Great social media content is a huge part of any successful marketing strategy, and to be successful on social media, brands need to write clear and clever copy which engages audiences and creates a distinct voice.
To the untrained eye, social media copywriting might look easy. How hard can it really be to write a couple of sentences, throw in an emoji, and find a pretty picture to wrap it all up?
But anyone who’s actually tried to get a coherent message across in 280 characters or less will tell you that it’s often a lot harder than it sounds.
Unlike blogs or websites, social media copywriters usually only have a couple of lines to work with. Within a few short sentences, you have to think of something clever, catchy, and meaningful - all while remaining true to the brand image and voice.
As difficult as it can be, there are a few companies out there that have proved themselves more than capable of consistently creating awesome social media copywriting.
If you want to learn from the best, these three brands provide great examples of how to use social media copywriting to maximum effect.
Ben & Jerry’s - Let Your Personality Shine Through
Ben & Jerry’s is well known for being a bit different to other ice cream companies. With wacky flavors like “Schweddy Balls” and “Wavy Gravy”, they have a super fun and larger-than-life personality, which is displayed on every product they put out.
On Instagram, they do a fantastic job of allowing those fun vibes to shine through - not only do they post eye-catching images, but they draw followers in with clever copy that connects. By writing short captions in a conversational tone, they make it easy to spark interaction with their followers.
Instead of posting a wordy description about all the complex flavors that you’re sure to love in a new product, they keep it simple, and avoid turning their posts into quasi-sales pitches.
Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t hold back on sharing more serious content across social media, but the emphasis on their Instagram account is consistently fun, with clever posts that followers will remember.
Tesco Mobile - Conversation Is Key
When it comes down to it, engagement is what social media is all about, and no one is better at it than Tesco Mobile. The brand has managed to generate a lot of social media buzz by engaging in witty conversations with their followers on Twitter.
You’ll have a lot more success connecting with your audience on social media if you can make your brand sound like a person instead of a company. And while many of Tesco Mobile’s tweets begin as run-of-the-mill product promotions, the conversation that follows is what has people hooked.
Click on any tweet and you’ll likely find a thread full of clever and engaging comments between the Tesco team and their followers. These conversations may not even have anything to do with the product being promoted - and that’s totally okay. More people engaging in conversation means that even more people will see the threads through retweets and likes.
They even take a light-hearted approach to dealing with the unkind trolls who try to join in on the conversation.
Charmin - Make Them Laugh
When it comes to topics that are difficult to get people interested in, toilet paper is probably right at the top of the list. So, how do you take a boring household necessity and make people look forward to reading social media content about it?
You make it funny.
Charmin never stoops to levels of juvenile toilet humor, but they are aware of the purpose that their product serves, and they aren’t afraid to poke some fun at it.
Their social media content is surprisingly relatable and engaging. They even have a popular hashtag series (#TweetfromtheSeat) which pokes fun at the large number of people who use their smartphones while sitting on the toilet.
The cute bear that promotes their product certainly doesn’t hurt, but having some of the funniest social media copywriting around is how they really engage their followers.
Putting It All Together
There are a lot of pieces that go into a great social media marketing effort, but good copy is an element that cannot be overlooked. By capitalizing on the unique opportunity to connect with followers on a personal level, brands can use social media copy to build a loyal following.
And while it’s no piece of cake to master social media copywriting, these three brands have the art of witty and clever copy down to a science. Incorporating these techniques into your own social media copy can help you take your campaigns to the next level.
