How to Create a Great Social Media Post on Every Platform

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How to Create a Great Social Media Post on Every Platform
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A great social media post goes a long way when it comes to building your brand online.
After all, you never know when a post might go viral, helping you to grow your audience, boost engagement, and generate more sales. But when you’re dealing with tricky algorithms, sometimes that’s easier said than done. So, you want to make sure you’re always publishing your best work.
With a few helpful tips, you can create an amazing post on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
How to Create a Great Social Media Post on Every Platform
Before we dive into the tips for the individual platforms, we need to cover some advice that applies no matter where you’re posting. These tips are instrumental to your success and are things you should keep in mind with every social media post you create.
1. Always Know What Your End Goal Is
It’s smart to have a specific strategy for each social media platform you use. And creating your strategy begins with knowing what your end goal is. Why are you using each platform? What are you hoping to get out of your presence there? Your goals will help shape how you’re showing up and using social media because you’ll want to share content that gets you from where you are now to where you want to be.
2. Create With Your Target Audience in Mind
In order to create a social media post that resonates, you need to know who you’re writing for. Know who your target audience is and keep that avatar in mind as you’re filling up the queue of your third-party scheduling tool . Publish content that you know will grab their attention and leave them wanting to engage, follow, etc.
3. Tailor Your Content to Each Platform
While it certainly saves time to cross-post the same content to multiple social media platforms, it’s not going to deliver the best results at the end of the day. Instead, you need to tailor your posts to the platform they’ll be posted on. That’s because each platform has different preferences when it comes to post length, hashtag usage, image size, and other factors.
4. Be Willing to Measure Results & Tweak Accordingly
You want every social media post you share to get tons of engagement, right? Well, in order to do that, you need to know what’s actually working for you. That requires you to do a deep dive into your analytics. Luckily, many platforms have their own built-in analytics you can use, while scheduling tools also share data. Note which posts perform well for you and which ones don’t so you can create more of what your audience wants.
5. Adapt to Changes in Algorithms
Creators often get frustrated by the algorithm changes that platforms implement. To this day, people still complain about the loss of the chronological feed on Instagram. Instead of allowing it to get you down, you need to just roll with the changes. Pay attention when a platform switches something about their algorithm and adapt your strategy accordingly so your content isn’t penalized in any way.
Creating Terrific Twitter Posts
With the average lifespan of a tweet being only 18 minutes, you want to make sure you’re writing better tweets that will make people take notice. But how exactly do you do that when you don’t have tons of characters to perfectly get each point across? Well, here are a few tips:
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Make use of available characters. Twitter only gives creators 280 characters to work with when writing tweets and it’s smart to make use of them. Data actually shows the sweet spot for tweets is between 240 and 259 characters , so don’t hold back those thoughts.
Add a couple relevant hashtags. When a Twitter user suggested the idea of using hashtags, the idea wasn’t a hit right off the bat. Now, it’s hard to imagine social media without them! To increase discoverability on your tweets, it’s smart to add just one or two relevant hashtags, which can boost engagement by 21%.
Take advantage of add-ons. Images, videos, and GIFs are a great way to stand out in a busy Twitter feed. When you can catch someone’s eye, they’ll stop scrolling and read what you’ve posted.
Ask questions and share polls. We all want to publish a social media post that generates tons of engagement. The key to making that happen is encouraging your audience to respond. You can do that by asking questions to get a conversation going or by inviting them to vote in a poll. It’s a simple, but effective, way to get them to take action.
Creating Fabulous Facebook Posts
It’s no secret that Facebook’s algorithm has made it tricky to get content seen. In fact, the average organic reach of a Facebook post is only 5.2% of a page’s total likes . As a brand on the platform, increasing reach starts with putting your best content out there so those who are finding your posts in their feed will stop and take notice. Here are some tips you can use:
Keep it short and sweet. Facebook actually gives creators the ability to include 63,206 characters in a single post. That’s a lot. While it certainly gives you room to create long-form content, it might not be the best idea if you’re wanting to boost engagement. According to BuzzSumo , the ideal Facebook post is only 50 characters or less .
Grab attention right away. If you’re writing a longer post, remember the text will get cut off, requiring users to click a “See More” link to read the remainder of the post. Use the first three lines to grab attention and entice users to click to continue reading.
Share link posts. What I mean by this is to allow Facebook to populate the details for the links you share (image, meta title, and meta description). Links are more likely to get clicks this way. Also, don’t remove the actual URL from the post because it could help generate a few additional clicks. Check out the example above.
Video is still king. The average engagement rate on Facebook is 0.18%, whereas videos see an engagement rate of 0.26% . While it may not seem like much, it’s still a good reason to share pre-recorded videos on the platform or to go live there frequently.
Don’t forget hashtags. Creators often forget to incorporate hashtags on Facebook, but they could be worthwhile in getting your content noticed. As you create your next social media post, add one or two relevant hashtags and no more than that. Too many lowers engagement.
Creating Irresistible Instagram Posts
When it comes to Instagram, creators have a lot of options for your next social media post. You can post to your main feed, Stories, IGTV, and Reels. Oh, and there’s Instagram Live, too! With so many options, it’s important to remember where each piece of content will be shared so you can be mindful of what works best for each content type. Here’s some advice:
 
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Find a happy medium with captions. While the caption on a feed post can be up to 2,200 characters, you don’t have to use up all the real estate. The ideal caption length is around 405 characters (about 65-70 words), so get straight to the point with your copy.
Add emojis for extra personality. While emojis are great for any kind of social media post, they’re especially perfect for Instagram. In fact, data has shown that posts with emojis had a 15% higher engagement rate , so it’s worth adding a few to your captions.
Use the maximum amount of hashtags. In case you didn’t know, Instagram actually allows users to include up to 30 hashtags on a regular feed post. So, why not take advantage of that? Hashtags allow you to gain more exposure for the content you’re sharing, which can boost engagement and increase your following.
Vary the types of content you share. Not only does a variety in content keep your audience interested, but it gives you a boost in the Instagram algorithm as well. It’s recommended to post to your main feed two or three times per week, share Stories daily, IGTV weekly, and upload at least three new Reels per week.
Creating Like-Worthy LinkedIn Posts
LinkedIn may not be the most glamorous of all the social media platforms, but it’s still a worthwhile place to invest your energy. Through LinkedIn, you’re able to showcase your expertise with your background, make connections that could grow your brand, and it could be instrumental in landing a job or finding new people to join your team. The key to making all of that happen is knowing how to write a great social media post to publish here. Here are some tips:
Keep it simple with text and an image. Great copy is always going to be a win when it comes to delivering value to your audience. Just don’t forget to add an image that will grab their attention as they’re scrolling through the feed. It’ll get them to stop and take notice.
Remember the character limit cut-off. On a company page, your LinkedIn status can be up to 700 characters in length, whereas individual accounts can write posts that are 1,300 characters. However, the “See More” button will cut off your copy around 140 characters , so you may want to keep them under that amount.
Start posting video content. Video is a great way to gain exposure for your brand, while also establishing a relationship with your audience. The key is to hit the right length . If awareness is your goal, aim for snappy videos under 30 seconds. To reach your upper-funnel marketing goals, 30-90 seconds is great.
Creating Perfect Pinterest Posts
Much like Instagram, Pinterest is all about the visuals. But the thing is, it’s actually a powerhouse search engine that many people use to find inspirational photos or to look up educational content. There’s so much to discover on the platform and you’ll want to make sure your content stands out and resonates with your audience. Here’s how:
Create an optimal image. The platform clearly favors vertical images, so you want to make sure that’s what you’re posting. The ideal size of a standard pin is 1000 x 1500 pixels. Besides sizing, it’s smart to incorporate your brand colors and logo so your images are recognizable as your own.
Add relevant keywords in the caption. Pinterest essentially functions as a search engine, meaning SEO is important here just like Google. To help your content get discovered, it’s wise to use keywords that are related to your content in the title of the pin and the caption.
Throw in a hashtag or two. Because hashtags are searchable on Pinterest, you’ll want to include a copy in your caption as well. It’s just another easy way to increase the odds of being discovered by other users.
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I help busy entrepreneurs transform their social media marketing so they can reap the rewards of a strong community and higher engagement.
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