Social media copywriting is needed in today’s world.
Why?
Because our attention span reduces every day.
That’s why today, you’re going to learn the simple copywriting tips for social media that’ll boost your engagement and sales.
Listen,
If content reigns supreme, copywriting is a royal talent.
Although an image can be worth a thousand words, social media marketing campaigns are also made (or broken) by the words, phrases, and sentences you use.
But, to reach a digital-first audience, what kind of copywriting techniques do you need?
What social media copywriting strategies should you employ to catch their attention, pique their curiosity, pique their appetite, and compel them to take action?
Below are 27 of the best social media copywriting secrets that will help you:
1. Shock them
Shock and awe is a tactic that can be used for more than just strategic purposes in social media copywriting.
You’ll need words that jar their feelings and surprise them a bit to get their attention.
Introduce something unforeseen that will stop them dead in their tracks.
2. Evoke empathy
Have you ever spent a day in the shoes of your customer?
If you haven’t, you can research what they’re going through and use words they can relate to.
Empathy is the key to the popularity of social media influencers such as Nas Daily, who cleverly uses text and moving pictures to create a Facebook audience of millions.
3. Use commands
Sometimes the better copy is the one that simply tells you to “Do this!” and “Don’t do that!“
Though self-effacing copywriters can shudder at such activities, failing to be direct and transparent WILL result in the copy falling short.
Particularly in this day and age where everybody is distracted.
4. Shrink your sentences
You should shorten the paragraphs.
Cut the syllables.
Lines also can be cut.
Your readers would not read a wall of text in today’s attention-deficient digital-first environment.
The beauty of brevity lies in its simplicity.
5. Use their keywords
It’s not yours.
Where possible, word your copy so that it sounds just like something your consumers will write or say.
Use apps like Ubersuggest or Keywordtool.io to find the best keyword variations that the clients are using.
After that, add those phrases to your blog entries, LinkedIn posts, Tweets, and YouTube descriptions.
6. Use the power of two
You may combine two elements of language for impact, which is known as the one-two punch.
This friction and comparison tend to pique the attention of two opposing elements, such as…
- White vs. black
- Good vs. Evil
- Slow vs. quick
- Yin vs. Yang, etc…
7. Use the rule of three
If two is a company, is three considered a crowd?
In the field of online copywriting, this is not the case.
The rule of threes is a fundamental writing theory that specifies that a trio of incidents or characters is more exciting, amusing, and rewarding than other numbers.
Think of a trio when introducing functions, incentives, or characters in your copy.
As an example…
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.
8. Hit them with interesting facts
Did you know the average person spends nearly 120 minutes a day on social media?
Or that 78% of people who comment about a brand on Twitter demand a response within an hour?
To get people’s attention online, use evidence, figures, and numbers.
The more massive or unexpected they are, the healthier.
9. Tell a story
From brief stories to epic tales, social media storytelling will help you make your content stand out.
In addition, stories can be up to 22 times more unforgettable than facts alone.
This is why the Humans Of New York Facebook Page regularly receives a high level of commitment.
10. Jump on a news trend
Newsjacking or trend jacking helps you to create copy that automatically captures the audience’s interest.
However, you must first consider the cultural complexities that accompany the subjects.
Avoid taking advantage of other people’s tragedies or sorrows for your commercial benefit.
Wherever practicable, add your distinctive spin to the material.
11. Use metaphors and analogies
Think about looking for a needle in a haystack.
Think about a location so silent that you can hear a pin drop.
Metaphors and analogies are copywriting tricks that can help you improve the quality of your writing.
They reach into the audience’s “mind” to explain what we think, sound, experience, speak and do in a more profound, richer, and impactful way.
12. Be witty with your words
People enjoy reading funny copy.
A wickedly funny piece of writing dismantles the barriers that exist between your material and your audience.
Not everybody is born with a sense of humor.
Fortunately, there are many sources of puns, funny jokes, and one-liners to draw on.
Make reading funny content an important part of your everyday habit if you want to write with wit.
There may be comics, jokes, or parodies available both online and offline.
13. Understand universal themes
Nature vs. man.
The wealthy are being robbed to pay the poor.
The force of passion.
There are common themes that have captivated humanity since time began.
A common theme is a concept that cuts through regional boundaries, geography, and even time.
They are fundamental theories about the human being that address fundamental human questions.
The following are some examples:
- Conflict
- Love
- Abundance/ Scarcity
- Friendship
- Relationship between parents and children
- Revenge in the search for truth
Adding these narrative elements into your content allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level.
14. Test
Effective copywriting, like any other type of online material, requires trial and error.
Experiment with various copy formats and see what works well (and what doesn’t), and continually refine and hone your art.
This is why you must set up your social media campaigns in a way to see what works.
15. End with a bang
Finish your copy on a high note.
Have an unforgettable takeaway, clever comment, or irresistibly appealing deal tied to an irresistible Call To Action (CTA) that your reader can’t refuse.
16. What’s your USP?
Every company should have a USP, or unique selling proposition, that sets it apart from the competition.
Otherwise, you’ll be lost in the crowd, with no chance of being heard.
Why do future consumers choose you over your competitors?
If you’ve answered this question, turn the tables and ask the same question of your rivals logically – why do they buy from them instead of you?
17. Focus on benefits instead of features
When you post to highlight a feature of your company or product, make sure to stress the benefit over the feature.
You could write something like this “Wonderful news! Jiggernaut now supports scheduling!“
There’s nothing wrong with this, except it won’t get the same amount of coverage like this: “Jiggernaut will save you a tremendous amount of time and effort. See how to do it here.“
Although this is a simple example, and the grammar isn’t the best in the world, the message is obvious.
18. Use the PAS formula
This is the copywriting formula to master – Problem, Agitate, Solution.
Switch on the tv and pay attention to the advertisements for some time.
How many of them begin with “Do you have any problems with…?“
It may not be in the exact wording, but the concept is the same; getting a common topic to the attention of those who are affected by it.
19. Use strong action verbs
Your posts should be brief, straightforward, and to the point.
Using active verbs instead of passive verbs is one of the simplest ways to do this.
This will help you cut through the fluff and get to the point of your story.
When “Man walking beside the road is hit by a bus” is changed to “Bus hits walking man,” the effect increases.
Make your sentences short, succinct, crisp, and action-packed.
20. Leave them hanging
You haven’t been on social media without seeing stories like this one:
- “This or that was done by them. What happens next would shock you.”
- “This person was doing something when they discovered something disturbing.”
- “How getting hit by a driver was the best thing that could have happened to me.”
All of these introduce a titillating plot or theory but never tell you what happened.
It piques people’s attention enough that they can click through and read the rest of the plot.
Humans want closure because when they get a whiff of something intriguing, they want to hear more.
This is a tactical ploy, but it has been tried and tested and works much of the time.
21. I’m talking to you
Although it does not draw as large an audience, this approach would undoubtedly target a certain demographic.
People pay more attention when they believe you are referring directly to them, particularly when there is no doubt that they are your audience.
Good copy is more likely to come off as a direct dialog than a transmission.
For example, “If you have an autistic child, you must read this now.”
Any parent of an autistic child who reads that can almost certainly click through to see what it’s about.
Of course, not every post should have this degree of detail, but if the opportunity presents itself, it is normally met with commitment.
22. Provide a sense of urgency
This is another tool that may appear trite and overused at times, but it remains effective due to our human nature.
Almost all of us suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out).
If you don’t move now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.
Even if we don’t believe that and know it’s a publicity trick most of the time, the fear of missing out on something big or important gets the better of us.
23. Use visuals
Remember that anything you can’t express with language can be expressed through images when it comes to social media copywriting.
Overall, the design provides the best purchasing experience for your offer and can elicit favorable emotional feedback from your readers.
Take advantage of the different ways you can pique your readers’ attention by design.
Humans are visual creatures that are most readily engaged in objects that have images rather than just text, such as infographics, color psychology, diagrams, pictures, and videos.
Allow your template to fill the gap between your minimal content space and the message you want to convey to your audience.
24. Use One-liners
Concentrate on putting one message out first.
Avoid flooding the followers with too many points.
One of the most important lessons of good social media copywriting is to remember the power of one.
This means that the copy is tight and entertaining, regardless of length.
Concentrate on a single key concept or objective that runs across the copy.
This is also true with writing long and short versions.
Of course, you can always remove the extra copy later, but be careful not to deviate from the flow of a single post, otherwise, you might be inserting needless content.
25. Ask ‘yes’ questions
A “yes” question is more about understanding the audience and asking a question that they will answer positively.
This will pique their interest and they will be saying, “Yes, this is for me!“
This would also root out everyone who isn’t in the target demographic.
To make it more accurate, ask the question about the answer you have for people at the beginning of the ad.
26. Use numbers
Numbers are one of the psychological tricks that humans can’t help but notice.
They’re effective negotiation aids, and there’s evidence to back them up.
So, if you have a number that is important to your business, product or service, or target audience, use it!
Here’s a hint: The more random or out-of-the-ordinary the number, the more likely it is to attract someone’s eye.
Hubspot, for example, uses the number 93 percent to draw attention to their ad.
The advertisement is aimed at their target demographic (small business owners) and revolves around their requirements (driving website traffic).
It’s the number that ties this ad together and makes it worth pausing the scroll.
27. Use social proof
Social evidence is the idea that people are more likely to follow the leads of others, and it has been proved time and again.
People prefer tips and ratings from others over advertisements.
If you have social evidence, whether it’s a customer testimonial or listing a handful of high-profile companies you’ve collaborated with, share it!