How To Create A Perfect Social Media Post
Have you been spinning your wheels when it comes to social media? Learn how to create a perfect social media post that engages your audience.
Crafting a social media post is a real art. Sure, anyone can do a standard blog post. But if you’re looking to maximize your likes, shares, retweets and comments, you need to do something to stand out from the crowd.
The right post will get people clicking and talking. It will bolster your brand without being overtly salesy.
Here are a few tips on how to create a perfect social media post:
Understand your Audience
There isn’t just one kind of “perfect” social media post. The perfect post for your business will depend in large part upon who your audience are. Revisit your market research and find out about the kind of content that has engaged your audience in the past. This way you can work to answer their questions, spark their interest and provide content they want to share with their friends.
Think About The Thumbnail
If you’re posting a video or an image, you need to consider what your followers will see when your post comes up in their feed. The image or still from the video needs to be instantly engaging and intriguing.
Don’t Schedule
Social media is supposed to be immediate and reactive. If you schedule all of your posts this immediacy goes out of the window. Scheduling some of your posts for times when you know your followers are online is a good idea. But make sure you leave time to craft posts that respond to current events or big news. These kind of relevant posts have the potential to really engage an audience and get them talking.
Shorten Your URL
Whether you’re posting onto character-sensitive Twitter or another social media platform, shorten any links you include with the Bit.ly service. Shorter links look less unsightly in your feed and you’ll also be able to track the number of click throughs you get too.
Brush Up on Hashtag Trends
Particularly with Instagram, social media managers need to be aware of the most popular hashtags. These aren’t usually related to a big news event. Instead they’re a new way users have found to describe the images they’re uploading. If these hashtags are relevant to your post, be sure to use them. You could attract a whole host of new followers in the process.
Don’t Overuse Hashtags
Hashtags help users across the social network to find your post. However, users are less likely to engage with a post that has lots of hashtags. These posts look spammy and less professional. Instagram users get around this by posting their hashtags as a comment or many lines below the text accompanying their image.
Build Conversations
A central pillar of social media marketing is allowing your audience a closer relationship with your brand. This means you can’t see social media as a one-way conversation. For a social media post to really gather steam, listen to what your followers have to say and respond to their queries, their opinions and their comments.
Don’t Forget Mobile
You need to make sure that your social media content appeals to users on all devices. Long taglines may look good on a desktop computer but on a smartphone, the text will take up the whole of the screen. Use a variety of devices to view your posts to build up an understanding of how they appear to all of your followers.
To really understand the social media platforms you use for marketing, you need to use them on a daily basis. That way you come to understand the trends operating within them and find other brands for social media inspiration. With a thorough understanding of both the social media platforms and your audience, you’re well placed to deliver one perfect social media post after another.
