How to Write Social Media Posts That People Respond To

There is nothing, well almost, nothing quite as discouraging as putting out what we think is a killer post on social media. Then, sit back and wait for the excitement to swarm around it and see share after share and comments galore. Waiting, and waiting, and CRICKETS! Right?
Let’s work on that:
One thing to do on social media is to write posts. Posts are what keep your social media active and your audience engaged. However, it’s imperative that you have a strategy so that you can get the most out of your social media interactions. For the most part, your social media strategy should involve building your email list or sending them to your website so that they can become customers.
* Understand Your Customers – You need to know who your target audience is so that you can recognize what type of posts will get more traction with them. For example, some audience members will be insulted by certain types of comedy. Others will respond very well to it. Know who they are so that your posts can be targeted.
* Watch Your Competition – It’s always a good idea to check out what your competition is doing in regard to social media posts. Don’t just copy what they are doing. Instead, observe whether or not the competition is getting a result or not from their actions, and note how you can do it better or differently.
* Know the Goal of the Post – What action do you want your customers to take when they read the post? Do you want them to click through to read more? Do you want them to like, follow and share? You need to be clear about what you want them to do in order to get action.
* Add a Relevant Image – People respond best to relevant images on social media. You can make memes and infographic using free software like Canva.com for your social media posts. A nice image, watermarked with a relevant quote will do wonders.
* Write a Blurb that Gets Attention – When you share a meme or a blog post or other type of post on social media write a blurb about it, and what you want your readers to do about it.
* Link to the Rest of the Story – Don’t just post most of your updates without linking to the rest of the blog post, more information about the meme, a newsletter sign up, or your website.
* Ask Your Audience to Share – Never forget to ask your audience to share your posts. You can also invite them to take memes and infographics off your website to share. Just set up a new page that lists all the watermarked images that your audience can share.
* Respond to Comments – Don’t just ignore the interaction that is happening on your social media pages. Always respond, and add comments to the discussion. Answer questions, and be kind. Even if someone is rude, don’t respond rudely. If you have to, delete the rude comment and let it go.
[ctt tweet=”Content is fire, social media is gasoline-Jay Baer” coverup=”z2cfs”]
Writing social media posts that get a discussion going and inspire people to share and interact is an art. You’ll need to try different tactics to see what works with your particular audience. But, be sure to always have a call to action on the post so that your audience knows what to do. Remember that your goal is to get them on your email list so that you can market to them on an ongoing basis.
Now, it’s your turn. What do you do that helps to make people want to chat it up on your posts?