Social media marketing may be the hottest thing in online marketing right now, but if you don’t have great content, you’ll be kicking yourself in the foot by year end.

That’s because content is king when it comes to social media marketing. Your content must be compelling, engaging, interesting and worthy of a few minutes of time in a world where 1,000 other things are competing for your reader’s attention.

Sound like a big ticket?

That’s because it is.

Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help you improve your content for social media marketing.  It’s worthwhile to take a look at old blog posts and copy on your website to make sure it has the right tone – even if it was written two years ago, a fresh look never hurts!

Six Ways to Improve Your Social Media Marketing Copy

1. Write in a conversational tone that is warm and engaging. Social media networks provide a informal and friendly meeting place where people connect for both social and business reasons. It is important to use the language that best suits the audience environment. Staying away from stuffy academic language or using jargon that might be lost on your audience.

2. Use short paragraphs in social media marketing communications. People are more likely to read and understand copy that is written in short sentences and paragraphs. Short bits of information are more likely to be shared.  Aim for limiting your paragraphs to 3-4 sentences.

3. Emphasize benefits instead of features. Getting to the point and telling prospective customers “what’s in it for them” is the best way to gain a prospect’s immediate attention. A proven sales strategy is to focus on the benefits that your product, service or even blog post gives to them.

4. Emphasize a single message in each social media communication. Don’t confuse your message by discussing several ideas at once.  Focus on one single message.
5. Take a multimedia approach in social media marketing campaigns. While text offers a very affordable way to reach out to prospective customers, video and pictures have proven to be an excellent way to get an audience’s attention and compete successfully in a crowded and media-saturated world. Make your multimedia social media marketing clever and interesting, and it will be viewed, shared and distributed.

6. Create a marketing message to support and emphasize the call to action. Use visual pictures and graphics to direct your readers to take action. Keep it simple and free of clutter so that the message is obvious and clear. Remember to state what you want the reader to do. There should be no doubt in the reader’s mind about what you are asking them to do.

Social media marketing is here to stay as an effective and relatively inexpensive marketing tool. When business executives consider social media statistics, they recognize the high stakes associated with competing successfully in social media forums. With 43 percent of consumers who purchase online recognized as social media fans or followers, it is not surprising that business executives see the value in writing copy that will stand out in the crowd.

Is your social media marketing content standing out from the crowd?  Need a fresh set of eyes or some advice on how you could make our content more lively, engaging and valuable to your audience? Contact us today for tips and information on how to make your content work for you.