimentary service to businesses who would like to research their competitors Facebook ads. These ads aren’t usually visible, so you’ll get back-door insights allowing you to calibrate your offer, remain competitive research best practices within your industry. Connect with us for more information.
4. Make the Headline Count
80% of people viewing your Facebook ad won’t bother reading past the headline – so it’s important that you make it count! Ask a question, make an outrageous statement, or find other ways to gain people’s attention.
Beginning a headline with a number makes people 36% more likely to click on your ads, according to Moz. Not only that, but headlines with odd numbers have a 20% higher click-through rate than headlines with even numbers!
It makes the content seem more authentic because the author wasn’t trying to come up with a round number, like 10. For example, ‘7 Best Post Ideas for Social Media’ would be more effective than ’10 Best Post Ideas for Social Media’.
5. Use Emojis
Another top tip for creating engaging social media posts is to include an emoji in your Facebook ad headline. By doing Facebook ad testing, it was discovered that headlines that included an emoji had a 241% higher clickthrough rate than ads with no emoji, making it now one of the social media best practices to use an emoji.
6. CTA in the Headline
An ad headline is also the best place to add your call to action (CTA). After all, if they don’t read the rest of the ad, you need the viewer to know what you want them to do, or how they can benefit.
7. Keep it Colourful
You need to use any way that you can grab people’s attention to stop them scrolling straight past the ad you’re paying good money for. One way to attract the interest of viewers is by using bright colours in your ad design. This will make your ad stand out past all of the basic blue, black, and white colours that Facebook uses.
8. Excited Tone
If you’re not excited about what you’re offering your customers, why should they be? Keep your tone of voice in your ads energetic and enthusiastic. The image should back this up – don’t use standard stock images that put people to sleep – source images that show excitement within the photo, keeping that feeling of enthusiasm going. A few exclamation marks wouldn’t go astray either!!!
9. Unbeatable Discounts
People trying a new product or service from a brand for the first time are often concerned that it won’t be worth what they paid. That’s why one of the best post ideas for social media is offering an introductory discount. This can be such an enticing prospect for customers, as people love to grab a bargain! A post or an ad is only as strong as the offer.
10. Create a Sense of Urgency
If you want to encourage people to act now on your social media posting, add a timer that counts down until the end of your promotion. We find that this creates a sense of urgency, and people are more likely to make an impulse buy when they know there’s a time limit on a discount.
11. Everyone Loves a Freebie
Offer people something for free. Whether it’s a buy one, get one free scenario, or even just a small gift with purchase, a freebie can work wonders! A study from the University of Minnesota concluded that “Shoppers much prefer getting something extra free to getting something cheaper.”
12. Giveaways for Engagement
Want to know how to get people to really engage with your social media posting content? A competition giveaway can really make for an engaging social media post. Ask for something that people love to share – people are always rushing to show off pictures of their dogs or babies, for example!
You can base your giveaway around pulling people’s heart-strings with cuteness – a free item to the person who posts the photo of the cutest puppy. You’ll likely have plenty of dog images rolling in, and the more people that comment on your post with pictures, the more your post will be seen by others. You’d then have the finalists have their friends vote for them, and the voting indicates the winners. Imagine the reach potential of each competitors friends network.
13. Address All the Possible Concerns
What do you think stops people from buying your products or services? Try and get into the mindset of your customer and consider what their concerns would be; their pain points. Address each and every paint point in the content of your ads or posts, eliminating barriers.
For example, if you sell skincare products, people may be unsure if it will irritate their sensitive skin. Others may worry that the scent will not be pleasant. Write an ad that addresses these concerns, pointing out how the skincare is so soft it will suit even the most sensitive skin and mentioning the fragrant, fresh smell.
14. Leave Creating Engaging Social Media Posts to the Experts
With creating content for social media, there’s a science behind it all. If you don’t have the time to learn about what the social media best practices are and learn through trial and error, leave it to the experts.
There’s nothing worse than mind-numbing posts that bore people.
Thinkroom has a team of digital strategists specialising in social media marketing who are knowledgeable and can help your business thrive. We can help you by creating engaging social media posts that will leave your audience wanting more! Connect with us today to discuss how we can use our marketing nous to give your business the boost it needs on social media.