Copywriting is something that is required to entice and engage customers. However, the terms of copywriting have changed a little bit in the case of social media platforms. It is a blend of the right message that complements the visuals and even fits the purpose of attracting the target market.

While copywriting for print is a one-off event, copywriting for social media is a continuous job. Copywriters need to put in long hours of work and a lot of research to pull it off. To appeal to the audience on social media, copywriters need to make little tweaks to nail the copy.

Here are some of the most used tricks that will help you master this art:

1. Address the viewers as you

Social media is typically used by customers on their smartphones. Scrolling through social media is a private activity. Hence, instead of talking about the complete segment, personalize the copy and use the word, ‘you’.

Make it everything about the customer and not the brand. Readers want to engage with the brand. And this will only happen when the brand talks about the benefit the viewer is going to get. Brands, for this reason, hire freelancers to make a bigger impact on the audience.

2. Talk about the solutions

Viewers are not able to connect with the features of the brand. They do not think that the features are relevant to them. However, if the brand talks about the problems that it solves, then it can easily grab the attention of the consumers. People look for the value that they are going to get out of the purchase.

3. Bye-bye to old-style verbs

Marketing is all about call-to-action. And this requires an active voice to engage with customers. Ditch writing copies in passive voice. It does not help at all. Customers look for copies that invite them to try, experience, eat, relish, dive, etc. Using strong and active verbs is the trick to grab the eyeballs of the customers. Be direct in communication. For instance, if you are sending a cold email It’s very important to encourage a person to take action in an email.

4. The heading is where it all begins

The big and bold heading is the first thing that the audience notices. Rest all comes next. Hence, to make the scrolling viewer stop and have a look at your post, you need to work on the headings and title. As a copywriter, you need to create the best headings. The same goes for email subject lines or even headlines for print.

5. Deliver what you promise

At times, the headline is written just to tap the customer. However, the content is completely different. This mars the interest of the customers and they might stop taking interest in the promotions by your brand. To avoid this, you need to resist writing clickbait titles - titles that are just meant to boost the conversion rate. Titles should be relevant to the readers and the body copy should be relevant to the titles.

6. Less is More in Copywriting

While in other types of writing, a certain word limit is given to content writers. However, in copywriting, there is no such thing. Instead, here less is considered to be more. It is an art to tap the audience with as less communication as possible. Copywriters need to practice writing fewer words. Re-check the copy and omit unrequired words.

7. Short is Sweet

Copywriting for social media mandates writing shorter sentences. Such lines are more powerful than the verbose ones. However, you should not try to make every sentence short, marring the meaning completely. But you need to break up longer ones into readable text. This is the secret to catching the attention of the audience. Shorter sentences are easy to digest and readers can even skim through the content rapidly.

8. Add single sentences as paragraphs

While in school, we were taught to write only in paragraphs. Students used to envy those classmates who had written long paragraphs in essays writing. However, this is not the case with copywriting for social media. Among paragraphs for 2-4 sentences, add a single sentence paragraph. Such paragraphs make a bold statement. They grab the attention of the readers quickly. Readers also find it easy to remember the point that is made across.

9. Design unique and memorable CTAs

CTAs is an abbreviation for call-to-action. A copy that does not entice the readers to take action is bland and pointless. Customers need something that they can take home after reading the promotional message.

People have long bid goodbye to the old-fashioned ‘buy now button. Copywriters are given the difficult task to coin unique CTAs. Readers should know what they are getting from the brand. They should have a reason to ‘buy now in the CTA.

10. Format certain words and sentences

The key is to apply the formatting rules in the copy. While it is wrong and unadvisable to use different font types and sizes, it is required that the copy has certain words in bold or italicized to make a statement. Customers need to remember what they saw while scrolling through the products online or in the aisle.

11. Give your audience a reason

People want to have a reason to buy your products or services. Copy experts advise using the words like ‘because’ to catch the attention of the audience. Yes, it is even possible to stop your audience from scrolling by writing something that helps them get a reason without using the word, because.

12. How using ‘I’ can help at times

While the copywriting logbook mentions not using the word ‘I’ at all. However, in cases where you are copywriting for social media, ‘I’ can be and sometimes should be used. This is because people want to know if someone else is using the product and is satisfied with the same. Influencers on social media always use ‘I’ and that’s the reason they get chosen to be the brand ambassadors.

13. Art of telling personal stories

When you include personal stories in social media copywriting, you can tap a larger audience. If you are writing about a shampoo brand for children and mention that it helped manage your daughter’s hair, your audience engagement will increase to a considerable extent.

People like the touch of personalization in social media copywriting. They understand that it is not a bot writing the copy but a real person and they pay attention to the communication.

14. Take advantage of testimonials

Stories, personal accounts and experiences are some things that matter the most in copywriting for social media. When you narrate the experience of others in your copy, you get the attention of social media users. Real-life examples work like bait for people. When you recount experiences of people benefitting from your product, people take your product to be real-life and powerful. Stories are a kind of proof or evidence.

15. Answer unasked questions

The moment people come across your post on social media, a question would crop up in their minds. You need to answer this unasked question which has not been asked out there in the open but still exists in the mind. When you learn the art of answering such questions, you truly master the art of copywriting for social media.

Last but not the least

When you write for print, you are not able to take the ad back. It cannot be recalled. But this is at times possible in the case of social media. Hence, you can take risks when it comes to copywriting for social media platforms. Creativity never goes out of fashion. Experiment with new ideas and tap the audience with your wit and knowledge.