Are you struggling to get those coveted likes and clicks from your followers on your social platforms? It can often be hard to get the interaction you want from your audience, especially with the social media space getting more crowded every single day.
If your social media marketing is falling flat as of late, consider implementing these four copywriting techniques used by digital marketing agencies to boost engagement with audiences.
1. Build curiosity
People tend to use their social copy to summarize the featured content, leading followers to simply scroll on by without engaging. Instead, use your social copy to build curiosity in your followers’ minds.
The goal should be to create enough mystery to pique your followers’ interest and entice them to click on the link to view the rest of your content.
To do this, treat your social posts like a teaser, using your copy to give a sneak peek into what your content is about. That could mean starting out your post with a thought-provoking quote, a surprising fact or statistic, or an impactful insight pulled from the content.
Example:
NO CURIOSITY: Google’s announcement to cut out third-party cookies is leaving marketers kicking and screaming. Get the full details below.”
CURIOSITY: What do marketers and 4-year-olds both love? Find out the answer and see why a recent announcement to take them away is leaving marketers kicking and screaming below.”
2. Focus on benefits instead of features
Only focusing on the features of the product or content is a common mistake marketers make in social posts. This often results in a stale post that leaves your followers thinking, “Okay, who cares?”
Instead of just telling your followers what something is, tell them what it helps them to be, do, or have. When you highlight benefits in your social copy, you communicate why a feature matters to your followers. Your post will resonate more with your target audience, boosting your chances of engagement.
Here’s a helpful trick to achieve this: When writing your copy, visualize the phrase “so that” after the feature or topic your post focuses on. This helps you effectively showcase the “why” of what you are promoting in the post.
Example:
FEATURE-FOCUSED: “Here are three email subject line templates for marketers.”
BENEFIT-FOCUSED: “Here are three email subject line templates for marketers that will help you double your open rates.”
3. Sprinkle in persuasive power words
It’s not enough to just mention or talk about your blog, webinar, or product in your social post—you have to give your followers a strong reason to view it. One of the best ways to do that is by adding persuasive power words to your copy.
Adding power words can turn vague, dull social copy into compelling, punchy phrases that grab your followers’ attention and make your content instantly attractive.
A few examples of persuasive power words include:
“You”
“Best”
“Worst”
“New”
“Latest”
“Free”
“Instantly”
These words might seem simple or common, but that’s because they’re highly effective at boosting the value of your content. They also answer that million-dollar question on your followers’ minds as they scroll through hundreds of other social posts: “What’s in it for me?”
Example:
NO POWER WORDS: “Tune in to our podcast episode for tips that’ll double your conversion rate.”
POWER WORDS: “Tune in to our latest podcast episode for free tips that’ll instantly double your conversion rate.”
4. Add a clear and strong call to action
Giving your reader a clear, strong call to action is one of the easiest ways to help drive engagement for your social post. Skipping this step is a missed opportunity.
Remember, your followers are not mind readers—simply hinting at what you want them to do is not effective. Whether it’s giving you a follow, commenting on your post, clicking through to your link, sharing your content, or tagging a friend, tell them precisely what to do.
As for the call to action itself, keep it simple, specific, and strong. By stating your call to action in a loud and clear manner, you will significantly increase your engagement and clicks on your social content.
Example:
NO CALL TO ACTION: “Want the best strategies for growing your blog delivered straight to your inbox? Our newsletter is packed with loads of tips and tricks from top industry experts.”
CALL TO ACTION: “Want the best strategies for growing your blog delivered straight to your inbox? Our newsletter is packed with loads of tips and tricks from top industry experts. Subscribe below.”
Using these copywriting techniques can breathe new life into your social media posts. If your marketing team wants assistance with social media marketing, reach out to Fiddlehead at hello@fiddleheadhq.com.