How to Write Content for Social Media

I’m not going to lie, I’m not a huge fan of writing content for social media. Although it’s a service I offer, social media management can be quite a niggly task, involving lots of regular content in bitesize chunks. It’s probably why a lot of people outsource it, to be fair.

If you don’t have the budget to task a professional to do it for you, though, here are my top tips on writing content for social media…

Engage With Your Audience

Do you know your audience? If not, it’s time to get to know them (not in a stalky way, you understand).

Keep an eye, though, on the comments and feedback from your customers, though - learn what makes them tick, as well as what doesn’t - and try to feed them content you know they will enjoy.

Take time to reply to the comments they leave on your social media pages, too; opening up a dialogue with your customers can help shape your content later down the line.

Keep it Simple

Don’t force content for the sake of it; if you don’t have anything relevant or interesting to say, don’t bother posting.

Your customers’ attention will be being pulled this way and that, so it’s important to keep their interest when they do land on your social media pages. Make your content short and snappy and use relevant imagery to ensure it stands out on their Facebook feed or Twitter timeline.

Collaborate with Similar Businesses

Without linking to direct competitors, it’s always a good idea to create something of a community of followers based on similar social media pages. Link to relevant content and ‘share the love’, as it were, for other creators. It isn’t necessarily about bringing more traffic to your site, but about bringing the right traffic to your site - and giving fellow businesses a pat on the back in the process.

So, for example, if you run a gardening business and you know your followers are also interested in all things interiors, why not team up with a home décor business to create a fun series of social media posts together? As a freelance Yorkshire copywriter, I’m not adverse to pairing up with other people in the same - or similar - arena; connections and collaborations can be key.

Try Something New

If what you’ve been doing so far just isn’t working, try something new - whether that’s asking customers for their opinion on key business decisions (which packaging design should you opt for, for example) or running a promotion or giveaway.

Has this blog post helped you with your social media strategy? Let this friendly Huddersfield copywriter know by commenting below. Or say hello!

Until next time…

Ditch Linked Postings and Make The Most of Social Media Scheduling

There is one thing I’m asking all of my clients this year, and it’s to please, please, please stop linking their social media accounts in order to create duplicate posts.

It sounds like a time-saver, and once-upon a time it was the perfect (and only) way to post on more than one platform at once. Back when social media wasn’t a major sales driver, all we needed to do was keep our profiles mildly active.

Now it’s a huge part of our marketing and sales strategies, it’s time to start looking at how we make ourselves look on each of our chosen social media platforms.

 Why You Shouldn’t Link Instagram To Twitter

A few years ago, Instagram was bought by Facebook. This severed any friendly links Twitter had with Instagram, stopping Instagram posts from being mirrored properly on their site.

You might have noticed that Instagram posts on Twitter show a truncated version of the original Instagram post, and a URL, rather than an image preview. That’s the way it is now, unfortunately, and it’s not changing any time soon.

This means that your customers and followers are being presented with half the picture (pun intended) and this isn’t how to create an engaging post. Instead, use the same picture and take the time to compose a Twitter post separately. This will ensure the right amount of characters are used, and your image will be shown in-Tweet in all its glory.

Why You Shouldn’t Link Twitter To Facebook

Tweets work on Twitter because everyone using the app understands the short, sharp way we communicate on there. Hashtags are used in a different way to search and build trending topics, but also as punchlines to jokes and as memes, and there are different ways of using gifs there too.

Essentially, Twitter is a different world, and should be treated as such. Linking Tweets to your Facebook page looks weird because the most-read and clicked Facebook posts are laden with pictures and have plenty more words to read and engage with. A single line with a URL looks ideal on Twitter. On Facebook it looks impersonal and robotic.

Luckily, Facebook pages don’t need to be updated as often as Twitter, so if you can only take the time to form a great Facebook post a few times a week, this is fine. It’s much, much better than auto-updating every week with content your customers see as surplus and impersonal.

How To Schedule Posts To Save Time

I manage my social media accounts, and the accounts of my clients, using a range of scheduling apps like Buffer and Hootsuite. By scheduling, I can set aside a couple of hours each week to compose posts and arrange them in a calendar for each business and social media platform.

Yes, you can copy and paste if you think the posts will be just as effective, and yes, you can re-use content over time as long as it remains as relevant as it was when you first posted it. The beauty of scheduling apps is
that you can see right there and then what you’ve planned to post over the coming weeks and months, and there are analytics built in to show you which posts have been successful.

On the whole, I find using scheduling apps saves me hours every week, and I no longer miss being able to mirror posts across platform

Finding it hard to keep on top of your social media calendar? Get in touch and let’s talk about how I can help you out.

Until next time…

“Sue, You’re Shouting At Tea” — How Yorkshire Tea Dealt With An Extreme Twitterstorm - and How You Can Too

As you might know, I’m a tea drinker. There’s nothing better than a proper Yorkshire brew. In fact the only thing I like more than a decent cup of tea in the morning is a decent cup of tea in the afternoon, along with a slice of cake.

As far as I know, tea is a wonderful, warm beverage devoid of moral standpoints or political leanings. So colour me a biscuity-shade of surprised when I opened Twitter this week to find hundreds of thousands of
angry tweets about and directed to the Yorkshire Tea account.

It’s all based on a photograph somebody else had taken of their product in the hands of a politician. As a brand that stands firmly to their “we don’t discuss politics, we are tea” code of conduct, it’s been hard
for them to combat claims that they support the individual who took the photo, or the party they represent.

Some Twitter users have reached out to tell Yorkshire Tea that they are handling this situation incorrectly, and that they are disappointed with their support/denial of support of the individual and/or their party.

As you can see, it’s all gotten very confusing and ridiculous very quickly, and as a social media community manager, I can only imagine how stressful it has been to take care of Yorkshire Tea’s accounts this week. Although this response really made me chuckle:

Over the years there have been a number of social media storms that have caught brands out. The truth is, no matter what your content is, you can never tell what’s going to cause the next big controversy. Sometimes it can be as out of your control as a current event giving your planned hashtag a different meaning, and sometimes — as in Yorkshire Tea’s case — it might not even be something you did at all.

In light of this, here are my top tips on keeping things calm when your notifications are blowing up

Take Some Time Before Responding

Fires thrive when there’s oxygen around. Think of your crisis as a fire, and your attention is the oxygen. Every new Tweet or response you create will feed that fire, and thanks to the rapid speed at which information travels on the internet, soon it will become out of your control.

Before you react with an apology or a defence, take some time to think about why your customers or followers are unhappy. Talk to your teammates and put together a considered response that follows your corporate
guidelines. Then, once you’ve sent it, mute responses for a little while, so that the only response available is your official line.
Be Honest and Accountable

If you’ve made a mistake, hold your hands up. If you’re sorry, apologise. If you’ve done something silly, admit it. Nobody is perfect, not even a social media manager. If you’ve made a mistake, don’t try to muddle through it with a brave face. You’ll only damage your own reputation and that of the brand you’re representing.

Double check your plans to rectify the situation with your brand manager or team leader, and compose a post that shows your humility and/or the reality of the situation. After all: you are just a brand on social media, being made visible by a human being. There are limits to what you can do. Sometimes people need to be reminded of that.

Take Care Of Yourself

Being the subject of thousands of replies-worth of abuse online, even with the protective mask of a brand, takes a lot out of a person. It can be extremely upsetting, and in my experience even just a couple of
disgruntled individuals who got the wrong end of the stick can rattle your confidence for a little while.

Take some time out. Get a brew (or a hot chocolate if you’re the Yorkshire Tea manager — sorry, that’s not funny!) and a fairy cake. Go for a walk. Speak to your managers about how it’s affected you and what you think you need to do next to boost your confidence again.

And always remember — this isn’t about you. You are doing your best.

Make a Crisis Plan

The best way to nip any social media crises in the bud is to have a watertight crisis plan ready to be put into action at the earliest signs of trouble.

Work with the whole team to devise strategies That’ll help diffuse any difficult situations, and put together some posts ready to amend and use should the need arise.

Make sure you build in some community manager internet safety information and self-care techniques within the plan too. Everyone who has to deal with abuse online needs to know that there are structures in place
to keep them safe.

I hope this has helped to show you how important planning
for the unpredictable bad side of social media is. If you have any more tips, please do share them in the comments! And remember:

Until next time…

Did Someone Say Cake...?

Yesterday (Friday, January 23) marked my ninth year as a freelance copywriter. And how do I know this? Good old LinkedIn. Its helpful reminder had me reaching for the cake (any excuse to celebrate, eh?) and wondering where on earth the best part of a decade has gone.

Need a Hand with Your Next Copywriting Project?

So, what does my nine years' experience mean to you? Assurance. I'd like to think it takes away any reservations you may have about choosing me for your next copywriting project - big or small. After all, I've been crafting copy for businesses like yours for round about 3287 days, give or take weekends. And yes, I had to Google that - there was a reason I chose a career with words, not numbers.

In terms of experience, nine years has seen me put my creative copywriting skills to everything from email marketing, printed advertising, web copy, press releases, and social media updates. I've worked with brands as diverse as QVC's shopping channel to Fosters Beer, Flowers Direct, and Denby Dale's Yummy Yorkshire ice cream parlour - and I can't wait to take on my next big assignment!

How has the last nine years panned out for you? Perhaps you'd like to give your business the boost it deserves, but you're not sure where to start?

Yorkshire-based Freelance Copywriter - Available for Hire

Need a copywriter? I'm a Yorkshire-based freelance copywriter working from my home in Huddersfield. But don't let that put you off; the fact I work remotely means I can lend a hand to your brand and its communications, wherever you are.

Fancy a chat about your next project? Simply send me a note over here and we'll go from there.

Businesses: Need Some Help with SEO?

So, it's been some weeks since I first hit 'publish' on the brand new Lauren Holden Freelance website. But somehow, I'm only just getting round to writing and maintaining this here blog; you know how it is...

If you've stumbled upon my site and had a nosey around (thank you, by the way), you may have spotted a little publication called SEO For Content Writers & PR Pros (pictured below).

Basically, it's a publication (co-written by myself on behalf of marketing professional, Phil Byrne) which helps businesses and fellow writers get to grips with all things SEO.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), it's one of those things we all (whether knowingly, or not) take advantage of in our everyday copy, on blogs, websites and anywhere else our crop crops up online.

But do you really understand just how to get the most of it? I'm not sure I really did before I began researching this e-book, to be quite honest.

Here's just some of the things you'll learn from the book:

* Why content is important for the Internet

* How to uncover what people actually search for within your niche online

* The difference between short and long tail keywords

*  How to create an online press release

* How to turn keyword searches into content

* How to promote your content via social media and backlinking

So, here's a handy guide - available here. It'll cost you less than a pint. Or a good marker pen. Have a peek. Alternatively, get in touch with me - a Huddersfield copywriter - if you need a hand with a project or two.

Until next time...