What are some best practices for writing for social media and blogs?

Also important is to make sure everyone in your department and leadership are on the same page with tone and the brand. It’s tough when trying to build and support a brand voice when, say your CMO expects something different.

In some cases, you may also need to set a tone and style to set the groundwork for the type of audience and environment that you want to foster. This is especially important if this is not in a crowded niche or the subject matter is deeply personal.

Why should I care? Why should I share? Your message needs to connect with your audience in a compelling way. In a way that means something *to them*. Fundamentally social media is algorithm based, so if your content isn’t thumb stopping then it’s time to rethink. Your content needs to be curated for your audience, by platform. It needs a conscious strategy, regular cadence and thoughtful review based on insights.

My high school English teacher Ms. Hickman used to say, "Writing should be like a woman's skirt. Long enough to cover the subject, short enough to keep it interesting." While I'm not sure how well the phrasing has aged, the sentiment holds strong—and that has successfully guided my social media strategy for the last 10 years. For every audience.

Beyond just knowing your audience, know how to speak to them. Is formal or informal language more likely to resonate? Is your post emotion-driven or logic-driven? What problems keep your audience up at night? Should you really throw that curse word in there, or will vulgarity sour the vibe? Know what your audience wants and find the voice to deliver it.

If you're feeling stuck when it comes to your goals, put yourself in the shoes of your reader. Simply imagine yourself as the reader, reading your article as if it were finished. What are they feeling, thinking, or taking away from your piece?

Another thing is looking at your piece of writing and asking 'why would I want to read this?' There must be something in there that will drive you and engage you other than 'I was paid to write this' or 'I'm trying to draw readers.' You need to find your passion inside the piece, if you expect it to attract readers.

People’s time is limited. Offer something valuable before you utilize a call to action. You need to make your posts a must read

PAM is one of the most common formulas to learn writing! P - Purpose A - Audience M - Message When you are clear about the purpose, finding the audience and message will be easy. Just like, having a clear goal in life makes it meaningful, in the same way, a clear goal before writing makes it impactful.

*Have a clear goal for your post, that aligns with your company’s aim(s). Strategic creators will consider each piece of content as part of their long-term brand strategy. A post can not simply be well-crafted but should support the company’s primary goals. Here are some questions to consider when creating content for your brand. Where does this post fit in both your day-to-day and big-picture strategy? Does the topic align with your organization’s mission/vision? Is the messaging relevant to your particular audience? And very importantly, are you simply posting for the sake of posting? Simplified, before writing, ask: what is the purpose of the post and does it support the brand’s aim(s)?

Studies have shown that subverting expectations with the structure of a headline - syntactic surprise, as it's called - often leads more people to click on it. There's a sweet spot, though, between a phrase that's different enough to be interesting and one so different that it's weird. It's a difficult balance to strike, but it pays off.

Use hook lines in your heading, yes. They should be clickbait, NO! Work on your heading and make sure that there is a surprise element to it -- something that works as a hook point!

Start with the value your content offers: One approach to creating effective headlines is to clearly communicate the value or benefit the reader will gain if they keep reading. Headlines like "Unlock the Secrets to Successful __________" or "Discover Proven Strategies for __________" appeal to our desires for reliable solutions and improvement.

To expand on the promise delivery: In this fast-paced world, don't forget you are writing to serve. You are writing to provide a service to your readers and to your clients, management team or sponsors. Don't take this for granted! Instead of operating in task-completion mode, operate with the mindset of producing your highest-quality work to prove that your content, product or service is to be trusted. This kind of value will go much further than any catchy headline will ever get you.

Your hook is what draws the reader in. Write it with the call to action in mind, And make sure to not dawdle before getting to the point after the hook. A great technique is the problem, agitate, solution technique

It is also crucial to draw references and stories to help support each of your major points. Depending on the type of blog, it could either be personal stories that help you connect with the reader or it could be examples/excerpts of texts from experts or entertaining pop culture references that are relevant. Of course, relevance is mandatory, but drawing in several various examples and supporting stories keeps the blog engaging.

Know your platform. If you're writing for Substack, you can use larger paragraphs; if you're writing a caption for LinkedIn (which can actually function like a mini blog post) one-line paragraphs are key for the formatting to look good and keeping the reader's attention. Also, try to write in a way that even a 10-year-old could understand. Many people think this will make them sound dumb, but the truth is powerful concepts explained in simple language make you sound intelligent and authoritative, and most importantly, help the reader truly understand your ideas.

Writing for social media and blogs is like being a tour guide in a bustling city. You're there to grab your reader's attention, show them around, and leave them wanting to visit again. For social media, keep it short, snappy, and engaging. It's the equivalent of a speed tour – you've only got a few moments to pique their interest, so make your words count. For blogs, dive deeper into the subject matter. It's the extended city tour, where you have the time to share intriguing insights and tell compelling stories. But remember, it's not a lecture – keep the tone conversational and include compelling visuals to keep them on board.

It’s also important to make it easy to scan. Most people scan before reading so they can zero in on the parts that are most important to them. Bullet points and subheadings can help with this.

I find a very simple rule of thumb for blogs to be: Introduction 100 words explains what the reader will get. 3 main points - 100 words in each paragraph Conclusion - 100 words summing up the blog with the main takeaway revisited. This is a great format for a short blog if around 500 words and can make it easier to get started. Write the three main paragraphs first, then write the conclusion and the introduction.

Hot take: AI is actually a very helpful editor. Just copy and paste your draft into Bard or ChatGPT and ask it something like "Rewrite this in the most concise yet compelling way for [insert target audience]."

Sometimes a typo or mistake makes for a great 'next' post. I did that once and rather than apologizing profusely for it, I owned the mistake and used it as a learning tool. You can be genuine without being too formal. I also listed all the steps I took that I thought were enough until it was too late to do anything about it

Proofreading tools help, but at the end of the day you are smarter than Grammarly. Take the time to proofread your own document. Get it right. Read out loud. A single typo can destroy your readers' confidence in you.

100% agree. It looks so unprofessional when there are spelling or grammatical mistakes. When I proof read content, I often find it helps to read it out loud. And taking an hour or so away from what you’ve written before returning with a fresh perspective can also help. In our team, we all proof read each others work.

Your computer can read your content aloud to you - it’s a great way to pick up errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar as well as clunky phrases and parts which don’t flow well.

Engagement keeps your post alive. You don’t want to dominate the conversation but participating in it helps keep it going. You could think of it like hosting a party - it would be rude to just put snacks out and disengage. A good host helps others get comfortable opening up and supports them in building connections.

Without engagement, you are posting into the void. This is marketing 101. This is how social platforms work. It is called social media, strong emphasis on the first word. When you engage with your readers you show that you care about them and their input. You show your audience you are listening and paying attention. We all like to feel seen and heard, and when a creator interacts with their audience, it creates a strong bond. Not only that, but ongoing conversations strengthens the connection and keeps building. It is a ripple effect. And lastly, engagement with your readers appeases the algorithm. Platforms recommend you engage and when they recommend something, you should pay attention.

Whenever you receive comments on your posts or blogs, always reply with a meaningful comment or if that’s tricky, simply thank the person for taking the time to interact with your content. People want to be heard and responded to so make the effort to write back when you get comments. It’d be rude not to.

If you are not engaging with your readers, are you sure you are writing? With the rise in platforms, you should master the craft of interacting with your readers in the right way. - Make sure that there are hooks in the article - Find your unique voice/perspective - Try to add some visuals - Try to make the content personal - Do not try to be pretentious - Give your readers what you promised in the beginning.

Agree that “engaging with your customers” is key to another successful social media content. Many businesses do not provide the platform for customers to ask questions, nor a platform for customers to contribute their thoughts to the next product line up they (customers) would love to see from you as a business. One example as a digital marketing trainer is that I could ask my audience “What is one digital marketing course you would like to take in 2024?” Or, “We’re planning for a complimentary 1 hour digital marketing webinar, vote for the topic of your choice!” We need to provide our customers an avenue to provide feedback and be involved in our business. ????

Post Frequently Because Building a Readership Takes Time If you want followers you have to keep posting. You can add variety by having guest authors who match your topic, posting an article and then adding a podcast with the post as an audible alternative. You can do a photo essay. You could interview someone or review a book on your subject. If you also have a full time job pick an interval for posting that works with your schedule so you can keep writing articles. After writing to my blog for fifteen year I printed my articles, sorted them, and published them as a series of books. Momentum works in writing just as well as in physics.

Some blogs provide a variety of topics, and write to a wide audience. If you prefer writing this type of blog, be sure to change up your Tags when submitting each blog. It will grow your readership. Make sure to provide responses to all comments if time permits as this reflects your professionalism and respect for your readers. People will return if they feel welcome.

Quick pointers for someone who writes for social media: 1) Make content buckets. The only way to be consistent is to have a roadmap. If you know what the brand stands for, and if you know what your audience wants, you’ll be able to derive 4-5 content buckets that you can play around with. One must also know how to repurpose content for various platforms. 2) Whether your content is informative, educative, or simply for entertainment- it has to be easily digestible. People come to different social media platforms for different purposes. I scroll on LinkedIn for information, opinions, and stories. I scroll on Instagram for the reels. You should be able to write a short video-script as well as you write a well-researched carousel.

Be it writing a blog post or posting on social, is a two-way street. When you think about what to write, also think about why? Who do you want to engage with and why? What value can you provide and why would someone find it useful/interesting? It's also helpful to stick to a theme (or own your swimlane if you will) instead of catching 'flavor of the month'.

You can encourage your audience to share their own stories, photos, or testimonials related to your writing. User-generated content builds community and trust while providing additional material to share.