Social Media Best Practices: How to Write a Successful Post

Social media has become a large part of our society, and the sheer volume of shared posts is enough to overwhelm anyone. For some people, these platforms offer a way to snapshot their day and share their lives with their family and friends. But you can use social media platforms for business too.

With its popularity, social media has become crucial to communication and marketing strategies to reach your target audience. Businesses and social media marketers must make their posts stand out from the crowd, and with the fleeting attention spans of users, quickly capturing their interest is essential.

So, how do we do that? Through social media strategies, of course.

Creating successful social media posts isn’t a matter of luck. It requires strategy. Instead of releasing random posts into the internet void, create content tailored towards the requirements of each social media platform.

Read on to find out how to create a successful social media post for different platforms and increase brand awareness with your target audience online.

The Diversity of Social Media Platforms

The first part of creating social media content is understanding the different platforms and how to alter your posts accordingly. Find out which demographics use each platform and their user behaviour so you can tailor your posts to suit their preferences and needs.

You also need to recognise the purpose and tone of each platform. Not fitting with these traits can reduce user engagement and make your post less successful.

Here’s how to write a good social media post for different platforms.

Crafting for X

X, formerly known as Twitter, is renowned for its short posts and concise messaging. To create a successful X (previously a Tweet), you must capture the key takeaway from your post and contain it in the character restriction within the platform.

Take advantage of hashtags to widen your reach, but use them strategically. Hashtags enable others to find your X, but they are also part of the character limit, so the more you use, the shorter your actual post can be.

Also, use relevant images to catch your audience’s eye. Make your post visually appealing so people are more likely to engage with your posts, which can bring more attention to your brand.

Mastering Facebook’s Landscape

On the other hand, Facebook has a significantly larger character limit, enabling your posts to be longer and more detailed. Use this platform to spark conversation with your target audience, such as by providing snippets of blog posts on your website (providing a link to the relevant post can also increase website traffic if people want to read more).

Like all social media, images and videos are a great way to enhance your storytelling. They must be relevant to your post and fit with your business’ personal brand.

Additionally, keep up to date with the algorithm so your content doesn’t suffer when it changes. Identify the best times to post your content to get the maximum interaction and engage with your audience to foster a sense of community and loyalty.

Navigating LinkedIn’s Professional Space

For those appealing to a B2B audience, LinkedIn is the perfect social media platform to use.

Tailor your content to professionals through thought-provoking articles demonstrating your expertise in your industry. You can also use this to connect with others in your field and discuss current trends.

These posts, again, can be longer, showing your knowledge of a subject and attracting the interest of companies wanting expert solutions to their problems.

LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform is a great way to expand your reach amongst your online audience. It allows you to write, publish and share articles on LinkedIn, helping you reach a new audience and increase your online visibility.

Captivating on Instagram’s Visual Playground

Instagram offers several posting methods, including Reels, Stories and posts; make the most of the available visual options.

Your posts must align with your brand to increase recognition and establish your online presence. For example, Fly High Media primarily uses a colour scheme of red, white and grey within their posts and maintains the same font throughout.

Make your content visually appealing through carousels and images to attract the audience’s attention. However, this isn’t the only post type on Instagram.

Reels are short videos visible to the public and can be great ways to summarise a longer content piece. Stories can be a mixture of images and videos only available to your followers or those visiting your public profile. Use a combination of all three post types to appeal to different audience members.

This social media platform is a great way to work with influencers for a broader reach online. Micro-influencers, for example, are becoming more popular within digital marketing strategies to help promote products and services.

You can also use location tags to collaborate with other businesses and increase your discoverability, especially for people in your local area.

Cracking the TikTok Code

People use TikTok for short videos, but this doesn’t mean you must ignore it in your marketing strategy. For example, TikTok is one way to shop on social media platforms, done through TikTok Shop. This is ideal for businesses wanting to showcase and sell their products, as it can be done through the app.

TikTok videos can be high-energy and incorporate trends, challenges and music to make your business appear more human. This is your time to get your staff involved in the social media posts and not just as another expert to inform your audiences. For example, some TikTok trends, such as the Pass the Phone Challenge, can be done amongst friends and co-workers.

This is the platform to show your authentic personal brand. Connections come from relatability and authenticity, so ensure you include both throughout your posts to appeal to and engage with a broader target audience.

The Art of the Successful Post

Now you know how the different platforms have their own requirements for success, but what else do you need to include? Some things, such as images and hashtags, are available on various platforms. Find out how to make the most of them within your social media.

The Power of Hashtags

Hashtags, as previously mentioned, enable people to find your content. When you write your post, your hashtags must be relevant and trending to achieve the best results. There’s no point in including #easyrecipes in your DIY furniture post.

Furthermore, don’t include too many hashtags, as this can reduce the length of your post on X (formerly Twitter). Even for platforms without this limit, many hashtags can appear cluttered. For example, it is recommended you only use 3-5 hashtags on Instagram and 1-2 on X.

Branded hashtags can be a great way to promote community engagement. These are hashtags unique to your business or brand, such as the company slogan or name, and can increase your online visibility and loyalty amongst your target audience.

Images that Speak Volumes

They say pictures speak louder than words, and social media is no different. Images should be relevant to your message when incorporated into your posts. You can also make them reflect your brand, such as through colour schemes.

To promote authenticity, you can include user-generated content. Individuals, not brands, produce this content, and it can be a great marketing tool. For example, GoPro uses this content style for their YouTube channel, with some of their videos filmed by users.

Be aware that if you use user-generated content, you must obtain the original creator’s permission to use it first and credit them when you post it.

Remember that each platform has its own image dimensions that best suit its posts, so alter your images accordingly. Optimise your images to ensure they are in the suitable format, resolution and size for the best quality.

The Allure of Engaging Headings

Your text must also grab your audience’s attention, so use headings to catch their interest and encourage them to continue reading your post. Pique their curiosity and, if you have longer content, include subheadings to guide them through the article. These subheadings enable users to find the section they are looking for if they don’t want to read the whole article, so they can still engage with your post.

Not all headings should be the same. Experiment with the different styles to find which ones gain the most traction with your audience, and keep them varied to avoid repetition.

Social media is a large part of digital marketing, so understanding the nuances of each platform is vital to successful campaigns. For your social media posts to be the most effective, they must adapt to suit their specific platform and the ever-changing algorithms that affect post performances online.

There is no one feature of a good post. Social media posting needs creativity, strategy, and an audience-centric approach to expand your reach online and increase traffic to your platforms and website. It also requires you to know about changes and trends to remain successful in this ever-evolving online environment.

If you need help with your content marketing for social media, Fly High Media are here to help. Our bespoke solutions offer excellent customer service as we strive to obtain the best results for our clients. From B2B, B2C and a range of industries, we provide a client-focused approach with integrity.

Contact us today and see how our social media marketing can help your business.