How to write effectively for social media

Social media is like this giant game that everyone plays, few master and most fail to win. Generally, people may struggle to get their ideas across in the short character limits of Twitter or have to actively attempt not to ramble on in a Facebook post.

Content-wise, the creation of quality content all stems from the Golden Rule of social media that all marketers, and  even people eager to better their personal brand, should know.

The Golden Rule is this, all content should aim to do one, or more, of four things: entertain, expose, engage and/or educate. Following the rules of the four E’s will allow you to think about the content you are posting and help you to measure if it is valuable content.

We, as consumers, are selfish. We don’t want to click, comment, like or even see an ad, post or tweet that isn’t relevant to us on some level or one that doesn’t “offer” up anything for us in return. That’s what the four E’s do – they quantify that return.

If the post is for entertainment, someone may get a chuckle out of it or a story to tell his or her friend later. For expose and educate, people are offered up the opportunity to learn something – even if they don’t know they are doing it. For engage, everyone loves to hear him or herself speak – they just want a soapbox to stand on. By giving someone that opportunity, and if it’s something they feel worthy of engaging with, your content becomes valuable. With the same notion, people also do not want you to just talk all about yourself on social media – you need to ask something of them in return.

Another effective tool to keep in mind when writing and creating content for social media, is to keep your mind focused on creating a consistent voice for your product, your social media outlets. Think about who you are talking to, what you are saying and how you are saying it. This may vary from platform to platform or vary by content itself, but before you send any tweet or press that “post” button as yourself, who is this valuable to and what kind of message am I sending?

In conclusion, there are many different ways to create valuable content for your followers – but by sticking to content that will not only give your consumers something in return, but will ask something of them, you are making them want to come back and continue to engage with your brand.