Writing Tips to Follow on Each Social Media Platform

Having a presence on all social media platforms is a great way to build a following, increase brand awareness, and drive conversions. However, it is important to note that every social channel is different. Each platform — whether it’s Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google My Business — has its own trends, demographics, post formats, and requirements. Because of this, it’s key to tailor your writing style to each platform. Doing so can optimize your efforts and maximize Engagement.

Boost your social strategy and increase your KPI’s with these tips.

Instagram

Instagram is driven by visuals, so captions should be short and sweet. The main goal of the copy is to provide context for the image or video, providing a clear call to action that encourages the viewer to engage with the content. Users who are active on Instagram are not looking for in-depth reading, so it is important for the copy to be direct and concise.

Audience: 32% of online adults use Instagram, the majority of which are female.
The number of characters: We recommend no more than 3 lines of text, as the caption gets cut off after this.
Hashtags: Maximize your writing and boost engagement with hashtags. Hashtags improve your searchability and visibility on the platform, helping people find your content easily. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post.
Emojis: Choose impactful emojis to accompany your content appropriately.

Facebook

Similar to Instagram, Facebook posts should have a conversational tone. This platform is all about getting people to engage with your posts. Ask open-ended questions or include a call to action such as “Tell us what you think” to get users commenting and sharing with their friends. Content such as blogs, reports, and videos are good to promote on this platform since people are looking for content to read and engage with.

Audience: 69% of adults use Facebook and the majority of this audience is female. Facebook actually has the largest number of users over 65 years old.
The number of characters: While the character limit on status updates is 63,000, posts with 80 characters or less receive the most engagement. Try to keep your captions under 120 characters.
Hashtags: Facebook has tried to encourage hashtag use, however, it hasn’t taken off as it has on other platforms such as Instagram or Twitter. Test posts with and without hashtags to determine if you want to include them in your strategy. Include no more than two brand-specific hashtags in your posts.
Emojis: Like Instagram, you can use emojis in Facebook copy. Look more professional by placing emojis at the end of your sentences instead of throughout the caption.

LinkedIn is a platform created for working professionals to build their networks. Because of this, it has an entirely different audience and writing style compared to Facebook and Instagram. Since it’s a more formal network, everything is driven by the desire to make professional business connections — your writing should reflect this. On this platform, longer posts are encouraged. Share credible articles to establish your expertise, drive Engagement, and boost customer acquisition and retention.

Audience: The audience is pretty evenly split, however, the majority of users are male.
The number of characters: There is a 700 word limit on LinkedIn posts. If you want to write a long-form piece, consider publishing an article directly to the platform. This gives you the opportunity to expand on your thoughts and position yourself as an industry thought leader.
Hashtags: We recommend incorporating up to three hashtags at the end of your caption for maximum exposure on the platform. Using more than three hashtags runs the risk of looking spammy and untrustworthy.
Emojis: While emojis are generally discouraged on this platform, feel free to incorporate GIFs and images to make your post stand out. Because this is a professional platform, you want all of your posts to have a businesslike tone — emojis detract from this.

Twitter

Many people use Twitter to get news and updates. The audience wants simple, to-the-point writing that is easily digestible. This platform is perfect for engaging with other users. Utilize the tagging feature to interact with other accounts. Highlight company news and post industry updates to get followers engaging.

Audience: Males are more active on Twitter than females. While all age ranges use this platform, the majority are between the ages of 18 and 29.
The number of Characters: Twitter allows a maximum of 280 characters per post, however, this platform is all about brevity. Keep captions around 140 characters.
Hashtags: Gain maximum visibility with hashtags. We recommend including at least three hashtags throughout or at the end of your tweet to increase Engagement and Reach.
Emojis: This platform is emoji friendly — use emojis to boost overall Engagement.

Google My Business

Use Google My Business (GMB) to promote sales, upcoming events, and company updates. Your posts should be brief and inspire readers to take your proposed call to action. Accompany the caption with a well-lit photo or video to grab the viewer’s attention.

Audience: GMB has a broad audience. These posts are appealing to everyone who uses Google on a daily basis to research businesses. Because of this, it’s important to keep posts neutral to appeal to people of all age groups.
The number of characters: While you have up to 1,500 characters, it’s important to keep these posts short. Try aiming for 150-300 characters for maximum Engagement.
Hashtags: Hashtags are not necessary or relevant to GMB. They won’t increase post exposure, so it’s best to not use them.
Emojis: Emojis do show up in GMB and can spice up your post, but aren’t necessary. Include them at the end of the copy to keep the post more professional.

Use Thumbstopper for Your Social Strategy

A tailored social media strategy with correctly formatted posts designed for each platform can boost Engagement, Reach, and social ROI. At ThumbStopper®, we are here to help you streamline the social media management process with our highly effective social media automation solution.
Contact us today to learn how ThumbStopper can take your social media strategy to the next level.

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Key Points:

Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

Accessibility may not be a term you usually associate with the internet and social media. You might picture wheelchair ramps, directional signs in braille, or sign language interpreters at live performances. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 dictates the legal necessity of these and similar accommodations in public spaces. As we’ve come to rely on the internet for everything from entertainment to buying groceries, it’s become clear that the internet is now also a public space. It must be accessible to everyone. And like other applications of ADA, businesses that do not comply are liable for damages caused by inaccessibility.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an international set of standards to provide instruction on meeting accessibility needs. It’s important for companies to understand how this applies to their websites, especially if they engage in e-commerce. In terms of social media, the requirements are less concrete. But prioritizing accessibility on your company’s social media is essential to your reputation, even if the legal requirements are uncertain. We’ll look at why it’s important to your customers, how it affects the perception of your brand, and how to make these changes efficiently.

Social Media for All

The cornerstone of accessibility is inclusive design: products or experiences that are accessible for everyone regardless of disability. The most important place where this shows up is on company websites where most users expect to also find links to the brand’s social media profiles. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of websites are not accessible, despite the fact that the application of ADA to the internet is over 20 years old. Making websites accessible is a complex process without the use of specialized software like Accessibe or EqualWeb.

Unlike websites, making sure your social media is accessible is a straightforward, ongoing process. Every social platform has been quick to release optional accessibility features. These features are important to many users even if they don’t rely on them to use social media.

Making your social presence accessible tells users that your brand cares about people, not just profits. It’s the same idea as the push for the representation of different body sizes in fashion or more expansive skin tone ranges in beauty products. Brands that meet the needs of underrepresented groups endear themselves to others as well. And while optimizing your brand website for accessibility might be a larger project you aren’t ready to tackle yet, starting with your social media pages is a great way to show customers that you’re listening to their concerns.

Making Content Accessible

Shifting to accessible content means incorporating inclusive design into your creative process. The practice varies by type of media. For platforms that have graphics or videos with captions, it means not only adjusting each component but also being mindful of how they interact with each other.

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It's one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

None of the technology for accessibility is perfect yet. Teaching computers to digest complex information for human understanding is difficult, and the variations in disabilities further complicate it. The majority of adjustments creators need to make revolve around helping assistive technology better understand their content. Let’s look at how to make different kinds of content accessible.

Text

Use plain language that’s easy to understand
Avoid text in all caps
Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Use color contrast checkers to make sure low-vision people can see images
Try not to completely rely on color to show contrast
Add alternative text on each social platform

Distribute Accessible Content

Many users find their new favorite brand through social media. When disabled people (who make up 26% of the population according to the CDC) can’t access your brand’s social posts, you miss the opportunity to connect with a demographic that’s eager to engage in online communities. On a hyper-local level, that kind of connection goes even further.

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience - with your accessible, branded content - in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business.

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

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What Is Social Media Automation?

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10 Ways to Automate Your Marketing

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How Effective Is Your Social Media Strategy

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Key Points:

Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

Social Media for All

Making Content Accessible

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It’s one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

Text

Use plain language that’s easy to understand
Avoid text in all caps
Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Use color contrast checkers to make sure low-vision people can see images
Try not to completely rely on color to show contrast
Add alternative text on each social platform

Distribute Accessible Content

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience – with your accessible, branded content – in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business.

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

[/et_pb_column]

What Is Social Media Automation?

[/et_pb_column]

10 Ways to Automate Your Marketing

[/et_pb_column]

How Effective Is Your Social Media Strategy

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