THE BLOG
A Complete Guide To Creating Social Media Posts
We've all seen them.

They're everywhere.

You've probably made a few yourself.

What are they?

Posts.

And, like it or not, they form the backbone of getting yourself out there on social media. Often we just consume them, mindlessly scrolling through our newsfeeds on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

But if you've ever tried to make a few for your company, or for someone else, you'll probably realise quite fast that there's actually a whole bunch to think about when you do post something.

Here are a few pointers to bear in mind when you are creating your next post for social media.
Headlines
If you choose to use a headline in your post, make sure that it's short, catchy and easy to read. You'll want to include adjectives that help you to sound exciting! Including a question rather than a statement is always a good idea, or even a list. Examples of exciting headlines are something like "10 must-haves for _____" or "Had a ___? You need to read this!"
Body Text
The body of your text is limited by the platform that you're posting on. If you're making a Twitter post, then it will need to be very short and you may not even include a headline. But, if you're posting on Facebook or LinkedIn, then you have a longer limit allowance. Regardless of the length, keep your tone appropriate to your audience on each specific platform. Your tone on Instagram will be less formal than your content on LinkedIn, for example. Take this opportunity to delve deeper into whatever it is that you're posting about, and be sure to spend equal - if not more - time on developing the text of your post as you do selecting the image/video behind it.
Using Images
Images are a very eye-catching and effective way to be able to grab your audience's attention when they are scrolling through their newsfeed. You want them to be captivating, but appropriate for the platform that you're posting on. And remember not to repost other's images without permission, or at least tagging them and notifying them. You'd rather avoid any copyright infringements! Ensure that they are the right size for the platform when you select them, and if not, then resizing them using the crop tool on the app itself usually does the trick.

Video Posts
People enjoy watching video content. There's just something about a moving picture and sound that draws people in. It's also no secret that often, video posts will perform better than other posts without a video. So to take advantage of this, remember that while it's good to post clear video content that's been well-edited and is clean and slick, sometimes the best videos have come from someone quickly recording something on their smartphone. Especially with the exponential growth of platforms like TikTok, you can see how impactful short and engaging content can be.
Take Them To The Movies
People are curious. They want to see what you are busy with. Depending on what field you're in, you'll need to be cautious about just how far behind the scenes you take them. You don't want to give away any trade secrets, but you do want to be able to entice your audience, captivate them, and leave them wanting more.

Quizzes and Polls
Making use of question tools, such as stickers, quizzes, or polls on platforms such as Facebook or Instagram enhances the interaction of your audience with your content. This can be great to filter out what your audience would like to see, and what their views are, and using this to guide the topics of future posts.
Hashtags
The correct use of hashtags can boost the numbers of how many people see your posts. They are widely used to categorise different types of posts and can act as search words/phrases on different platforms. If you posted a picture of your dog, for example, you could use the hashtag #dog. You could also add #retriever, and #goldenretriever so that your post could be seen and found by people who are wanting to see posts with those specific subject lines.

Links
If you just share a link on a post, the chances are that it won't perform well at all. You need to not only tell your audience to "Click here", but you also need to tell them why they should click on it, and what they'll get out of clicking on the link. This becomes a useful way to drive traffic from your audience to a specific landing page or destination.
Keep the above factors in mind when you are creating posts for social media. This way you can ensure that you are creating posts that not only are engaging and interesting but are also likely to get your content followed or liked by your target audience.