How do you write a good post for a social network that will be shared? What should I write a post about? Is there a guide to writing posts on Instagram? There is an opinion: writing posts is long and complicated. This article aims to prove that writing a post and attracting an audience can be simple if you know a few steps from our paper helper digital service following our algorithm. Just write two or three posts based on our recommendations, and the skill will take hold. After that, good posts will be produced in just twenty minutes.
HOW TO WRITE GOOD POSTS – DEFINE THE TERMS First, let’s understand what a good post is. It’s a text with an image that will be of interest to your social network users and solve your business needs in the process. Here are the characteristics of a good post:
- the text is intended for the selected target audience (TA);
- the problem is relevant to the TA;
- the structure is easy to understand: the introduction, the essence, the conclusion;
- the business goal is achieved: sales or visibility of your channel grow.
WRITING POSTS: RULES FOR INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK
Some experts argue that each social network has its own specifics and that you have to write for them differently. Others argue that the main thing is the audience’s “pains” and interests, while the platform itself is secondary and there is no need for specific advice on how to write a post for Instagram or Facebook. We will consider universal guidelines for writing posts on any social network.
1. WHAT TO WRITE A POST ABOUT – FINDING IDEAS FOR POSTS
The first thing is to choose an interesting topic: often the problem with most bloggers or business accounts is a lack of ideas. Take note of interesting things around you, get inspired by news in the field and in the world, and write down topics, because ideas come unexpectedly! That way you don’t have to waste time looking for a topic.
2. DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF THE POST: HOW WILL YOU HELP THE READER?
Once you have chosen a topic, set a goal. What will subscribers learn? Why is the information useful? What will they do with it? An articulated goal will make the text coherent and structured. If there is no clear objective, the author starts trying to “grasp the immensity”, the idea jumps from one thing to another, the reader finds no answer to his questions, gets bored, and skips the post. Focus on the needs of the audience, do not get hung up on your own interests. Work through this point, choosing a strong target that will keep the audience engaged. Decide what the post is about: Choose one narrow question and answer it. Also, the chosen question becomes a good title for the post. Where to get ideas for posts: texts in blogs with a similar focus; articles by credible experts; videos.
3. WRITE THE RIGHT STRUCTURE FOR THE POST
Although some authors’ longreads fetch thousands of likes, generally people on social media like short texts more than long ones – they want to be entertained rather than absorbed in a complex article. Therefore, it is important to highlight talking points and build a structure for the post based on them. The structure will smoothly “guide” the reader through the text, leading to a conclusion. Formulate a thesis statement for each point in the following structure, think of approximate subheadings: title and abstract (announcement, preamble) – include the main topic and perhaps an enhancer (e.g. “for dummies” if you want to show that even beginners will understand the material, or “unpleasant truth” if provocation is needed); introduction, introduction – brief but meaningful, formulating the main question, revealing why it is important and how the post will help; main part – answer the question; conclusion – summarise, invite dialogue or encouragement to buy the product.
4. WRITING A DRAFT OF THE POST
This step prepares the basis of the text according to the given structure. Elaborate on key concepts, and find and add facts and examples that are persuasive to the audience. Don’t try to write a ‘beautiful’ post at this stage: it’s important to gather and organize the necessary information and put it into a previously thought-out structure. The size of each section should be appropriate to the importance of the disclosure of the purpose. After all, the optimum length of a post is two thousand characters. The introduction should be no longer than three hundred characters. It’s better to start quickly on the main message so you don’t waste your audience’s time. At the end of the post, add a call to engage in discussion in the comments or share. Reread the draft. Simplify complex language, and get rid of unnecessary introductions and repetitions. Run through the text, making sure you haven’t left anything out of the planned structure.
5. HOW TO WRITE A BEAUTIFUL POST – TURN YOUR TEXT INTO A LITERARY MASTERPIECE
If you have copied a text from somewhere else, it may contain professional terms, and complicated constructions that will be inappropriate for your subscribers: make the text accessible to your audience. That said, simple language does not mean primitive. In addition, while avoiding officiousness and clerical, it is important not to slip into fannishness and familiarity. For a good post, it is not enough to present dry facts – you need to make your audience emotional by showing them your own point of view on the issue at hand. Make the narrative colorful. Now it’s time to add emotion, tension, drama, development, and a climactic denouement to the facts and information. Add adjectives, beautiful introductions, and references to your past material. Please note: Do not use clichés, clichés, clichéd phrases.
7. HOW TO DESIGN A POST CUTLERY
Provide the visuals. In the instructions on how to write an Instagram post, this point would come first. A post with a beautiful picture on the subject always attracts more attention than ordinary text. You can also add diagrams, graphs, and other visual material. For Facebook, squares or horizontal 1200×630 photos are considered optimal, while vertical frames are undesirable. For Instagram, it’s 1080×1080.
8. HOW TO WRITE INTERESTING POSTS TO BE SHARED
The best effect comes from posts that followers share with their friends. So what motivates people to copy the company’s posts to themselves? Self-presentation. People repost content that supports their image. That’s why a fit girl shares motivational pictures and workout descriptions, and a budding entrepreneur shares articles on business and self-development. This allows you to demonstrate your values, goals, and beliefs to your friends. Getting to know yourself. Many repost content with vivid strokes reflecting everyday life: conflicts in the family, annoyance at the morning traffic, conflicts with management or subordinates. People respond to emotional triggers related to what’s bothering them. Strong emotions. This can be elation, indignation, sadness, hatred – whatever. By reposting, a person expresses how they feel about a high-profile event. Belonging to the collective. Many people tend to take an interest in what is important to others. For this reason, popular news, new memes, and comments on scandalous topics spread. Benefit. By sharing cases and tips, people feel that they are helping others. Besides, such content on the wall shows that self-development (self-presentation) is important for the user. Another reason to repost such a publication is the possibility to save it and reread it later as needed.
Mitzi Francis is a content editor at The Landscape Insight. With a background in journalism and a passion for storytelling, Mitzi brings a unique perspective to his role at the publication. He is committed to delivering high-quality, informative content to his readers. You can reach Mitzi at [email protected] or on our website contact us page.
