Often, people say, “Nobody’s perfect.” Someone should have told that to 8-year-old me who strived to be the very best that no one ever was. I believe in perfection—or at least doing all I can to get as close to it as possible. If you’re in the mood for some social media marketing tips, we’ve got the deets on how to create the closest-to-perfect posts across social media platforms.
How to Create a Social Media Post Your Followers Won’t Hate
When you start social media marketing, you must understand there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. You don’t want to spam your audience with annoying sales pitches, nor do you want to bore them. Start with these general social media best practices:
Make it your goal to build relationships with your audience. Be funny. Be human. Invite engagement by asking your audience questions and having them share their opinions. Think of your followers as your friends whom you’d like to educate, nurture, entertain—whatever pairs with your brand’s values.
For example, this post has just the right amount of sassy and informational elements we want to achieve through Post Launch’s voice:
Share engaging content. People who followed you made the (hopefully conscious) decision to do so. Instead of boring them with inconsistent or dry posts, give them something substantial to read or watch. Share what’s new on your blog, info about a product or service you offer, an interesting news article about your industry, or even a press release about something new your company is getting into. If it’s relevant to your company and something you’re passionate about, your followers are more likely to engage.
Provide a clear call-to-action in your social posts. What do you want your audience to do after reading your post? Should they check out more information on your website? Call you for an appointment? Like and share? When an audience knows what you want them to do, they’re more likely to do said action, right?
This post uses a meme (which people still love) and a call-to-action that leads you to check out some awesome tips:
Improving your Facebook posts
Now, to create the perfect social media post specifically for Facebook…
Your personal Facebook feed may be full of high school friends’ engagements or cuddly cute cat videos, but when it comes to Facebook for business, you should be more thoughtful about what you’re posting.
Be brief. Although you have no character limit on Facebook, no one wants to read a 250-word post—about pretty much anything. Save it for the blog. Instead, give your audience a teaser that’ll make them want to click on a link (without being too click-baity, of course.) Provide a link and images; both help increase engagement. Then, make sure you’re posting during optimal times of the day. Midday between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. are the best options.
Creating the perfect Tweet
On Twitter, the whole social media marketing game is a lot different than Facebook. For one, you only have 140 characters to make your point. That’s why it’s so important to have a clear call to action. Also, avoid using all caps; you might scare people away with your type yelling.
Also, don’t be lazy—use proper punctuation and avoid abbreviation as much as you can. You’ve only got 140 characters, we know, but with careful consideration and revision, your Tweets can get your point across and still be grammatically correct.
Use questions to facilitate engagement. Mention industry influencers every now and then to encourage a response. Use relevant hashtags—but not too many that it overwhelms your post. Last, Tweet at the perfect time, between 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Here are some key takeaways for social media marketing:
- Use memes and hashtags as necessary.
- Posts should not be too long. Or too salesy.
- Images and videos are a must.
- Engage, engage, engage!
Once you start implementing these social media best practices more and more, they start to become second-nature. But, if you’re looking for a team of social media experts to take the reigns, we got you.
