Social media copywriting tips

Copywriting on social media is an art, and it’s often overlooked because of everything else that goes into managing social channels. It’s critical but tough—best practices for social media copywriting are surprisingly fluid. Here are a few pieces of advice you can apply today to make your social content shine a little brighter.

• Know your voice: If you’re managing a brand account, it’s important to differentiate between the brand’s voice and your natural writing voice. They probably aren’t the same. If the brand voice doesn’t exist, you should create one. It’s important to keep your writing style as consistent as possible.
• Lead with a hook: You’ve probably heard this before, but we’re bringing it back up because it’s huge. First impressions are everything, and social media’s version is the first 5 words of your social post copy. Is it interesting enough to draw someone in?
• Use active voice: This is a subtle thing that makes a big difference. It gives your copy a clear, direct tone that gets to the point quickly. It’s also a little easier to write, depending on your voice guidelines above. Passive voice is also just really weird (objectively).
• Tailor for each channel: So, okay, this one is a little harder to argue at times. It can save you hours if you’re a one-man show and honestly, do what’s easiest for you there. For everyone else, think about the media you share on each channel. Some channels get your 9x16 videos, some get your 16x9 videos, right? Think of copy the same way. Despite each platform’s general functionality and usage being the same, the experience is totally different. Write for that experience on each app. TikTok: short and sweet. LinkedIn and YouTube: keyword-heavy mini blog post. Facebook and Instagram: conversational.
• Don’t use so many exclamation points: Last, and finally, we promise your tone and voice will communicate your enthusiasm better than any exclamation point will. If you find yourself dropping those puppies in every sentence, take a step back and re-read it. You’re probably trying to compensate for a lack of emotional language with excessive punctuation. In our opinion, this is a rite of passage for social copywriters. Embrace it.

What to do when you get a bad post request

We’ve all been there before. It’s part of the gig. From Jack Appleby and Future Social, here’s what to do when a higher-up gives you an absolutely terrible post request and all but begs you to post that sucker.

Hint: It’s the path of least resistance.

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