For many organizations, social media is an integral component of their marketing strategy, which allows them to communicate directly with their customers. However, as LinkedIn, Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, etc., become saturated with an increasing amount of content published and promoted daily, the need to build engaging social posts is more critical than ever. The latest research shows you have less than 8 seconds to grab someone’s attention on social media.
When creating social media content, knowing who you’re speaking to, how to grab their attention with creative imagery, and where to direct that attention with a proper call to action is critical. Below are three tips to implement in your next round of social content creation to help achieve these goals.
- Understand Your Audience
According to HubSpot, “[a] social media target audience is a group of people that you’ve identified that you want to appeal to. This can be based on demographics such as age, job title, income level, education, location, or behavior.” When building engaging content, you first need to understand who you are speaking to and what they are looking for on social media.
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Take the time to research and analyze the demographics of your target audience and utilize analytics from platforms to gain valuable insight into your audience’s persona. Understanding who they are, their interests, and their likes and dislikes allows you to draft content that is not only more relevant but also more engaging as they’re scrolling through social media.
. - Make Posts Aesthetically Pleasing
Once you understand your audience, one way to make your social media content more captivating and engaging is to make them aesthetically pleasing. But what exactly does that mean? According to Planable.io, “[a] social media aesthetic is a visual representation of your brand’s personality. Your design style, brand colors, fonts, and imagery are used across your social media channels to create a unified look.” While there are many ways to achieve this, here are three of the most effective methods:
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● Simplicity is key: There’s no need for convoluted text. While your posts shouldn’t be so simplified that your message is no longer clear to your audience, they shouldn’t do the opposite either. Keep sentences concise by telling the reader precisely what they need to know and why it matters.
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● Break up your text: Ever scroll on LinkedIn and come across a massive wall of text, read a few words and skip right past it? You’re not alone. As the shift towards short-form content becomes more and more popular, organizations must do away with long-form posts and get straight to the point. Break up lines between your sentences and use bullet points to highlight the key elements of your message (and throw in some emojis). That way, readers can quickly digest your content and the pertinent information they need.
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● Use common imagery, colors and fonts: If your organization has the budget to work with a graphic designer for product photos, graphics or other creative assets, you’re already a step ahead. If not, don’t worry. There are many great resources out there to provide free or low-cost imagery for your social media posts. Consider using tools like iStock, Shutterstock, or Adobe Stock for an endless selection of images. Or jump into one of the many AI image generators for a custom creation. Just make sure they’re on-brand and relevant to the content you post across platforms.
. - Have a Call to Action
Lastly, one of the most important aspects of creating engaging content is having a call to action (CTA) within your post. A CTA allows your organization to gain added visibility by grabbing the reader’s attention and driving traffic back to your website with a link to a product page, article or blog post, lead-gen form, or other page on your website.
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By having an appropriate CTA, your reader’s attention is directed to another actionable page. Additionally, CTA’s can encourage readers to share your posts, leading to increased exposure for your organization and the content of your social media posts. By incorporating CTA’s into your posts and leveraging existing content you create even more value for your posts.
Social media is a tricky game that organizations must learn to connect with their target audience. By understanding your audience, creating aesthetic posts, and linking your content, you’ll be ahead of the curve when creating engaging content. Experiment with these tips, track your results and refine them to keep your content engaging. Still not sure where to start? Let’s chat.