At LMD, we get a lot of questions about drafting social media posts. Unlike the formality of a newsletter, video, or website, often the simpler a post the better. Rather than thinking of social media posts as a full content piece, think of them as an advertisement or taste of your brand. 

Writing a social media post is a simple recipe with just four ingredients, no matter the channel.

Image + Message + CTA + Next Step = Your Post

Let’s break it down further.

1. Your image. It’s not necessary, but highly recommended. A good photo, video, or .gif will grab your audience’s attention as they scroll. Avoid bland stock photos. If you are sharing a link, a photo or video may already populate on your post.

2. Your message. Did you know the optimal length of a Facebook post is 50 characters or fewer? Keep it short and sweet!  We recommend Twitter rules. Try to stay under 280 characters on all sites. Contractions cut down on character count, and sound far more natural. 

3. Your CTA (Call to Action). Are you educating? Selling? Announcing changes? Be explicit about your desired outcome: read more, call today, share this post, etcetera. 

4. Direct them to their next step. Usually, this will come in the form of a link, application, contact information, or encouragement to repost and follow. 

The beauty of using social media for your brand lies in its simplicity, flexibility, and speed. You can stay in touch with your audience quickly and frequently, with less effort and cost than it takes to send email updates or purchase advertising space. And you don’t need to be a social media strategist to keep a fresh, up-to-date profile on a few sites.

A few more things to consider before you start writing:

• Do: Consider a social media manager like Hootsuite or Hubspot–one click can blast your content out on multiple channels, and you can set specific times to post or use their optimization timing.

• Don’t: Use jargon.

• Do: Keep your brand voice consistent. Even though social media is more casual, your posts should still have the same feel as your website and marketing materials.

• Don’t: Overdo it on hashtags and tagging. Keep the hashtags relevant and somewhat specific, or risk your post seeming like spam.

• Do: Monitor what you post and reply to your audience's comments. Social media is about engagement. 

Don’t have the time to manage your social? Looking to develop a comprehensive strategy? LMD can help.