If you’d like to discover how to write copy for different social media platforms, you’ve come to the right place.
Even though the major social media platforms change their offers every year, writing strong social media copy remains one of the most important components of an effective content and marketing strategy.
It draws an audience in, influences how social posts are handled by app algorithms, and provides an important opportunity to encourage more engagement on other copy.
A well-crafted caption can serve a variety of marketing purposes. This is why writing them can be difficult for even the most experienced social media marketer.
To help with the process, we’ll be sharing our top tips for writing engaging copy. You’ll also discover some best practices for developing a brand style guide that works across different social media platforms.
Whether you’re writing for LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook, we have everything you need to know right here.
Creating a Style Guide for Social Media Copywriting
The best copy is done with a clear strategy.
To make things easier when switching between social media platforms, create a style guide that can be referred to at any time.
Here are some key factors to consider:
Target Audience
The first step to creating any piece of copy is to define your target audience.
Your ideal target audience should guide the tone and language of your social media copy.
For example, the language used to reach teenagers will differ from the copy used to engage people in their 30s.
On the other hand, if you want your brand to appeal to a wider audience, you should avoid using age-specific colloquialisms.
Location is another factor that defines a marketing audience.
If you’re a small business with a local audience, define it early on by using language and references that will pique their interest.
Brand Voice
The online marketing industry is extremely competitive.
Countless businesses are vying for people’s attention.
To stand out amid all of the noise, businesses must have a strong brand voice and personality.
Each brand has a unique perspective to offer.
Focusing on that distinct point of view, as well as the language and topics that are most important to your company, is a way to establish a clear brand voice that can be used in social media copy to demonstrate who you are.
Depending on the social media channel you use, you’ll need different approaches because they reach different audiences and have their formats, but maintaining your brand voice consistency is critical.
It ensures that regardless of which platform or post users click on, they can differentiate your company from the crowd.
Products and Services (and a Signature CTA)
Finally, social media marketing efforts are about trying to sell something to an audience.
It could be a product, service, or idea.
Whatever it is, make sure you develop clear language for how you want it to be represented in your social media copy from the start.
This makes it easier to stay consistent with your messaging.
The next step is to make it clear to people how they can access your business materials via a social media call to action (CTA).
For instance, “Click the link in the bio to view our YouTube channel”.
Wherever you want to guide people with your copy, whether it’s a blog post or a product, use the CTA to get there.
Now to the meat of the matter:
How to Write Copy for Different Social Media Platforms
Use the guides below to write copy for different social media platforms.
1. How to Write Copy for Facebook
With more users than any other social media platform, Facebook is an excellent place to share news and other interesting content. In fact, 76% of Facebook users look for interesting external content, such as blog posts, news articles, and videos.
However, whether you are promoting your own external copy or sharing curated content, don’t just share the link. Make sure to accompany it with compelling social media copy.
Use this copy to introduce the content, express an opinion about it, or quote a key point from it. Make sure to explain why your audience should click on it.
How does strong social media copy look on Facebook?
Although Facebook allows you to write lengthy posts, keep your Facebook social media copy concise. After all, people rarely visit Facebook to read long-form content. There is even data to show that Facebook posts with 80 or fewer characters receive 66% higher engagement.
Hashtags and @mentions don’t work on Facebook, so avoid using them in your copy.
2. How to Write Copy for Instagram
Instagram is the best place to share images and short videos.
Although it works best for visually appealing brands, you can use it to share content for any type of brand as long as you’re willing to be creative.
Even though Instagram is primarily a visual platform, having strong captions for each post is essential. It is critical to provide context for the images you share, just as you would with links on Facebook.
How do you write effective Instagram social media copy?
Concentrate on writing concise, engaging captions. Although Instagram captions have a generous character limit, any text beyond the first three lines is cut off.
That is why you should place your most important information, including a call to action, within the first three lines.
Instagram users frequently use hashtags, @mentions, and emojis. However, unless they are central to your main message, save them for the end of your caption.
3. How to Write Copy for Twitter (X)
It’s important to be brief when writing social media copy for Twitter. That’s because the character limit for posts varies by account, ranging from 140 to 240.
On Twitter, hashtags and @mentions are more than just popular. They can be effective ways to convey your main message concisely. They also allow you to increase the visibility of your posts and connect with other users.
However, don’t use too many hashtags. Data shows that posts with 1-2 hashtags get 21% more engagement than posts with 3 or more hashtags.
And, just like on Facebook, if you use Twitter to share a link or image, include social media copy that contextualizes it.
4. How to Write Copy for LinkedIn
Most people refer to LinkedIn as a professional social media platform.
However, there is something else that distinguishes LinkedIn from the other platforms on this list: LinkedIn Pulse, LinkedIn’s content distribution platform, allows you to share both standard social posts and long-form content.
When writing social media copy for standard posts, keep it concise. Even if you have 600 characters to play with, your target audience of busy professionals may not have time to read them all.
If you’re sharing a link to an industry article or other relevant content, include copy that provides context and explains the linked content’s value.
If you decide to publish content on LinkedIn Pulse, make sure to communicate clearly, get to the point, write a compelling headline, and share a thought-provoking idea or actionable insights.
Remember that your audience is busy and pressed for time, so make reading your content worthwhile.
You can increase clicks to your blog or website by sharing an abbreviated version of your content on LinkedIn Pulse and emphasizing the benefits users will receive if they click through.
5. How to Write Copy for Pinterest
If you’ve never used Pinterest for business or blogging, you might think it’s only for weddings and meal planning. It’s not.
Pinterest is effective at driving traffic to blogs and websites in different niches, including those that aren’t inherently visual.
To achieve the best results on Pinterest, you can’t just focus on creating swoon-worthy pins. You should also write optimized descriptions for them.
Pin descriptions do more than simply inform your audience about the content of your pins. They also help your Pinterest SEO by telling Pinterest what your pin is about, so it appears as a result when users search for relevant topics on the platform.
So, how do you write amazing social media copy for your Pinterest pins?
Create a conversational, keyword-rich description for the content your pin links to. Make sure to include a call to action that encourages people to click through. Make sure your entire description is no longer than 500 characters. (That is the current limit.)
Hashtags were not previously popular on Pinterest, but they are now. That is why it is advisable to use no more than 20 hashtags in your pin descriptions.
When writing social media copy for Pinterest, include hashtags in your copy or list them at the end of your pin description.
Improve Results by Writing Tailored Social Media Copy
Repurposing content whenever possible is always beneficial. However, when sharing content across multiple social media platforms, avoid using the same social media copy for each.
Instead, tailor your social media copy and captions to the unique characteristics and user behavior of each platform.
This will allow you to write copy for different social media platforms that resonate with your audience on each platform, engage them, and encourage them to take action.