What are the copywriting essentials for social media marketing?
A very astute question!
Here are 7 proven copywriting tips for SMM:
#1 Clearly identify the target audience and their needs. Then present a copy that solves whichever of those needs are the biggest, scariest, or most pressing right now. You need a good audience, one with money behind it, but also a reason to part with that cash. Don’t skimp on this kind of research; it’s important.
If your content does not in some way ease a specific type of person’s pain, it’s not worthwhile. Keep in mind, this doesn’t have to be so literal. You can ease a person’s pain by giving them lots and lots of their most favorite thing, or encouraging and motivating them in relation to it. Even just helpful, lesser-known information and advice are great for easing a person’s pain. Not knowing how to do something you want to do is painful, and incredibly common.
#2 Lead with value. People say “give value” too much in marketing these days. The real point is LEAD with value, and provide plenty of it later, after some investment. For instance, it’s good to tease the big reveals or key points that a person will get from your blog post in the beginning. Sometimes a little delayed gratification helps people treat important ideas as seriously as you would want them to.
#3 Future pace. Future pacing is when you create an image in a person’s head that necessitates them buying your product. For instance, your copy could literally tell people to imagine the ideal scenario that your product will help them achieve, although that’s kind of cliché now. Just find ways to make people envision the long-term benefits of what you sell.
#4 Desire, curiosity, scarcity. This is a great three-act plan to try and follow with the content of your posts. First, establish a desire that you understand the reader has, and then build some curiosity around it. Do things have to be this way? Next, create more curiosity about the product, give value, and lead with more value. Finally, establish scarcity with something like a limited launch, deadline for taking something offline, etc.
#5 Include a clear call to action (CTA). Nobody will do something, like buy your product, if you aren’t asking them. Usually, CTAs fit in best either as the final point or post-script to a piece of content or as an aside for more information or content.
#7 Make people interact with your post, as it increases reach. Asking a question that the reader might want to answer with a comment is one simple way to try this.
I could go on, but it’s best to focus on fewer things in writing and internalize them with practice.
If you want something a little more broad-strokes, more writing-project-management than literal writing skill, consider this:
Another SMM strategy that I implemented in the last few months of 2020 which gave me good results is Content Multiplication Models (CMM). It’s not just about writing quality, it’s about a game plan where your posts really do get seen and earn you something back for all your hard work. That’s what CMMs are all about.
If you’re curious, check out my site in my profile and bookmark it, because I’ll be releasing some posts about designing your own CMM for maximum social media marketing ROI.
Anyway, let me know if you have any questions.
Good Luck!
Thanks,
Cleo