Kristine
Writing copy for social media ads initially sounds like an easy task, especially compared to creating long-form blog posts or unique Instagram captions. In reality, writing social media copy is anything but simple. Excellent copy is rare because it’s so difficult to strike the right balance amongst several important factors. Great social media ads can:
- Maintain a conversational tone
- Capture the target audience’s attention
- Enhance the brand’s voice
- Promote a product or service (without being overly “sales-y”)
- Persuade people to engage with the business with a convincing CTA
That’s a lot of requirements for a single Facebook post to hit! But with consumers facing dozens of new ads every day, making your copy stand out can make a huge difference when it comes to attracting new customers, building a loyal following, and increasing your profits.
In this guide, we’ll cover the best digital marketing practices to help you ward off copywriter’s block in 2022 and start boosting traffic in no time!
Copywriting for Social Media Ads vs SEO
Although they both share common goals, copywriting for social media differs from SEO copywriting in a few key ways. The main difference is that writing copy for social media is about boosting customer engagement, whereas SEO copywriting is geared towards finding and implementing relevant keywords to drive traffic. When writing content for social media, brands look for the following signs that their messages are effective:
- Shares/retweets
- Comments
- Likes
- Followers
- Click-through-rates
- Mentions
- Branded hashtags
Creating copy for your social channels should be approached slightly differently than writing SEO content. On social media, you’re aiming to reach potential customers and begin building valuable long-term relationships. SEO copywriting requires you to choose the best keywords and phrases to improve your company’s spot on a search engine results page.
The main thing to remember is that social media users are not necessarily searching for a specific solution or product, in contrast to a search engine user. Therefore, the best way to attract followers on social media is by being genuine, relatable, and entertaining. In the next section, we’ll get into actionable steps you can take to start improving your social media copy ASAP.
Best Practices for Social Media Copywriting
Copywriters are often advised to rely on the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) formula. All types of advertisers use this technique because it’s both easy to remember and exceedingly effective on the minds of consumers. Here’s how it works:
- Problem: Identify a specific problem that your target customer may be dealing with.
- Agitate: Describe how the problem inconveniences or frustrates the customer, or how the issue could get worse if the person doesn’t find a solution.
- Solve: Present your product or service as a remedy for the customer’s problem. Highlight the key benefits of choosing your solution and how your brand differs from the competition.
With the PAS formula in mind, you can start writing snappy, attention-grabbing ad copy for all of your brand’s social media platforms with ease. Next, add in the following best practices to start seeing real results from your social media campaigns!
1. Encourage conversation
If you want to boost engagement and foster communication between your brand and your followers, make the first move by creating a conversation starter. You can ask for feedback about a product or trend, seek your followers’ opinions, or simply say that you’re looking forward to reading through the comments. If you don’t encourage conversation, your followers won’t be as likely to interact with your brand.
2. Don’t 👏 ignore 👏 emojis 👏
Want your ad copy to stand out? Throwing in some well-placed emojis can really draw readers in and capture their attention more than text-only copy. You can add in emojis to specific phrases or terms you want to emphasize, or even substitute bullet points for relevant emojis. It’ll make your copy more fun to read, and your brand will seem more relatable to your audience.
3. Keep it casual
If your approach to social media is similar to writing a professional email or report, you would likely benefit from adopting a more casual tone. People go on social media to be entertained, not necessarily to be educated. If you share informational content, it’s important to make it interesting to read and easy to digest to cater to the largest possible audience.
When writing copy for social media ads, imagine that you’re writing to a friend. You don’t always have to use proper grammar or complete sentences to get your point across effectively. Feel free to be humorous, respond thoughtfully to comments, and share personal anecdotes. If your audience feels like they can relate to your brand and look forward to seeing new posts from you, you’re well on your way to cultivating long-term customer relationships.
4. Utilize UGC
User-generated content (UGC) is incredibly valuable for businesses and potential customers. Online shoppers and social media users are (understandably) very wary about unsubstantiated claims from brands. For instance, an ad campaign for a new clothing line will be nowhere near as effective as a trusted influencer sharing a video of them purchasing and trying on the clothes themselves. Sharing content from verified buyers reviewing your products is a great way to increase brand awareness, build consumer trust, and find new brand ambassadors.
5. Be consistent
Brands using social media have to be consistent in two key ways. First, it’s important to have a consistent brand voice across all social media channels. If you have different people managing each profile without a copywriting guideline, you’ll inevitably end up with inconsistent messaging, which can make people question how legitimate your business is. If you don’t have an editorial guideline for your marketing team, start considering what kind of persona you want your brand to convey.
Secondly, social media marketing requires consistency. Updating your page sporadically or going several days without responding to comments won’t do your brand any good. Try to create a consistent upload schedule for social media posts and do your best to reply to your followers in a timely manner.
6. Always include a CTA
Make sure you never leave your audience hanging after they finish reading your social media copy. Include a link to another resource, ask readers to share their thoughts, or encourage them to complete another action.
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