Transcripts
1. Introduction: Are you struggling to make your social media posts stand out in a crowded
digital world? Let me share with you the
secrets to writing posts that drive clicks,
comments and conversions. Copywriting is the art of
writing words that sell or promote something like a
product, service, or idea. When you write posts
on social media, you're already doing a
form of copywriting. That's why copywriting is the most important skill
for social media success. Each post is a chance to capture interest,
share information, and persuade your
audience to think, feel, or act. Hello, I'm Ruth. I'm a professional copywriter
and copywriting trainer. I write engaging online
content for big businesses, helping them boost engagement, grow followers, and strengthen
their online presence. In this class, I draw
on my decades of professional copywriting
experience to show you how to write for social media, from
TikTok to Instagram stories and from YouTube
scripts to pins. Social media evolves rapidly. That's why I updated
this class in 2026 to make sure you
have the most up-to- -date information and resources. I especially love teaching
this topic because I know from my own experience
that writing for social media can be
incredibly time-consuming, and it's also easy
to get stuck in a rut repeating the
same old formats. Whether you write
for your business, personal brand, product, service or charity,
this class will help you tell your story
and inspire action. I'll share simple steps and
real world examples to make your writing process more efficient and help you
escape the content rut. Plus, I'll share quality
resources and tools for creating varied engaging posts
quickly and effectively. Ready to elevate your social media game? Let's get started.
2. Class and Project Overview: By the end of this
lesson, you'll have everything you need to get
the most out of this class. Let's review the
topics we're going to cover before talking about how the lessons are structured, your class project, and the resources I've got lined
up to support your learning. First, we'll prepare
for success by using a super simple planning formula to clarify the main message, audience, response, and tone of our social
media campaign. Next, we'll look
at how to maximize the potential of your
profiles and bios. We'll then explore the most popular social media platforms, examining what makes
each one unique and how to write for them
authentically and effectively. I suggest watching all of these platform specific lessons, even the ones for
platforms you don't use, because the techniques
and tips are transferable to other platforms
and marketing channels. Later, we'll explore
how to engage in authentic conversations
on social media, crafting responses that build positive engagement
and minimize conflict. I'll wrap up with some cross platform strategies to maximize efficiency and advice on how to evolve and grow your social
media presence over time. Throughout the
class, we'll examine real world examples from
a variety of brands. I'll also guide you through applying these techniques with step by step tutorials
using my fictional client, Urban Barista, a
coffee retailer. For your project,
choose a message or content you want to
promote on social media. It could be a product, service, landing page or video. Apply the techniques
you learn in this class to posts for
two or more platforms. Once complete,
upload your series of posts as your project. I've uploaded my own example
project to inspire you. To help you with your project, download this Workbook from the class Description
or Resources tab. It contains key takeaways
from each lesson, exercises, recommended
resources, and templates. Follow along with each lesson using your workbook
and keep it as a handy guide for your future
social media copywriting. In the next lesson,
I'll share with you some social media
copywriting basics, including the formula
I use to help me craft every post I write on
each and every platform. If you've identified
the content you want to promote and have your
workbook ready, let's begin.
3. Prepare for Success: Maximize your chances of
social media success by getting a firm grip on the basics of
copywriting for social. By the end of this
lesson, you'll have a tried and tested
planning template you can use to make the writing of any social media
content series quicker, easier and more consistent
across platforms. Planning is important
for all marketing copy, but especially for social media. Unlike website, email,
or direct mail, social media is
consumed quickly, usually by people skimming
feeds on their phones. Your copy has to be
clear and targeted to capture attention from
these distracted scrollers. I use a simple planning template before writing
social media posts. It helps me clarify key
aspects of my campaign, giving me the best chance
to engage casual scrollers. It's also adaptable to any platform or format,
including video. I call it MART, which
stands for Message, Audience, Response, and Tone. You can find the
MART template in your Workbook to
fill out and use. Let's start with the first
part, M for Message. To stand out in a crowded feed, your message has to be direct and compelling or
it'll be skipped. Uncertainty leads to weak posts that don't capture attention. So start by clearly
defining your message, a single clear idea that sums
up what you want to say. Avoid jargon and complex words, distill your message
to its clearest form. Forrester, a company helping B2C brands provide better customer service
excels at this. Despite often dealing
with complex topics, each of their posts communicates a
straightforward message. This is particularly
impressive in a field where it's easy to get
bogged down in jargon. Let's apply this approach
to my fictional client, Urban Barista, who are promoting
their new coffee blend. I'll fill in the
Message section of the MART template with the key message they
want to get across. Add your own campaign message to the template
in your Workbook. Let's move on to the
A in MARK - Audience. Great copywriting always
considers the reader first. On social media,
you're generally writing for a barely
engaged reader. Few followers care
deeply about your brand, but they will stop for posts
that address them directly. Forrester do this
successfully, as well. They target specific groups like IT leaders, sales ops leaders, and B2C marketers, capturing attention by addressing
each audience directly. For Urban Barista,
the target audience is discerning coffee drinkers, people willing to spend on
unique high quality blends. I'm adding this info
to the template. Do the same for your campaign. If you need help defining
your audience or message, check the class
description for a link to this communication and
planning guide by Work Vivo, which offers a simple
step by step process. Next, the R in MART,
stands for Response. For a social post
to be successful, you need to know how you want
your audience to respond. What do you want them to do, think, or feel after reading it? Your desired response
will often be linked to a call to action (a
CTA), but not always. Sometimes a post's goal is
simply to raise awareness. With limited time and space, you need to be clear about
what you want readers to do so stick to one
response per post. Otherwise, your message
will seem confused and be ignored by those
skimmers and scrollers. Forrester's feed is
a great example with clear CTAs
like Register now, Download now, or Learn more. The CTA is always singular
and straightforward. For Urban Barista, the goal is to get people to
buy their new coffee. They also want to raise awareness of the
product and the brand, building trust and
encouraging future sales. They have supporting content
like a product page, blog post, and video
for specific CTAs. We'll decide which
to use based on each platform's features
in later lessons. Add your primary, secondary
and specific CTAs for your campaign to the MART
template in your Workbook. Finally, the T in
MART stands for Tone. Social media communication
is usually casual in tone because people use
these platforms to socialize and
catch up on news. A less formal tone is
expected and appropriate. You need to still consider your brand's tone
of voice, though. Your brand voice should be consistent across all
marketing channels. Forrester's brand
voice, for example, strikes a balance between
formal and approachable. A more casual brand might use even more informal language. Urban Barista's tone of
voice is casual and friendly while also appearing knowledgeable about their craft. Choose two or three
adjectives to describe your brand voice to guide
you in writing posts. We'll revisit tone of
voice in the lesson on cross platform strategies
where we'll look at how to adjust tone
between platforms. In this lesson,
you learned how to set a strong foundation for social media copywriting using the MART planning template. You now know how to
define your message, audience, response, and tone. This will help you keep your
social media posts clear and targeted so you can engage
those casual strollers. Take a moment to consider
how the MART template can be applied to your current or upcoming social media campaigns. How will you define your
message and audience to ensure your posts resonate
with your target readers? Now complete the
MART template in your Workbook with
details of your campaign. This will set you up for
success as you start writing the posts for
your class project. Once you've done that,
we'll move on to the next lesson where
we'll explore how to optimize one of the
most important elements of your social media presence, your profiles and bios.
4. Profiles and Bios: Your social media bio is often your brand's
first impression, so it needs to be
clear, compelling and confidence boosting. If it's not sparking interest, it's time for a revamp. In this lesson, you'll
learn a step by step formula and
some quick tips for writing bios that will make your social media
profiles informative, on brand, and consistent
across different platforms. Bios are the snippets
of text people see when they visit your
social media profile, either from their own
feed or via a link on your website or your email
signature, for example. Bios are so important
because for many people, they'll be the first impression
they get of your brand. So you need them to be
accurate and engaging. Let's start with your
business's title or name. This isn't your handle,
which follows the @ symbol, but the name of your business in larger text at the
top of your bio. For some brands, the title
is self explanatory, but others need additional
information for clarity. For example, Naked is a brand
with an ambiguous name. On their Instagram account, they use the Name field to add the words Home body scanner, helping them become more discoverable to those
searching for that item. Adding descriptive
words to your name on platforms like
Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn can help people
find you when they're searching for products or services related
to your business. Let's move on to the
bio text itself. On some platforms
like Instagram, this needs to be very short,
around 150 characters. And in that short space, you need to engage
your target audience and persuade them to act, so you need to be organized. That's why, when I'm writing social media bios
for my clients, I like to start by
using a formula. I've used this
formula for dozens of social media bios for all sorts of clients from
restaurants to banks. It's very flexible and
it's very effective, and I think it can
work for you too. Start off by saying who you
help and how you help them. And notice that
we're focusing on the reader here
and not ourselves, just like we learned in
the previous lesson. Next, explain what
makes you unique. How are you different to
other brands in your sector? Then offer some proof, something that builds
your credibility. This could be membership
of a professional body. It could be an award you've won or an impressive statistic like the number of years
you've been in business or the number of
customers you've served. Finally, end with a CTA, but more than this,
attach it to a benefit. Give your reader a
great reason why they want to take the
action you're proposing. Let's have a look at what this formula looks
like in action. This is my client Urban Barista. Let's start by directly
addressing our target audience, people who consider themselves discerning coffee drinkers, and we're explaining
exactly what we have to offer them speciality
coffee blends. Next, what makes
Urban Barista unique? Well, the location is important, and the other thing that sets this coffee shop apart is
that it's dog friendly. Next up, we'll add a
bit of credibility with the company's membership of a respected industry
association. At this point, Urban
Barista just wants people who've landed on its profile
to hit the follow button, but we can't just tell
them to follow us. We need to give them
a reason to do it. Including special offers in
our feed is a good way to reward our followers and
encourage them to stay engaged. Once they're followers,
they'll start seeing the company's posts
in their feed, which is where the marketing
funnel comes into play. The marketing funnel is a way to visualize the journey
your audience takes from their first
interaction with your brand to becoming
loyal customers. It's called a funnel
because you start with a large number
of people at the top, but as you guide them
through each stage, fewer of them take the next
step narrowing down to those who make a purchase or engage deeply
with your brand. At the top of the
funnel, we capture attention and build awareness. While further down, we guide potential customers
through deeper engagement, leading them to take actions
like visiting our shop, buying our products or
joining our mailing list. We'll refer to this marketing funnel concept
throughout the class, so spend some time thinking
about the journey you want your own followers
to take with your brand, and get used to thinking of
social media engagement as the first step into a deeper relationship
with your brand, rather than as an end in itself. For more info on how to write
your social media bios, read this Brand Watch guide. It's really in depth, and
there are examples of lots of different profiles
and bios to inspire you. You now know how to craft compelling social media
bios that are concise, engaging, and on brand. By following a simple formula
focusing on your audience, highlighting what
makes you unique, offering proof and ending
with a persuasive CTA, you can create bios that make a strong first impression and guide followers down
your marketing funnel. Take a look at your
own profiles and bios. Which of the techniques we've covered in this
lesson might make them more engaging or more
likely to prompt action? Make a few tweaks to your bios based on what
you've learned and see what difference it can make to your engagement and
conversion rates. There's space in your Workbook to work through your ideas. Now it's time to
take a closer look at each of the biggest, most popular social
media platforms. We'll explore what makes
each one unique and how to write for them authentically
and effectively. I recommend watching
all these lessons, even if you don't write
for every platform, because the techniques and
tips are transferable to other platforms and marketing
channels. Let's go.
5. Facebook: Facebook, the OG
social platform, a place to engage, entertain, and grow your audience with posts that grab your
reader's attention. By the end of this lesson, you'll have learned
three ways you can hook your target audience's
attention on Facebook to help you stand out from the crowd on
this busy network. Facebook is a social network
for personal life sharing, connecting with friends and discovering news and
branded content. With its diverse demographic increasingly skewing
towards older users, content varies from
personal anecdotes to commercial posts. Short and impactful posts of
around 40 to 80 characters, which incorporate one or two
targeted hashtags work well. Grabbing your
audience's attention quickly on Facebook
is especially important because
Facebook's algorithm favors content that gets
immediate engagement. So attention grabbing posts reach a wider audience
and get more visibility. Another important point
about Facebook is that it dislikes links
to outside content. If your post includes a link, it's less likely to be seen by your followers unless
you pay for an ad. Posts with content
that keeps users on Facebook get
better visibility. For that reason, Urban Barista made a video about
their new coffee blend, and the initial CTA for the post is to encourage people
to watch the video. This is going to
build awareness of both the brand and
their new product and lead to engagement
and more visitors to the shop and the website. Let's start with a little tip drawn from the world
of print media. When you know that the best
performing Facebook posts are between just 40 and
80 characters each, it can make it easier to write them if you think of
them as headlines. They're about the same
length, after all, and have a similar job
to do as headlines, ie, get the reader's attention and encourage them to spend
time with our content. Headlines are usually written in title case with the main
words in them capitalized. This is a technique
that can work brilliantly on
social posts, too, because sentences written
in title case are more attention grabbing than those written in sentence case. Let's take Urban
Baristas post as an example. I'm going to start by writing a super short and
punchy post for them that's just 78 words long and encourages people
to watch the video. Now I'm going to use a tool
called Title Case Converter, which does exactly what it says. It converts your text
into title case. It's quick, easy, and
incredibly accurate. It's just another one of those handy little
tools that you can tuck in your writer's toolkit and it will make life that bit easier. Now we have our title case post, and I think you'll
agree that the title case version is more attention grabbing and bolder than the sentence case version. Just one thing to
mention, please don't capitalize all text. It makes you look shouty
and desperate and it's more likely to put readers
off than engage them. Next up, magic numbers. What exactly are magic numbers? Well, the good news
is that any number is magic when it's used in
a short post like this. Human beings, for some reason, are naturally drawn to numbers, and including one or two
(or any other number!) in your post is such a
cheap and easy way to boost its engagement. There is one caveat, though. You need to write the numbers as numerals rather than words. So not like this, but like this. Another piece of good
news - writing numbers as numerals also keeps
your character count down, so it's a win-win situation. Our next technique comes
courtesy of Sprout Social. They're a company
that helps people connect with customers
on social media, so they know what they're doing. Let's look at their
Facebook feed. Learn how to develop influence and marketing strategy
for your company. To understand UX, you must step
into your customer's shoes. Challenge and
strengthen your ideas, then prepare for
leadership buy in. Repeat after us,
Your worth is not measured by the decisions
your brand makes. What do all these posts have
in common? It's the word YOU. The vast majority of Sprout Social's posts take the reader as the
starting point. They're not talking about
themselves or about customers generally or
stating an opinion. They're making it very
clear what their content means for the reader and why
they should engage with it. Here's just one way
we can introduce the word into Urban Barisa's post. It's such a simple technique, but it's made such a difference. This lesson covered three ways to grab attention on Facebook, using title case for headlines, incorporating magic numbers
to boost engagement, and directly addressing
your audience with you to create a
personal connection. By applying these tactics, you'll be able to create short, impactful posts
that stand out on Facebook's busy platform
and drive engagement. Which of these techniques
resonated with you the most? Put your learning into action in your Workbook by writing
a Facebook post for your brand or personal page using one of the strategies
from this lesson. You're already making
great progress. I can't wait to
see how your posts perform and the
engagement they generate.
6. Instagram: Instagram is a top
platform for brand growth, where visual content
creates great aesthetics, but engaging copy is what will help you achieve your
marketing goals. In this lesson, you'll learn three methods for
making your copy more engaging to forge
stronger connections with your Instagram audience. Instagram is an image
driven platform where users share
photos and videos. It appeals to a
broad audience with Millennials and Gen Z
forming its core user base. Content ranges from
polished photographs to casual stories and
short video reels. Ideal post captions
are succinct, about 138 to 150 characters, although you have up to 2,200 characters at your disposal. To boost engagement, use nine to 11 well
chosen hashtags. My first tip for writing
engaging Instagram copy is to make your captions
and images work in harmony. Too often, post captions are unrelated or
contradictory to the image. The two must work together, like in the case of Innocent, which does this
exceptionally well. Their feed is full of bright and beautiful
photos of their products. And what I particularly love is the way the images and
captions work together. The images themselves
often include copy, either on the bottles
or printed out, which grabs your attention and creates a sense of intrigue, prompting you to
read the caption. Look at this post. Not only am I intrigued by the color of
Innocent's fancy new smoothie, I'm also keen to find out
what the Blue Card is, and the caption follows up on that intrigue by
answering my questions. The image I'm working with for Urban Barista's Insta Post has an element of
intrigue to it, too. Coffee lovers seeing this image on their Instagram feed are likely to wonder what
that special coffee in the fancy carafe is. Adding a small amount of text to this image can
increase the intrigue, prompting viewers to read the caption to learn
more about the new brew. We can enhance this effect
by making the text dynamic. Using a free image
editor like Canva, we can animate the
text on our image, then save and upload
it as a video or gift. This dynamic text is a powerful tool in creating
successful content on Instagram because
it quickly captures attention and effectively
conveys your message. Additionally, dynamic text is
valuable because it ensures your message gets across even when viewers have
sound turned off, a common setting for
social media videos. This feature also increases accessibility for people
with hearing loss, making your content
more inclusive. Next, I'd like to
talk about one of the most powerful
copywriting tools of all customer focused content. This involves featuring
your customers stories and experiences with
your product or service. Instagram is the perfect
platform for this because it's so visual and because your posts can be just
a little bit longer. Not that this type of content
has to be long winded. Look at Specsavers
Instagram feed. It's devoted to
Specsavers customers wearing Specsavers glasses, and each caption offers a mini insight into their
lives and the products. To create this type of
content in your marketing, take inspiration from what
Specsavers have done by letting your customers
experiences speak for themselves. It's a clever way of showcasing your product or service without
making it all about you. There are any number of
ways we could incorporate customer stories into
our Urban Barista feed. For example, we
could take photos of customers enjoying their coffee
and share their stories, highlighting their
favorite drinks, the experience they had or
featuring their feedback. This turns authentic
customer experiences into powerful content
that promotes the brand. Think about how
you might explore your followers' experience
of your brand. As long as you make
it all about people, you really can't go wrong. Let's head back to our
Urban Barista post, and a little tip for formatting your text to make it more
readable and inviting. This big block of
text is a bit boring. Look how much more accessible it becomes when we add
a few line breaks. It's well worth the
extra effort to get a post that's infinitely more
eye catching and readable. Finally, staying up to date
with algorithm changes and new features is important
for all social platforms, but perhaps even more
vital on Instagram, where things evolve
especially quickly. To stay updated, regularly check Instagram's official blog and follow social
media news websites like Social Media Today. You can also follow
experts on social media, join webinars or online courses, and subscribe to newsletters
from trusted sources. We'll talk more about keeping
on top of changes and trends in the evolve and grow
lesson later in the class. In this lesson, you
learned three methods to make your Instagram
copy more engaging, making captions and
images work together, incorporating customer stories
for authentic content, and improving readability
through line breaks. By using these strategies, you'll create compelling
posts that capture attention, enhance engagement, and build stronger connections with
your Instagram audience. And there is so much more to learn about copywriting
for Instagram. If you'd like more
specialist training, join my dedicated class
on writing for Instagram. In it, we explore advanced
strategies, the latest trends, and specific techniques
for crafting Posts, Stories, and Reels. Don't go anywhere
just yet, though! We've still got
lots to learn as we work our way through the
other social platforms.
7. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the
powerhouse platform for professional networking
and brand credibility. Here, the spotlight is on persuasive copy that turns connections into opportunities. By the end of this
lesson, you'll have three new approaches for writing persuasive copy you
can use to write more credible professional
LinkedIn posts. LinkedIn serves as the go to professional networking
site where industry news, insights and career milestones are shared by a community
of professionals, job seekers, and B2B brands. Content is businesslike
and informative. While updates perform best at around 100 to 140 characters, longer form articles are
also becoming popular. Incorporating three to
five relevant hashtags can help in reaching
the right audience. To make your copy
persuasive on LinkedIn, it's important to remember
the platform's algorithm favors content that sparks conversations and interactions. And since posts often
linked to external content, compelling copy can drive traffic and engagement
more effectively. Let's bring Urban
Barista onto LinkedIn. This time I'm promoting their new blend to
trade customers, and the call to action is to get readers to click on the link to read a blog post on
Urban Barista's website. And this is an important point, especially if you're
intimidated by the very short posts I'm encouraging you to
write for social. Keep in mind that all your
post copy needs to do is encourage readers to
take the call to action. Once they've clicked through to your website or they're
watching your video, the post itself
has done its job, and your focus turns to the next action you want
your target to take. That's the marketing
funnel approach we talked about earlier. One way to make a
connection with your reader to persuade them to take you up on your CTA
is to ask them a question. Questions naturally
draw people in. Human psychology plays
a big role here. When we're asked a
question, our brain instinctively searches
for an answer. It triggers curiosity and
makes the reader pause if only for a second to consider
the question being posed. This brief moment of engagement is critical
on social media. One brand that uses questions effectively on LinkedIn
is Templafy. Just look at their
feed. How can? What now? Did you know? Are you wondering?
How do you manage? Have you considered?
Something like 80% of their posts start
with a question. It obviously works really well for them as a
conversion tool. But the type of question
you ask matters. Open ended questions
invite discussion and encourage comments which can significantly boost engagement. For example, how do you source the best coffee
beans for your shop? encourages followers to share their experiences or
opinions in the comments. On LinkedIn, where
content that sparks conversation is favored
by the algorithm, questions like this can help your post reach a
wider audience. Closed questions,
on the other hand, can drive quicker responses
such as likes or clicks. These work well when
the goal is to prompt action rather than a
detailed discussion. A post like, Are
you ready to try our latest blend? nudges readers towards the call to action, clicking the link, signing up, or exploring your content. And don't underestimate
the value of alternating between
question types. Mixing open and
closed questions, keeps your audience
engaged in different ways. It allows you to measure what resonates most with
your audience. Are they more likely to comment when you ask for
their opinions or do they prefer straightforward
action oriented questions? Over time, this insight helps you refine your
content strategy, making your linked in posts more effective and driving the
specific actions you want. Naming your target audience is a quick and easy way to make
your post more persuasive. To make your post
more persuasive. We touched on this technique
when we talked about the A for Audience in the
MART template earlier. Urban Barista's main audience is independent coffee
shops in Leicester. By adding those
keywords to our post, we're going to make
it really jump out at that target group
and stand out from all the other posts
on their feed that are less tailored
and more general. As always, it's all about writing with your reader
in mind and making your posts more about them
and less about your business. And the more specific you can be about your
target audience, the more personal and relevant
your posts will seem. Let's briefly switch
our attention to external linked content. You've probably noticed
already that with this kind of post on LinkedIn
and most other platforms, when you're linking out to
another destination online, the title of that content appears underneath or
alongside your post. If you're linking to your
own website's content, you can, of course,
choose that title. Now when you're writing and titling a blog post or webpage, how it looks when it's shared on social media might
not be front of mind. But if a lot of
your traffic comes from social media sources,
it really should be. That's because if
you're following my advice and keeping
your posts short, this title might make up
around 50% of your post copy. So it's important that those
two pieces of copy work well together and that
the content title follows on smoothly
from the post. For more help with
LinkedIn, I've included a link in the
class description to this article by the
brilliant Neil Patel that gives a hugely detailed, data driven breakdown of what
makes a successful post. You now know three approaches to writing persuasive
copy for LinkedIn, asking engaging questions, using specific keywords
to target your audience, and aligning post copy
with content titles. These techniques
will help you create credible professional posts that capture attention and
encourage interactions, driving valuable connections and opportunities on LinkedIn. Think about which approach aligns best with
your LinkedIn goals. Then in your Workbook, create a LinkedIn Post for your business or personal brand, applying one of the
techniques we've explored. You're doing great. Let's
keep that motivation going as we explore the next social
media platform on our list.
8. Twitter and Similar: Harness the power of brevity
on short form platforms. Even as the social media
landscape shifts and changes, your words can still
lead the conversation. By the end of this
lesson, you'll have a trio of hacks for keeping your copy clear and concise
on short form platforms, helping you get your message
across with speed and style. A short form or
microblogging platform is a social media site
designed for brief, concise updates or posts, often focusing on text, images, or short videos to encourage
quick interactions. Twitter was the original short form social
media platform. Since it became X, however, many competitors
have become popular, including Threads, Blue
Sky and Mastadon. It's an exciting
social media space that's rapidly changing. And regardless of which
short form platform you use, the same copywriting
principles apply. The most important thing is
to keep your posts brief, so you grab your target
audiences attention quickly in their crowded feed and make your message easy for them
to understand and share. First up, we need to condense our message into its
shortest possible form. Here's a short form post I've written for my client
Urban Barista. The CTA involves taking advantage of a limited
time special offer, so it should work well
on this platform type. It's already under
the character limit, but I really want to shorten it even more because
unsurprisingly, statistics show that short
posts get better engagement. To start, I'll strip out some
of the descriptive words, the adverbs and adjectives
that modify the nouns. For instance, let's
look at the phrase deliciously seductive new blend. We could reduce
this to seductive new blend or even
just new blend. Notice how it's getting
punchier and more direct. This kind of concise editing is key to maximizing engagement. Next, let's break a few
traditional grammar rules. This is especially effective on social because
it helps create a rhythm that mirrors the fast
paced nature of scrolling. It can also give your copy a conversational tone that feels more immediate
and relatable. Breaking the rules can add an element of
surprise or urgency, too, helping to keep
your reader engaged. Splitting long sentences
into fragments is a particularly effective way to create punchy social
media content. The eye is naturally drawn
to short bursts of text, making your message
easier to digest. Look at what I've done here
with the Urban Barista post. The original post
had three sentences. This version has seven. This is also an effective way to keep your posts short
because you can cut out some of the
connecting words like and, but, and is. Speaking of connecting words, have you spotted the other old fashioned grammar
rule I've broken? I've started a sentence with And. Now, this is an outdated rule that I do suggest you
break everywhere, not just on social, but it's particularly
useful in this context. A quick tip now that
involves hash tags, but it's not about
hashtag strategy. It's a way of using hashtags to highlight important
bits of text, and it can also help
you shorten your posts. On most short form platforms, there's no easy way
of making your text bold or italic or underlined. And that's a challenge
because it robs us of three useful ways to highlight bits of text and
make them stand out. But there's a way around
it, and that's to make a keyword or phrase
into a hashtag. When you do that, the hash tag is formatted in a
different color, and hey presto, it
stands out from the rest. In this case, by
hashtagging this week only, I've not only drawn attention to the time limited
nature of my offer, I've also shortened
my post even further. Just one piece of advice. If you use hashtags in this way, always click on the hashtag
to see what comes up just in case it's something
your company doesn't want to be
associated with. I want to show you
a super handy tool now from Influencer
Marketing Hub. Firstly, there's a
guide that tells you the optimum length for all the major social
media platforms. Secondly, there's the tool
itself where you can paste your post and get feedback on its length and the
number of hash tags. Tools like these should
only be used as guides. For example, it's good to mix longer and shorter posts
together on your feed, both for variety and because your more engaged readers will appreciate the more
in depth content. But on this occasion, I'm really keen to cut
my message down so that it hits that sweet
spot under 100 characters, where I'm going to
maximize engagement. So I've got a bit
more work to do. I'm going to switch
things around a little and lose
this whole section. That's better. Short, punchy, and we're still getting
our message across. And if you need a bit
of inspiration to help you craft short form posts, I could recommend visiting
Samsung Mobile's X feed. They're masters of
keeping things concise. This lesson explored
three hacks for writing clear and concise
short form content, condensing your message by
cutting unnecessary words, breaking a few grammar
rules for impact, and using hashtags to
highlight key phrases. By applying these strategies, you'll be able to craft punchy, engaging posts that stand out in busy feeds and
encourage interaction. Reflect on which of these
techniques most appeals to you. Write a quick post
in your Workbook for your chosen short form platform using one of the tactics
we've discussed. Your skills are getting
stronger with every lesson. Let's keep that momentum going as we move on to
the next platform.
9. YouTube: YouTube is the
premiere stage for long form video content
and deep engagement. On this platform, it's
your script writing skills that capture viewers and
turns them into subscribers. In this lesson, you'll
learn three script writing tips that will help
make your video script more effective and engaging on YouTube and anywhere else
you publish video content. YouTube is the largest video
sharing platform catering to a varied audience
with diverse content that includes tutorials,
flogs and reviews. The content here is more in depth with successful
videos typically ranging from a
quick 2 minutes to over 10 minutes for
more detailed subjects. For visibility, include up
to 15 descriptive hash tags in the video's description. Script writing skills
are important for YouTube because they help
you create engaging, well structured videos that
retain viewer attention, boost watch time, and improve your channel's ranking
in YouTube's algorithm. A script includes
the words spoken by someone to the camera
or as a voiceover. Although copywriting
often refers to text, spoken words are also an
important form of copy. So let's explore some script
writing techniques that will help you write
better scripts for all your video content. First, let's look at the
structure of your script. A script should have
a clear structure providing a pathway from
introduction to conclusion. This helps keep people
watching to the end. Start with a compelling hook to grab attention within
the first few seconds. This could be an intriguing
fact, a question, or a bold statement
that piques curiosity. After the hook, outline
the video's purpose, setting the viewers expectations for what they'll
learn or experience. Once the hook has
been established, create a logical
flow of information. Break down complex topics
into manageable segments. If your video has
multiple points to cover, use sign posts like first, next, or finally to
guide the audience. This step by step approach keeps the content organized
and prevents confusion. Consider the pacing
of your script. A good script has a rhythm, balancing fast paced sections with slower, more
reflective moments. To maintain engagement, vary your pace according
to the content. For instance, speed up when explaining a simple
concept and slow down when describing a complex
topic or telling a story. Add a summary or recap section
at the end of your script. This allows you to revisit the key points and reinforce
the video's main message. A good summary ties everything
together and can include a call to action such as encouraging
viewers to subscribe, like, or share the video. Finally, always include
a strong closing line. This could be a
motivational statement, a memorable quote, or a
simple See you next time. A well crafted closing leaves a lasting impression
and encourages viewers to return
for more content. Let's move on to a few tips for tone and language in scripts. When scripting for voice, use a conversational tone. Imagine you're
talking to someone. This helps the listener
connect with the material. Avoid formal language unless it suits the context or
your brand voice. Well, hey there is
a good example of a friendly, informal greeting. Long rambling sentences can
be difficult to follow. Keep sentences short and
straightforward like this to enhance clarity and keep your
listener's attention. Engage your audience by
speaking directly to them. Use words like you
and your to create a connection and
make the content feel more relevant
for the listener. Finally, contractions and
colloquial expressions can make the script
sound more natural. For example, use you'll instead of you will or that's
instead of that is. Next, a quick tip to refine your finished script and make the recording of it
a whole lot easier. Practice reading it out loud. This practice can help you
catch awkward phrasings or tongue twisters that you might not notice when
reading silently. I often include this exercise in my training sessions
with marketing teams. People feel pretty
silly at first, but they soon get
used to it when they realize how useful it is. Reading your draft
scripts out loud can also show up
opportunities to use devices like rhyme or alliteration
to spice up your text. And if you're new to YouTube and need some advice
on how to get started, take a look at this
YouTube Creators Guide. I recommend this resource to my clients who are setting up their YouTube
channels because it breaks everything
down very simply, and it's created
by YouTube itself, so it's always up to date. For inspo, watch a few of
Primal Video's YouTube uploads, especially if you write tutorial or explainer style videos. Their output is extremely
well crafted and consistent and follows all of the guidelines we've
covered in this lesson. Much of their content
is aimed at people who are using YouTube to
promote their brand, so it's useful from that
point of view, too. In this lesson, you learned
three script writing tips for creating
engaging YouTube content, structuring your script with a clear flow and
compelling hook, using a conversational
tone for relatability and refining your script through read aloud exercises to
catch awkward phrasing. By mastering these techniques, you'll craft scripts that
hold viewer attention and drive deeper engagement
on YouTube and beyond. Which of these script
writing techniques has the most potential
for your brand? Take a moment to draft a short YouTube script
in your Workbook using one or more of the
strategies from this lesson tailored to
your brand's message. Thank you for sticking
with this class and for all your
hard work so far. Let's move on to
the next platform.
10. TikTok: TikTok is a dynamic
playground for viral content and
explosive brand exposure. Here, copy meets creativity, and the right
storytelling skills can make your videos soar. By the end of this
lesson, you'll know powerful storytelling
techniques you can use to create short videos
for TikTok that keep viewers watching and
coming back for more. TikTok is a video focused
social networking service for short form videos. Its audience is mainly
younger people, including Gen Z and
younger Millennials. The content is generally
themed around creative, entertaining, and often trending or challenge based subjects. TikTok videos can be
up to a minute long, but the best performing
ones tend to be shorter - around 15 seconds. About three to five hashtags, including trending and niche
specific ones, is ideal. Storytelling skills are
incredibly useful for TikTok and other short video channels like YouTube Shorts and
Instagram Reels. That's because they
quickly help create a compelling narrative
that viewers can relate to or feel
emotionally invested in, which makes your content more memorable and likely
to be shared, increasing its reach
and engagement. The Quest Triumph
Reward template is a simple
storytelling structure. It's easy to use and helps create focused,
effective videos. Here's how it works. Start by stating a quest or problem that your
audience can relate to. This sets up the context and
hooks viewers' interest. In this case, Urban Barista is addressing the common
issue of struggling to find a good cup of
coffee in a world saturated with
weak bland bruise. Introduce your
product, service or idea as the triumphant
solution to the quest. Show it in action or explain
how it addresses the issue. Here, Urban Barista
is positioning their unique coffee blends as an antidote to franchised
coffee outlets. End by highlighting the rewards or benefits of the triumph. Focus on how it improves the situation or adds value
to the viewer's life. Potential Urban Barista
customers can imagine themselves enjoying a tasty cup of coffee
in stylish surroundings. A simple storytelling template or formula like this is great for TikTok because each step
can be a separate clip. This makes the content
digestible and direct. It's not intimidating to use, and helps you create focused, effective videos
that communicate clearly to your audience. You'll notice I've added captions to Urban
Barista's video. This is another excellent
way to make your content more accessible and
boost engagement. You can add captions
automatically to your TikTok videos
when you upload them. If you prefer more control over the appearance and timing, you can add them manually
using a free app like Capcut or paid for software
like Final Cut Pro. Dunkin is a real life
brand that's using TikTok very effectively and a good one to follow for TikTok inspo. Look at this post. It's what I call storytelling in a nutshell. They're highlighting how tasty their brownie batter
doughnuts are in such a simple visual way. Let's talk about content
types for TikTok. Their short format is
their biggest strength. It makes them perfect for
more casual behind the scenes style glimpses into
the life of your brand. From working closely
with brands, I found that sharing
personal anecdotes or mistakes really makes content
relatable and genuine. I once advised a
client to be more open about their missteps
on social media. We started with a
video where they shared a small but
honest mistake, and the response from the audience was
overwhelmingly positive. It turned out that showing their human side helped build a stronger connection
with their audience. You know, in the polished
world of social media, a touch of authenticity, like admitting "I messed up"
can be extremely refreshing. Look at this post by Sugar and
Sloth founder Anita Perry. She's used a minor error in
one of her key rings to build empathy and show the
love and attention that goes into
creating her products. It's a great example of turning a challenge into an opportunity. Interactive features
like polls, quizzes, and questions can engage your audience and give you an insight into what they like. This TikTok clip is a win-win for both Urban
Barista and their audience. Urban Barista gets valuable feedback on
customer preferences, and followers get their opinion
listened to by the brand. Since TikTok videos are brief, they're ideal for
time sensitive offers like flash sales and promotions, the short nature of
TikTok helps you create a sense of urgency
to act quickly. And it sounds cheesy, but so called
copywriting power words and phrases like Buy
now, Don't miss out. And Today only?
They're tried and tested and really do
encourage people to act, so don't be afraid to use them. Finally, regular
tips or challenges. These provide daily engagement that keeps your audience
coming back for more. This post encourages
followers to join in by tagging Urban Barista
in their own posts. The possibility of
getting featured on a business's page can
be very motivating. With all of the social platforms
we're looking at today, it's important to
keep up to date with changes to the
algorithms and features. A good way to stay
ahead of the curve is to follow the
platform's blog site. Here's TikTok's blog, and it
is full of useful articles, guides, and advice for people
using TikTok for business. You now know how to use the Quest Triumph Reward
template alongside captions and well chosen
varied content types to boost your TikTok
views and engagement. What kind of TikTok content
are you most keen to create? Maybe try sharing
a recent mistake with your audience to
see how they respond. Plan your next
video using one of the storytelling or creative
techniques we discussed. Use the outline in your
Workbook to stay organized. Stay playful and let
your creativity shine. You're doing so great. Stay tuned because we have a few more platform
specific lessons to go.
11. Pinterest: Pinterest is your visual
catalog of ideas where compelling captions
make your content findable and turn
inspo into action. In this lesson, you'll learn three tips drawn from
the discipline of search engine
optimization that you can use to write more
findable, clickable pins. Pinterest is a visual
discovery engine, perfect for finding
inspiration in areas like home,
style and recipes. It has a mainly female audience, and it's a great showcase for
visually appealing brands. Pins should be supported by detailed descriptions of
up to 500 characters. Keep hashtags relevant using
no more than 20 per Pin. It's so important to make
your Pins findable because Pinterest is essentially a
search engine like Google. And search engine optimized content appears much higher
up in search results. If you ignore SEO on Pinterest, you're essentially
shouting into the void. Let's start by talking about those all important keywords because if you can
get this part right, you're well on your way
to Pinterest success. Choose one or two keywords from the content you're
linking to from your Pin. This should be straightforward. The keywords should be
whatever the content is about. They should appear
in the title of the page and
throughout the copy. They are the words you're
expecting people to type into a search engine to
end up on that page. When you've identified
your keyword or words, you need to make
sure they appear consistently
throughout every piece of your Pinterest puzzle. Your keyword needs to be near the start of the
title of your Pin, near the start of
the Pin description, in the title and description of any boards you pin your Pin to, as well as in the
title and content and URL of the page
you're linking to. The Pinterest algorithm
looks for this consistency, so it knows your content
is genuinely about the subject being searched for and that you're not
just keyword stuffing. If I type a fairly open keyword like gluten free into Pinterest, I already know
without checking that all of these top
ranking results, the non sponsored ones, at least, have used
this technique. Otherwise, I wouldn't
be seeing them. Partake Foods is a brand that's mastered the art of making
their Pins findable. They use vibrant
recipe ideas alongside allergen friendly keywords to help people easily
find their content. This is a great example of how carefully
chosen keywords can improve your visibility
on Pinterest. My second Pinterest tip
is to avoid repeating exactly the same copy in your Pin title and
its description. A lot of people do this, and it's a missed opportunity
from the point of view of both SEO and
reader engagement. From an SEO standpoint, making your Pin description different from your
title gives you the opportunity to introduce secondary keywords
and key phrases. And when it comes to attracting and engaging
Pinterest searchers, using your description
to build on the information in your
title is an easy win. Look at these two
Urban Barista Pins. They both link to
the same webpage and give similar information, but the description of
the one on the right picks up where the
title leaves off, just like it would in a blog
post or newspaper article. It makes the Pin more
inviting and clickable. Once you've nailed the SEO on your Pin and it's
showing up in searches, you want to make sure
people are clicking on it and taking your
call to action. Pinterest tactic number three
is to include one or more of these tried and tested engagement
boosters in your Pin, depending on what
you want your reader to do as a result of seeing it. Including your business name in the first sentence
of the description leads to a 54% higher conversion
rate for email sign ups. Meanwhile, using clear
actionable wording and a strong call to action
increases email sign ups by 70% and online sales by 6%. And adding a price
to Pin titles or descriptions increases
sales by 28%. Those are three simple
ways to improve your Pin copy that could lead to a significant increase
in conversions. There are plenty of
online resources to help you up your
Pinterest game. My favorite is Tailwind. Now, if you're
active on Pinterest, you can't fail to have
heard of Tailwind. It's the leading Pinterest
scheduling tool. But Tailwind also has a
comprehensive help section, and they've worked directly
with Pinterest on this, so the information is always
accurate and up to date. And it doesn't
matter whether you subscribe to Tailwind or not. The guidance is
just as relevant, so it's worth checking out. This lesson covered
three key SEO driven tips for writing more findable and clickable Pins on Pinterest, using relevant
keywords consistently, differentiating
your Pin title and description for better
SEO and engagement, and incorporating
your business name, a clear CTA or pricing
information to boost conversions. By optimizing your Pins, you'll make your content
more discoverable and actionable on Pinterest's
visual search engine. Think about how you can apply these strategies to enhance
your Pinterest presence. In your Workbook,
write a title and description for a new Pin using the methods we've covered. You've come so far. Keep up the great work as we move
on to the next platform.
12. Reddit: On Reddit, valuable
content is king. Keeping it meaningful
and genuine is at the heart of success on
this unique platform. In this lesson, we'll explore how to craft copy
that adds value and resonates with Reddit diverse and often
discerning user base. By the end, you'll
be equipped to create posts and comments that contribute to the community while subtly
promoting your brand. Reddit is a vast forum
where communities, known as Subreddits come together to discuss
a wide range of topics from tech and science to hobbies
and entertainment. With an audience that values authenticity and
insightful contributions, Reddit is ideal for engaging in meaningful conversations and
sharing expert knowledge. Posts should be concise, but informative, typically
ranging 150-300 words. Avoid excessive use of hashtags, focus on clarity and
relevance instead, as Reddit search
and discovery are driven more by community
interaction than by tags. You might not think of Reddit as a social media platform
or a marketing channel, but it can be both, and more so now than ever. Recent changes in
Google's algorithm have really boosted Reddit
visibility and search results, leading to a surge in traffic. This growing visibility makes it an increasingly important space for marketers to consider when building a
social media presence. Check out this Zapier article for more information about
that Google algorithm change and a detailed
breakdown of exactly why Reddit should be on
every brand's list of marketing channels. Let's start by understanding
Reddit's unique culture. Unlike other social networks, Redditors are highly protective of their space and can be quick to call out anything
that seems like advertising or self promotion. It's also important to
research and understand the specific culture of each Subreddit you intend
to contribute to. Spend time reading posts, comments, and community
guidelines before jumping in. This will help you
write content that fits naturally within
the conversation. Before posting, engage
with the Subreddit by upvoting content and leaving genuine comments
on others' posts. This helps you build
a reputation and understand the
community's expectations, which is critical for
writing posts that resonate. When commenting, focus
on adding value, whether through information,
humor or a new perspective. For example, Urban
Barista could contribute to the coffee Subreddit
by sharing insights on brewing techniques
or answering questions about coffee origins rather
than pushing a product. The key is to add meaningful
value to the conversation, especially at this early stage. Once you're comfortable
contributing to conversations
through comments, you can move on to
writing your own posts, aim to start a conversation rather than just
broadcasting a message. Redditors appreciate
content that's meaningful, straightforward, honest,
and often informal. Unlike the polished
brand centric tone you might use on
other platforms, Reddit calls for a more conversational and
humble approach. Avoid corporate jargon and be transparent about
your intentions. Use a tone that feels like
you're speaking with peers or fellow enthusiasts rather
than at an audience. Keep it conversational
and don't be afraid to show some personality. If you're sharing a
promotional link, be upfront about it and explain why it's relevant
to the community. Mint Mobile has embraced
this approach by sharing engaging and
valuable content with their target audience. Instead of relying on
direct promotions, they join in on relevant Subreddits answering questions
about mobile plans, sharing tips, and engaging
with customer feedback. This approach not
only builds trust, but also allows them to subtly
highlight their product, helping them stand out
without over marketing. Asking for advice, opening yourself up to criticism
and respecting the expertise of your
audience are excellent starting points for writing
a successful reeditPost. For example, Urban Barista
might create a post title. We've experimented with
a new brewing method. Anyone else tried this? This invites community
members to share their experiences and fosters
a genuine conversation. Finally, let's talk about
leveraging Reddit for subtle brand promotion without
alienating the community. The key to promoting your
brand on reedit is subtlety. Direct advertising usually
doesn't go over well, but if you position your brand as a
knowledgeable contributor, you can build credibility
and trust over time. That's why it's so
important to join in relevant discussions and
provide value first. Promotion should be
secondary and only when it feels natural within
the conversation. Use the 80 20 rule. 80% of your contributions should be adding value
to the community, and only 20% should
be promotional. Even when promoting, make
sure it's relevant to the discussion and
offer something beneficial to the
Subreddit members. Urban Barista could
share a story about sourcing coffee beans
from a specific region, subtly mentioning
their products while focusing on the story and its
relevance to the Subreddit. In this lesson, I shared
advice on how to write authentic and
valuable content on Reddit by understanding
its culture, contributing meaningfully
to conversations, and avoiding overt
self promotion. By adding genuine insights and using a conversational tone, you can engage Reddit discerning
audience, build trust, and subtly promote your brand, while respecting the
community's guidelines and expectations. Reflect on how your brand might benefit from Reddit
unique culture. Draft a few potential Reddit for your chosen Subreddit
in your Workbook, keeping in mind the tips
we've covered in this lesson. As you now know, engaging in meaningful conversations are key to success on Reddit and they're also important
on other platforms. That's why we're taking a
closer look at the art of conversation in our next
lesson. Stay tuned.
13. Conversations: Authentic conversations are
at the heart of social media, and nowhere is that more
obvious and more important to remember than when you're interacting with
someone directly. In this lesson, you'll learn three tips for
managing comments, replies and direct messages (DMs) on social media
to help maintain an authentic brand voice
while maximizing engagement. Comments are public responses. Replies are threaded
conversations, and DMs are private messages. A focus on authenticity is important in all of these
because it builds trust, fosters genuine connections
with your audience, and enhances your brand's
reputation by showing you genuinely care and
value their engagement. Before we get into the specifics of writing in conversations, let's bridge the gap between customer service
and copywriting. While excellent
customer service is about meeting needs
and resolving issues, effective copywriting
in your replies is about how you communicate
those solutions. The two go hand in hand. Great customer service
sets the foundation and well crafted responses reinforce your brand's
authenticity and care. So for this lesson's
free resource, I've picked this
article from Hopper, which explores the subject of customer service on social media and contains loads of tips and inspiration from
successful brands. Now let's explore
how you can make your replies both efficient
and personalized, starting with a strategy
for varying your responses. If you tend to get a lot
of people interacting with your social posts with similar
questions or responses, it can be tempting
to reply using the same copy and paste
reply to save time. The problem is,
it's really obvious to anyone looking through your feed that
you're doing this, and it can make your
brand seem insincere. But starting from scratch
every time isn't much better. It's time consuming,
increases the chances of typos and makes it easier to
accidentally go off message, especially when
handling complaints. So what's the solution? I've got a tried
and tested approach that keeps your replies varied while still making the process quick
and error free. First, consider creating a
bank of reply variations. Let's say Urban Barista often receives questions about the origin of their coffee beans. Instead of copying and pasting
the same reply every time, they can create
multiple versions of a response that all
convey the same message, but with slight
differences in wording. Here are some examples. Once you've created
these alternatives, you can quickly
choose the one that best fits the tone
of the conversation. It keeps your replies fresh and prevents them from
sounding robotic. To make this even easier, you can use an online thesaurus
to help with variations. Here's a fun fact. I
actually find writing these variations
quite therapeutic like doing a crossword
or a Sudoku, but that's probably just me! Another tip is to tailor
your responses by further considering the
customer's tone and formality. If someone writes in
a more casual style, you might choose a less formal
version of your response. On the flip side, if
they are more formal, you can match that
tone to show you're paying attention to how
they're communicating. Adding a personal touch can
also make a big difference. If a customer's first name is apparent from their username, include it in your response. For example, instead
of just saying, thanks for reaching
out, you could say, thanks for reaching out, Sarah. It's a small change, but it makes your reply
feel much more tailored. You might also consider
using I instead of we and adding your own first name or initials at the
end of your message. This is especially effective
in one on one interactions, like in DMs or when responding
to more complex questions. It reminds the person
on the other end that there's a real human
being behind the account, which helps build
trust and rapport. Finally, don't forget to mix things up
occasionally by adding a touch of humor or a light hearted comment
where appropriate. For example, if Urban Barista is responding to a compliment
about their coffee, they might say, thanks. We think it's 'brewtiful' too. A little bit of
personality can go a long way in making your brand
feel more relatable. Take a look at Dove on
Instagram for inspo on responding to comments in a
thoughtful and positive way. The beauty brand is
excellent at both answering tricky
inquiries effectively and engaging in warm light
hearted interactions that foster a strong
sense of community. Another essential
aspect of managing social media conversations
is active listening. This means truly paying attention to what
your audience is saying beyond just responding to their comments or questions. When you respond, consider
asking for a When you respond, consider asking a
follow up question or prompting further engagement. For instance, if someone
mentions they love a particular Urban
Barista blend, you might reply with, that's
one of our favorites, too. How do you usually brew it? This not only shows you're interested in
their experience, but also encourages them to share more, deepening
the conversation. You now know my
three top tips for managing social media
comments, replies and DMs, varying your responses
to avoid repetition, matching the tone
of your audience, and personalizing replies with names and thoughtful details. By practicing active listening and engaging in
meaningful dialogue, you'll foster
genuine connections, build trust, and strengthen your brand's reputation
for authenticity. Consider how you can make your
social media conversations more authentic and impactful. Put your learning into
action by drafting a few alternate responses to common comments you
get on your content. There's space in your
Workbook for your ideas. You're doing fantastic, just a few more lessons to go and you'll have all
the tools you need.
14. Cross Platform Strategies: Cross platform copywriting is
the art of adaptation where consistency and
creativity ensure your message
resonates everywhere. In this lesson, you'll learn to tailor your copywriting for various social media platforms without losing
your unique voice. By the end, you'll be able
to adapt your content for different audiences and formats so that your messaging
remains clear, engaging and on brand. Let's start by talking
about repurposing content. This is about working
smarter, not harder. It extends the life
of your content by tailoring it to different
formats and audiences. In conversations with clients
about social media posting, the focus often centers on
creating fresh content. They describe feeling like
a hamster on a wheel, constantly struggling to keep up with social media's demands. But when we examine
that new content, whether it's blog
posts, images, videos, or product
descriptions, we often find they could reduce
it by up to 50%. The trick is to
redirect their efforts towards creatively repurposing
what they already have. For example, Urban
Barrista's blog post about their new coffee blend could be broken down into
bite size tips for a short form platform, turned
into an infographic for Instagram or expanded into a detailed discussion
on LinkedIn. Each platform engages with
the content differently, but the core message
remains the same. Repurposing content
is efficient, allowing you to maximize
the volume of your work. If you feel like you're
on that hamster wheel, it's time to rethink
your strategy. Consider how much
time and effort you could save by focusing more on repurposing and less on
constantly creating new content. One thing to avoid is cross posting exactly the
same posts across platforms. While it might seem
like a timesaver, it can lead to mistakes like asking LinkedIn
followers to upvote you, which can come across
as unprofessional. Each platform has its own style and audience expectations, so it's important to tailor
your posts accordingly. Instead of cross posting, customize your message
for each platform, keeping your brand
voice consistent, but adjusting to fit the
platform's unique vibe. Now let's talk about reposting. Don't be afraid to repost similar content on
the same platform. Brands often worry about
repeating themselves, fearing their audience will get bored of seeing
the same message. But your followers' social
feeds are incredibly busy, and most are scrolling
at lightning speed. Many will miss your
post the first time around due to the sheer
volume of content. While you shouldn't overwhelm your audience with
identical posts daily, there is value in strategically
repeating your message. Reposting popular content
like a well received image or a key announcement reinforces your message and increases the chances it will be
seen and remembered. Just because you're
familiar with your content doesn't
mean your followers are. So give yourself permission to revisit and recycle
your best work. Now that we've covered
the benefits of repurposing and reusing content, let's revisit tone of voice. You previously chose two or
three adjectives to describe your brand voice to guide you as you wrote posts
for your campaign. Revisit those words now as
we explore how to maintain a consistent brand voice across social media while adapting your tone to suit each platform. Your brand voice
is the personality that comes through in
all your communications. It makes your posts
recognizable and relatable. However, while your voice
should remain consistent, the tone can vary
depending on the platform. For instance, Urban Barista
might adopt a warm, inviting tone on Instagram, reflecting the platform's
casual nature. On LinkedIn, the tone might shift to be
more professional, aligning with a business
focused audience. Maintaining this balance where your brand voice remains intact, but adapts its tone to fit each platform is key to successful cross
platform copywriting. Think of it like speaking different languages in
different countries. The underlying
message is the same, but the way you convey it changes depending
on your audience. One quick and effective way to make sure your
tone is right for each platform is to create a simple tone of
voice checklist. Before posting, ask yourself
a few key questions. Does this post sound conversational
enough for Instagram? Is it professional
enough for LinkedIn? Am I keeping it concise and impactful for short
form platforms? This quick check helps you
adjust your tone on the fly, ensuring your message always feels right for the platform. Monzo, the UK based
digital bank, excels at cross
platform strategy. On Instagram, they focus on
visual lifestyle content. LinkedIn showcases a
more professional tone with thought leadership
and fin tech insights, and YouTube features
in depth tutorials. Across all platforms,
Monzo adapts its tone to fit the audience while maintaining a
consistent brand voice. This lesson covered how to craft cross platform copy
that stays true to your brand's voice while adapting to each platform's
audience and format. You now know how to repurpose
content to save time, avoid cross posting
identical messages, and maintain a consistent
tone across platforms. By tailoring your
copy to each channel, you'll maximize engagement and ensure your message
resonates everywhere. Think about how these
strategies can help you build a cohesive presence
across platforms. Check out the Tone of Voice
Checklist in your Workbook, adapt and expand it
to suit your brand and use it when publishing the posts for your
class project. Let's keep the energy going as we get ready for
the final lessons.
15. Evolve and Grow: You're writing for platforms and audiences that are
constantly evolving, so you need to be agile and informed if you're
to stay relevant. In this lesson, you'll learn
approaches for keeping your social media copywriting fresh and your presence focused. Staying up to date
with algorithm changes and new features is crucial for all platforms because things
evolve super fast. Take Facebook and
LinkedIn, for example, these platforms frequently
update their algorithms, affecting how content is
prioritized in our feed. Or think about how TikTok continuously adds new
features like filters, interactive things, shopping integrations to
keep that platform engaging. To stay updated, regularly check each platform's
official blog and follow more general social
media news websites like Social Media Today. You can also follow experts like Neil Patel on social media, join webinars or online
courses and subscribe to newsletters from trusted sources like the Social Shepherd. Next up, experiment and analyze. It's important to keep trying new things with your
social content because your audience and
the algorithms and the outside world are
constantly changing. What worked for you a
couple of months ago might not work tomorrow. Use each platform's
analytics tools like Facebook insights and YouTube Analytics to track how people are viewing and
interacting with your posts. Keep an eye on key
performance indicators such as engagement rates, follower growth, and the
reach of your posts. Analyzing these metrics
helps you understand what content resonates with your audience and what doesn't. So you can refine your approach and use your time and
energy more effectively. For example, Urban Barista might experiment with different calls
to action on their posts, varying between asking
people to comment, share, visit the website, or interact with specific platform features. Over time, they'll
build up a good idea of what their followers respond
to best on each platform. You can also straight up ask your followers what kind
of content they want. Not only does this help
you improve your output, but it also builds a
strong community and shows your followers that you value their input and are interested
in what they have to say. Keep an eye on your competition for ideas and inspiration. Follow your competitors
on social media and see what kinds of posts get a
lot of likes and comments. Notice any special campaigns or promotions they're running. Also, see what kind of
new features they might be using like Instagram's
latest story tools, linked in polls or
YouTube shorts, and think about how you can use those features in your own way. Part of long term growth on social media involves
anticipating trends and preparing content
that aligns with those trends before
they become mainstream. This requires you
to stay updated with not only platform
specific trends, but also general cultural ones. Use this information
to craft copy that feels fresh and
ahead of the curve. For example, anticipating future trends and
audience preferences, Urban Barista might move towards more
inclusive messaging, tapping into an
upcoming trend and diversifying its customer base. You should also monitor popular culture and
language trends to understand what phrases might resonate with your audience. Using turns of phrase
and abbreviations like TFW (that feeling when)
and 'current mood', can be a smart strategy
in your social copy, especially if you're
targeting a younger audience. These expressions are part of the casual conversational
style that's popular on social media and can make your posts feel more
relatable and timely. However, it's important to use these phrases appropriately, so they fit with your
overall brand voice and audience expectations. If they feel forced
or out of place, they might alienate users who don't understand the references. And if you don't belong to the demographic whose language
you're trying to emulate, there's always the
risk that you're going to come across
as inauthentic. So proceed with caution. In addition to
established platforms, it's worth keeping an eye on emerging platforms
like Mastodon, B Real, and the decentralized
social networks that are gaining traction. These platforms often have different user bases
and engagement rules, offering fresh opportunities
for early adopters. The North Face took this
approach when it quickly adapted to TikTok's
rise in popularity, initially focusing on
traditional platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, they shifted gears as
TikTok gained traction, realizing it was the
perfect space to reach a younger, adventure
loving audience. Instead of simply
reposting content from other platforms,
they created short, energetic videos that embraced TikTok's unique
style using trends, challenges, and user generated content to promote
outdoor exploration. By embracing TikTok's creative,
fast paced environment, the North Face kept
their messaging fresh, grew their following,
and engaged with a new generation of
outdoor enthusiasts. This lesson focused on how to keep your social
media copywriting fresh and your strategy adaptable in a constantly
evolving landscape. By staying informed through research, analyzing
your performance, experimenting with new content, and keeping an eye on
trends and competitors, you'll be able to refine your
approach and stay ahead. This agility will help
your brand stay relevant, engaging and focused
across platforms. Which of these
strategies will you try first to stay ahead of
social media changes? Start simple by filling out the short and simple
action plan in your Workbook to set your
intentions for future action. In the next lesson,
we'll recap what we've learned and talk
about our class project. This is where we solidify our learning and
put it into action, so don't even think
about skipping it!
16. Next Steps: Thank you for choosing this
class, and congratulations! You've learned
practical techniques you can use straight away to craft engaging and
effective content for your social media posts. Now it's time to put what
you've learned into action by completing and sharing
your class project. Choose a message or content you want to promote
on social media. It could be a product, service, landing page, or video. Keep it reflective of the kind of content you usually post. Apply the techniques you've
learned in this class to posts for two
or more platforms. Once complete,
upload your series of posts as your project. For inspiration, check
out my example project. If you need feedback
on something specific or have any questions,
please do reach out. I love reading your projects, and I can't wait to see how
you use your new skills. I really hope this class
has been helpful and gives you the tools to
reach your marketing goals. Before we wrap up,
I just want to say, especially if you're
a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, you don't have to do everything we've talked about
today all at once. We've covered so
much in this class, and it's easy to feel like
you need to implement every tip on every
platform right away. But please give yourself
permission to take it slow. Focus on what feels
most useful to you, set yourself small,
manageable goals and know that even little steps
can make a big difference. I look forward to
your honest feedback to help me improve
future classes. Your review will also
help other students find Skillshare classes that will suit their learning needs. Thank you so much
for being part of this positive,
supportive community. Now, what would you
like to learn next? For an overview of
the fundamentals of online copywriting, my Digital Copywriting
Basics class is packed with hands on tips, strategies and tools to
sharpen your writing. Or maybe you're ready
to further explore the marketing gold mine
that is Instagram. Sky high engagement rates make Insta the best platform for businesses to actively connect with their audience
through persuasive copy. My dedicated class
will show you how. Visit my profile page to
see my full collection of Skillshare copywriting
classes and hit Follow for updates
on new classes. Thank you again for
joining me today. It really is a
privilege to be able to support you on your professional
journey in this way. Enjoy the rest of your
day and enjoy using your new social media
copywriting skills.
Ruth Clowes, Professional Copywriter
