This guide to writing social media headlines that people actually click on will get you started on whatever social media platform you choose. Don’t you like when somebody asks you “How was your day?” or “What can I do for you today?” Let your audience know you appreciate them. Nowadays, some social media accounts still make use of these tactics. One big black hat tactic used on social media is buying fake followers, likes, and shares. And if you are thinking of working with an influencer to boost your social presence or conversions, then make sure it’s the real deal and not a smoke screen. If you create relevant, quality content and add the right (active) user accounts, you’ll get your first 1,000 followers in no time. But even though more content is being published, a ton of that is repurposed original content in different forms and on different platforms. Creating content is not about creating new high-quality content every single time. It’s about getting the high-quality content you already have to the right audience. Social media platforms don’t make cash off of organic traffic.
Recently, I noticed my blog traffic from social was decreasing but the engagement of my followers on social media was going up.
Even with the reach of my posts going down.
I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. What’s going on?
No matter what I tried, it didn’t seem to improve.
That was it. I had been doing the exact same thing for the past three years.
No matter who you are or what you do on social media, you’ve probably realized it keeps changing.
What works today will no longer work tomorrow.
So after a few weeks of trial and error, I discovered what I had to do differently.
Some of my social media tactics had become outdated.
So I ditched them before it could have a lasting effect on my blog traffic.
If you notice the same thing happening to you, don’t worry. You’re still in time to solve the problem.
Here’s what I was doing wrong and what I did to grow my social media presence to what it is today.
#1: Links, links, and more links
Posting links to your content left and right, hoping that it will get more likes, is a thing of the past.
The same goes for mass-following people or joining social groups with similar interests as you.
It may have worked a few years ago, but not anymore.
“So,how do I stand out?” is what you are probably thinking.
It isn’t as hard as you may think.
First of all, do some research and find out what people are talking about. What’s trending right now and what will the next trending topic be tomorrow?
There are tons of social listening tools available, and some of them are actually free.
You only need to enter a hashtag, username, or a keyword and it will tell you exactly how far your tweets travel.
The results of a search can turn up information as valuable as reach, exposure, top contributors, and most retweeted tweets, among other indicators.
Thanks to this tool you can test your tweets and measure which ones get the highest results in terms of impact and diffusion.
Now write something awesome that’s in line with your social media presence.
I can’t tell you what to write about.
But here are some key points that will give you a head start:
- Be honest. Everybody can come up with fake information, so make sure that what you write is credible and fact-based.
- Signed, sealed, delivered. Write something informative, interesting, and relevant to your audience. Engage with commenters if they spend time reading your posts.
- Experience is key. Always keep in mind the emotions your words convey and how it can impact others’ lives. For example, Bruno Mars is funny, energetic, and appreciative.
- A little you, a lot of them. Focus on writing about topics that your audience is interested in. Their delight is your success.
Keep these tips in mind and your content will be relevant, and your audience will love it.
They’ll want to share it with their friends and family. So sit back and ride the wave.
#2: Same content, different platforms
Each social media platform has its own set of standard rules that every user follows.
I am not talking about strict rules like taking someone’s identity or publishing illegal content. Those are etched in stone and need to be respected.
What I was referring to is the way each social platform works, the feel and what you expect when you log on.
When you go on Twitter, you expect short and up-to-date messages, right?
For example, celebs will tweet just about anything during their daily activities or even on a TV show.
Facebook is all about getting people to talk with you and with your community.
You can write massive posts or simply drop a line. It’s up to you.
The key is to make sure that your content rocks, never grows old, and engages your audience.
- It’s creative. BarkBox’s Dog Mom Anthem was launched for Mother’s Day. It’s been viewed more than 5 million times.
- It’s witty. MoonPie’s “Lol ok” tweet generated a staggering 1.1 billion impressions.
- The copy taps into a whole new fan base. Take a look at what Adidas Originals did with Snoop Dogg. They were able to reach a new audience of 18 to 24-year-old young creators.
Not sure what to write?
Think of two things you love and try to find common ground to tap into one of them by way of the other.
I know, it’s a lot to take in, right?
Don’t worry. This guide to writing social media headlines that people actually click on will get you started on whatever social media platform you choose.
#3: Writing about what you want
OK, OK… You can choose what to write about, just not exactly what topics to cover.
Let me explain.
It’s up to you to decide what type of content you want to write about. If you start a blog about cars, it’s probably because you’re passionate about them.
So far, so good. This all makes perfect sense.
Now it’s time to decide what your next topic is going to be.
You end up writing an article about the types of headlights you can find on different Chevrolet models.
When you publish it expecting awesome comments and engagement, you get two likes.
And that’s it.
You’d probably be asking yourself, “What went wrong? My last post about the fastest sports car in 2018 got 50 likes and ten comments after three days!”
Starting to add up the pieces?
There are tools that can help you estimate the engagement of a specific post.
Check out this search I did on Google Trends pitting “types of headlights” (blue line) against “engine types” (red line).
Of course, the whole idea of your site or blog is up to you. But if you want it to grow, you need to write for your audience and not for you.
“But, how can I know what my audience wants?”
Ask them.
Don’t you like when somebody asks you “How was your day?” or “What can I do for you today?”
Let your audience know you appreciate them.
Engage with them.
Bud Light did this by hosting a Facebook Live of a live performance by Post Malone.
Host a giveaway like the Parks Project.
Hopefully, these tips and examples have you thinking about the potential types of content for your social media.
#4: Black hat social media tactics
Black hat is the name given to unethical web tactics used to boost a website’s ranking. Be it on search engines or on social media platforms.
My experience with black hat has shown me that although it may seem fun, easy, or like the results are outstanding, it just isn’t worth it in the long run.
Nowadays, some social media accounts still make use of these tactics.
One big black hat tactic used on social media is buying fake followers, likes, and shares.
There’s a lot said about this on the Internet.
Sometimes the followers you are buying are actually bots that are stealing other people’s identities.
These…
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