Four steps to stellar social media content

Social media requires a range of skills: writing, SEO, analytics, project management and image creation.

Of all of these, writing is really the key to social media success. Great copy is what sparks dialogue, inspires sharing and drives action.

Here are four steps to making your copywriting stellar:

1. Make it part of the plan. Your copywriting should have a purpose, and it can’t really have that if you don’t understand how it fits into your overall content strategy.
2. Hype the headline. It’s the first thing people see, and if the headline doesn’t draw them in, it won’t matter how compelling the rest of your content is. If headlines stump you every time, write your content first, and then pull the most captivating sentence out of it. 
3. Ditch the complexity. This doesn’t mean you need to dumb it down. Rather, keep your writing tight. Avoid jargon. Be clear and concise. Skip those unnecessarily fancy phrases or words. 
4. Bookmark ideas. Make sure you’re organizing any great ideas you stumble across for later reference. Whether you write things down in a notebook or keep track of interesting articles electronically, you want to be able to find those things quickly when you need inspiration. 

These four steps provide the foundation for great copywriting. And if your copywriting is outstanding, chances are your social media will be, too.