Writing for social media

Writing for social media: everyone does it, right? But when you do it as a business, it’s a little bit more complicated than just posting something that I like. In the business world, writing for social media doesn’t only mean sharing stuff, but also networking with clients, potential clients, partners, and potential partners, with the purpose of eventually making business. (You can find the video version os the article at the bottom of the page.)

This may take talent, creativity, focus and a deep understanding of your audience. Every social post you publish reflects on your brand and that’s why it’s important to write well on social media. You need to be able to cram as much value into as few words as possible. You also have to be consistent and engaging at all times.

So, the question is, how to do that?

In this blog post, I will deal with some concepts to keep in mind when you write on social media. I will talk about

  • the types of reader personas,
  • the variety of posts,
  • which type of leader you could be,
  • the structure of a post, and, finally,
  • I will show you what a content cube is.

No worries if it sounds harder than you thought, with a little practice and paying attention to the right stuff you will be great! Reading these clarifications and tips, you will be amazed at how much more confident you will be and how clearer and more effective you’ll write.

Let’s get started!

Obviously to your buyer personas; to the ideal person, you would like to read your post. In this case I am referring to a reader avatar and what you have to do is to imagine what that reader thinks while they are reading your posts.  

Nevertheless, I would like to share with you four specific categories who you should talk to when you are writing on social media:

  1. Clients: those with whom you have already built a relationship. You should help them understand your services better, suggest which product suits them better, share insights and make them feel good for having chosen your company.  9This also helps them bring you referrals.)
  1. Prospective clients: people who are interested in your service. Prospective clients really want something that you offer, but they are on the fence. That’s why, in this case, you should help them make their decision through your posts. But what can you write about? Talk about your background and philosophy, post about what to consider, what mistakes they could make, and about the processes in the industry. These posts help a lot because if your customers see that you are open, trustworthy, and honest they will be more likely to choose you.
  1. People who are not aware of the problem: those who could be great prospective clients. Through your article they will find out exactly what they need, so you have to help them recognise the problem. In this case you can use different tools like listicles or case studies in which you show what the original problem was, how you solved it and what the transformation/result was. 
  1. People who are resistant to what you offer, but they would need it. They might have had a bad experience with a competitor of yours and lost trust. In this case, help them understand better because they might have misbeliefs. Moreover through the stories of your company, people can see how you manage problems, mistakes and bad experiences.

Smart tip: have a really balanced content writing strategy! The beauty is that whatever you write to any of the categories it will be well received also by the others. 

The next step is to use a variety of content categories: 

Educative content pieces are always a good choice because this is how people will see your expertise after reading your posts. 

Entertainment really works! Enrich your posts using interesting quotes, curiosities and news. Don’t forget to have fun; if you work with passion it will be noticed and results will arrive!

Mission-based posts Stories, interviews, and “behind the scenes” content pieces are powerful weapons. Exciting facts about your company, but also about clients, your team, your products, partners, and so on, are really appreciated by your readers because these make you unique.   

Customers’ stories: Remember that it is not about your previous customers or about your company, but prospective clients have to see themselves there. How? Using case studies and, above all, testimonials.

Or, better, what readers want to read about? 

In order to discover that you can choose one of these two solutions: you can simply ask them or you can use a couple of platforms. Personally, I recommend tools like Buzzsumo; useful to identify what people read about a specific topic or keyword, Quora; which allows you to find out which are the most asked questions about a specific agent, and AnswerThePublic.

Since I am talking about questions: How can I become a thought leader? 

Daredevil , mentor, guru, geek and helper are all different profiles of leaders; but each of them have the same goal: to be unique and to have their voice. Writing information that everybody says doesn’t work. You have always to formulate your own opinion and thoughts talking about, for example, dishonest competitors, clients’ misbehaviours and misunderstanding, anomalies, frauds and frustrations in the industry. 

Let’s understand better which leader’s type you can be: 

  • The Daredevil is always there; it is a very outspoken person with a very strong opinion. 
  • The Mentor helps you doing something by supporting you as much as possible 
  • The Guru is very popular and gives you a lot of motivation
  • The Geek focuses on processes, theory, tools and rules 
  • The Helper, finally, helps you do your stuff or solve a problem 

Choosing the right leader’s type comes, obviously, from your personality, don’t try to be someone you are not.

Smart tip: You can also have a combination of those

Again, excitement is essential. So, don’t worry about the length, but rather about the excitement. 

I really recommend you to start with titles, headlines or first sentences just because people use to scroll pages and having reference points allows your readers not to get lost among information and posts. You can also use subheadlines and very short blocks; this will really facilitate the reading. 

Remember to put things into context: what you are talking about and why has always to be clear.

Here too emotions are really important. They could be positive or negative, it doesn’t matter, what counts is that you don’t have to be afraid of evoking some strong emotion in your readers; they will be very impressed! 

Finally, don’t forget to close your post with a call-to-action or a question. This will help your reader to get involved by doing something, reading more, answering or getting in touch with you.

Scheduling: use a Content cube!

This method is really useful to plan your content strategies and calendar. In this cube, you will put different types of content (education, story, offer, testimonial) and tools like texts, photos, videos, or slides. By using this technique it will be easier to avoid repetitive posts and to decide which tools will suit better with a specific content and platform. 

Smart tip: Reusing contents is not forbidden, do it!

And that’s it! I am completely aware of the fact that the world of social media is massive and looks like it requires a range of skills. Becoming a great and successful social media content writer may take time, but I am really confident that with a little practice you will surely achieve your goals.

The article is based on the below video, you can watch it now.

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This article was written by the Francis Cooper team based on 21 years of experience in marketing and copywriting. If you’d like to practice the above at a copywriting workshop, and write your own high-converting landing pages, email tk@franciscooper.com.

How to write high-converting landing pages?

Writing an effective landing page has its rules. A good landing page, actually, goes beyond simply creating and designing something that “looks good”. It’s much more a conversation with the reader we have to understand what customers think and be able to reflect on those thoughts. What is the best structure to use? How can you understand the psychology of your readers and what else do you have to be aware of? 

These are the key questions, I will answer in this blog post, showing you the E.P.I.C. Model, how to write a successful headline and giving some smart tips to keep in mind. In this way, you will get the answers to all your doubts and you will be able to write a complete and successful landing page. But, for a start, let’s understand better what a landing page is. 

What is a landing page?

Traditionally, a landing page is a dedicated web page of a service or product. But why is it so important and useful? Because with a simple click the reader will immediately arrive right at the page of the service or product we are talking about. (And normally, there’s no menu bar to distract the attention and give way to an escape:)

Smart tip: You can consider the home page a full-fledged landing since it is the most visited page of the website and gives a very detailed overview of the company. Navigating is more of a challenge on mobile, so it’s a good idea to make the home page count!

Use this E.P.I.C. model

The structure of the landing should reflect the psychological process of how your readers process information and make their choices.

This structure is can be described by the E.P.I.C. Model. 

This is a very elegant sales technique and the acronym E.P.I.C. is useful to keep in mind when you write your landing page: Excite, Project (problem), Inform (solution), Close. 

Your first task, as opposed to what people usually think, is not the sale or the product’s presentation, but increasing the excitement. Grabbing the reader’s attention is the first step to writing a successful landing page. 

The winning headline: the hardest part of the job

The headline has the key purpose of making the reader read on. Avoid using formulas like “Welcome to”, “More than”, “Your trusted accountants” because they don’t mean anything and, above all, they don’t make people excited.  Writing a powerful headline takes time that you don’t always have. 

Therefore, here are three easy formulas that always work: 

  1. The WOW without the OW: promise a big benefit while taking out the pain that usually goes with it. When you promise something that is significant, objections and concerns come up in the reader’s mind. However, in the headline, you should make sure that this pain will be removed. It’s about thinking of the biggest benefit that you can offer, realizing your customers’ possible objections, and making sure they won’t have to face those. Here an example to understand better: “Wonderfully natural sleep. Without the chemicals”.
  1. Small yeses lead to a big yes: ask small, specific and smart questions about the reader’s current situation, avoid the generic and vague ones. In a practical way, instead of using questions like: “Do you want to look good?”, “Do you want to sign in?”, use a more precise one, like: “What an amazing look for you night out?”.
  1. Compare the concept to something they know: just try to imagine what your customers already know and connect your service with that, so they recognise your value proposition right away. As a simple example: “Your full-time CFO for $30 a month”.  

This is the section in which your readers can identify themselves with a particular problem, since your aim is to talk about your customers and not about the company. In order to understand their problems, forums, comments and feedback are essential. But how can you talk about their problem? Showing statistics or facts, presenting some statements, asking questions and exposing some clients’ stories are some strategies to use. 

Smart tip: don’t be superficial, showing strong emotions is essential in order to gain conversions!

Before proposing your product or service, show them all the alternative solutions and, after that, explain to them why these alternatives aren’t the perfect solutions for them. 

Smart tip: Be honest! By telling your clients that there are alternatives you are credible, you build a relationship and they will trust you.

Then there is the ideal solution; at this point you have to describe your proposition.

Attention! You still don’t have to speak about your product. 

Only after having described your solution you can come up with your product. At this stage you have to answer three important questions: (1) why clients should buy your product, (2) why should they buy it from your company and (3) why should they buy it now.

Firstly, it is essential to write about the benefits, the transformation and not only about the product’s features. Obviously, people always expect a positive change when they buy something. Demonstrate that change on your landing page to show how customers feel after having purchased your product. 

Smart tip: Don’t write about the future, use the simple present tense; make your clients feel they are already there!

Secondly, in order to demonstrate your USPs without saying that your company is the best choice in the world, you just have to show how you are unique. By describing your specific process, exposing your achievements and results, showing your clients’ testimonials, and writing about your team, your personality, your background.

Smart tip: Be demonstrative and specific! Avoid generic information that everybody says. 

Thirdly, you have to tell your clients what they miss out on if they don’t buy your product right away (or until a deadline). Again, be honest! If it is not the right time for them to do that, just tell them; this will increase your credibility.  

Help your customers make that last step by adding a few lines above the button on why they should do it. Propose them different packages with a clear overview of what they get with each, and when that specific package is a good choice.

At this point, it is very important to recap, to sum up the benefits of the offer, how it helps them and what happens later. (It helps them if they need to convince a decision maker.)

Smart tip: Don’t force your readers, it has to be their decision!

There you go! Keep in mind the above structure and writing high-converting landing pages won’t be a problem anymore!

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This article was written by the Francis Cooper team based on 21 years of experience in marketing and copywriting. If you’d like to practice the above at a copywriting workshop, and write your own high-converting landing pages, email tk@franciscooper.com.