How to Write Successful Social Media Content

Social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with consumers, to build online visibility, and to generate more traffic to your website. But to be successful with social media marketing, you have to understand how to write content that social media users will want to share with others.

 
Start with the Headline

Perhaps the most crucial part of social media content writing is the title. Without a compelling headline, you have virtually no chance of creating an article that will go hot. Social media sites are crowded with thousands of new articles each day. How do users decide which content they should read? By viewing the headline. If the headline demands their attention, they’ll read on. List headlines tend to be among the most effective headline formats.

Understand Your Audience

One of the biggest mistakes people make when writing content for social media marketing is to not understand their target audience. Each social media site has its own unique community. What works on Digg might not work on ReddIt. Likewise, what goes popular on Sphinn might not go hot on Design Float.
In order to give yourself the best chance of creating hot content, you need to take the time to understand the community you’re targeting. Figure out the types of stories that work on each network, and write for those unique requirements. Give the people what they want.

Don’t Advertise

Even though the ultimate goal of social media marketing is to promote your brand, you don’t want to come across like a salesperson. Your content should add something of value to the community. It shouldn’t be a sales pitch for your products. The most successful social media content offers useful information that has no underlying promotional motives.

Show Your Personality

The Internet is a social medium. Social media is all about connecting with others. The only way you can truly connect with other people is to show them your personality. By being personable, you set yourself apart from others, and you build quality relationships that keep people coming back. No one wants to read stiff, robotic articles that offer no unique insight. They want something fresh; so, just converse with your readers like you would in real life.

Keep it Scanner-Friendly

In the past, we’ve talked about the importance of creating content that can be scanned easily. Online readers tend to scan content rather than reading it. This is an important part of social media content writing. Make sure your content can be scanned easily so that people won’t click “back” whenever they land on your article. Of course, it’s important that you never sacrifice quality for scannability. You can be engaging, informative, and scanner-friendly all at once.

 
What tips would you add to this list? Tell us about them in the replies.