Writing Engaging Content for Social Media: Tips and Strategies

January 21, 2024

Avoid Stretching Yourself Too Thin

Avoid stretching yourself too thin by attempting to maintain a presence on every social media platform. Concentrate on two or three channels where your target audience is most active, and work on growing your followers there before considering additional platforms. This approach includes managing your email list. Demonstrate to your audience that you respect their time with posts that are focused on a single idea and objective.

Accessibility and Readability

It’s important to keep in mind that, based on findings by the APM Research Lab, over half of Americans aged 16 to 74 read at a level below that of the sixth grade. Make sure your content is accessible to them. Tools like Hemingway, which is free, can assist you in evaluating the readability of your content. To emphasize key points in your posts, use headers, bullet points, and visual elements like emojis, images, or videos. And don’t shy away from using one-sentence paragraphs. Short, to-the-point content, including brief sentences, makes it easier for your audience to digest the information.

Clear Calls to Action

When steering your audience to the next step, clarity is crucial. Avoid making them guess by providing a straightforward call to action (CTA) that outlines the next steps.

Batching Content Creation

For batching content creation, consider leveraging AI tools that can assist you in rapidly brainstorming and crafting a variety of posts, from brief tweets to longer articles suitable for platforms like LinkedIn. This enables you to focus more on the creative aspects of content creation and on engaging with your community.

Tips for Social Media Content Origination

Developing social media content can involve nuanced crafting for each platform. Below are 12 tips that can guide you through different stages of social media content origination:

  1. Keep a “swipe file,” a collection of inspirational social posts, emails, or copy to spark your creativity. Social post scheduling tools often provide a treasure trove of viral post ideas. For Twitter, tools like Hypefury present a plethora of tweet prompts across various categories.
  2. Stay in tune with trends and curate content that resonates with what’s popular, utilizing meme generators to tailor new memes to your niche.
  3. Seek video creation inspiration across the internet, including platforms like YouTube, where content creators share their sources for innovative ideas. This advice applies to all types of social media content.
  4. On visually-driven platforms like Instagram, employing a narrative to captivate readers through your photo captions can be very effective.
  5. Not all anecdotes come naturally. To help you craft compelling stories, consider using established storytelling frameworks that guide you through creating engaging narratives.
  6. For crafting engaging YouTube titles, focus on piquing curiosity and clarity over cleverness. A clear title that provokes interest can be very effective.
  7. YouTube success also hinges on optimized video descriptions. Basic SEO principles and keyword research can elevate your content’s discoverability on the platform. Additionally, analyzing your YouTube analytics can offer insights into your viewers’ interests, prompting more targeted content creation.
  8. On TikTok, use captions to create intriguing plot twists that retain viewers’ attention until the end. Successful engagement often results from the anticipation built by a strong hook.
  9. Not every social media platform will fit with every marketing strategy, especially in the B2B sector. It’s important to assess where your audience spends their time and engage with them in a way that’s relevant and effective.
  10. SEO plays a significant role in platforms like Pinterest. Conduct thorough keyword research to optimize your content. For your Pin descriptions, incorporate those keywords seamlessly and follow best practices to ensure your Pins resonate with users.
  11. Hashtag research can be done directly within most social networks. Use these insights to select relevant hashtags for your content and avoid those that are unrelated or overused, which can detract from your post’s visibility.
  12. For the content creator juggling multiple tasks and platforms, AI tools can serve as invaluable assistants, supporting you with everything from email subject lines to script writing and content scheduling, ensuring you work smarter, not harder.