What is your process for refining social media copy?

Social media platforms are designed to get users addicted so that they can see more ads. The onus is on you to write copy that makes them stop and spend more time on the app. That is why this question is so important — low-quality writing has long-term ramifications.

Write with one, precise CTA in mind. You can't make people watch a full video, comment, share it and click off-platform to sign for a webinar with one post. Copy, asset, headline, URL - they should all be combined to work towards that one goal (CTA).

Before you write anything, you need to have a brand identity and brand/style/content guide that helps you with voice and style. These tools will cover a wide variety of content and can help you figure out what kind of content will achieve your objectives. You also need to develop an editorial calendar for social media so you're publishing regularly and offering different types of content. Make sure you're using best practices so your content has the intended results. You can write something incredible, but if it's too long or you send it out on Friday evening, it won't matter.

Your content guide will take care of much of this. If done right/well, it acts as a guide to help you develop content the right way right away. This doesn't mean you don't need an editor - always get a second pair of eyes on everything you do; they can be invaluable to check your tone and strategy. But, a content guide will show you how to craft content that is on brand and achieves your goals.

Again, this should have all been done when you developed your content guide. Don't do this when a campaign is about to launch - it's too late. This isn't something a social media post should dictate. Of course, you always want to pay attention to metrics and analytics, but they can be misleading if you're not using best practices, don't have a content guide, and haven't built an editorial calendar. For instance, your metrics could show a post not meeting your expectations but there are a lot of possible reasons for this - did you post on certain days and times? Is this a new topic or a topic not on brand? Are you posting sporadically and not building an audience, etc.?

In my experience, from brand communications PoV, setting measurement targets based on year-to-date results rather than per-post, works better. Not all posts are created equal: you need to hit a different audience occasionally, your formats will differ per post influencing metrics drastically... it is unfair to expect every single post to be above benchmark on e.g., ER, impressions. BUT - you can aim to have all posts, on average, perform stronger than the previous period (year/month).

Always start your copy with the ‘truth’ of the post, the heart of the message. Whatever the one thing is that you need audiences to take away with them, make sure you put that right at the front, as they may not read the whole thing.

While power words and the like truly can spice up the copy, nothing does a better job of connecting with and engaging the reader than simple, genuine conversation. Write to your audiences like you'd talk to a good friend and you'll see increased success.

Refine the process. Don't do most of this just for social media copy. Have all this in place long before you're posting. If it is a process, it should already be repeatable. The key is to craft a content process long before you're focusing on social media and refine how you develop content across the organization. This is why brand, content, and style guides are so important. In developing them, you've already set goals, developed a process, tested it, and refined it. Then, all you have to do is follow the guide, utilize best practices, and publish.

Be clear on strategy and ruthless in applying it. - What goal are your social media communications building towards? If it's branding building, do not publish lower-funnel content constantly! Also, do not insist on driving people off-platform to your website... brand building happens where your audience already is - where they are engaging with your post. - What is your audience? Adjust the type of content you publish for them. If it's professionals in the industry that you operate, do not publish recruitment-posts constantly (just because it's LinkedIn!). - What are the systems you have set in place to do this sustainably over time? Think of your social media communications process end-to-end, it takes a village!

Before penning down even a single word, you need to be on top of these points: 1. Research on audience: buying triggers, buying cycle, persona, motivations and what they want to hear about & the formats they are comfortable in. 2. Research on competition: What are the topics, channels & cadence that your competition already follows on social media? What is working well for them? 3. Research on your own brand: understand your own positioning, messaging & target audiences. Understand who are your smes and assimilate learnings from step 1 & 2 into these and then get started. Especially important if you write for b2b tech & niche industries.