March 31, 2014
Whether it’s writing headlines for blog posts or creating content for Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, the key to creating great content is testing.
Test everything – from the topic, to the length of post, to the image and time of day – it requires constant testing and optimisation to find the right formula for your business. After all, just because one formula works for one brand does not mean it will work for another.
So when it comes to the wording of your social media posts, which words should you use? It goes without saying that every post needs a beginning, middle and an end. You need to set the scene, answer the 4 W’s (Who, What, Where and When) and then finish with a strong call-to-action.
You want your posts to be punchy, compelling and to entice the user to either a) click or b) share. People share content because it educates, informs or entertains them, so the overriding aim is to make your content fit into one of the aforementioned categories. For example, 49% of people say sharing allows them to inform others of products they care about and potentially change opinions or encourage action.
So which words should you be using? Is it all about giving something away, such as ‘Win’ or ‘Free’? Or is it all about making the reader feel special, such as ‘exclusive’ or ‘one of a kind’? The team at Socially Stacked have undertaken some research on what words resonate on Twitter, Facebook and blogs and discovered the following:
Blog posts that are the most likely to be shared include words like:
• Surprising
• Science
• Critical
On Twitter, tweets that are likely to be retweeted include:
• Top
• Follow
• Please
On Facebook, the status updates that are most likely to be shared include at least one of the following:
• Advises
• Amazes
• Inspires
For more top words to use on social media, check out the infographic below:
