How to Create Shareable Social Media Content

Social media is more than just a platform for personal connection. It’s a powerful tool for businesses, influencers, and individuals to share their stories and engage with a global audience.

With over 5 billion active social media users worldwide, the potential to reach and influence people has never been greater. Creating content that resonates and is widely shared can amplify your message, foster community, and drive engagement.

But what makes content shareable?

Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a social media novice, learning some tips and strategies will help you create compelling content that stands out in the crowded social media landscape. This article examines the art and science of crafting posts that capture attention and inspire shares.

Quick Takeaways

• How you write and publish social media posts impacts your reach, online authority, and overall success.

• Sticking to proven techniques offers the best results.

• After figuring out the fundamentals, you can get creative to stand out from competitors and capture your audience’s attention.

• Keeping your posts concise, authentic, and evergreen across all social media channels can help.

Writing Social Media Content That Wins Every Time

Instead of reinventing the wheel, stick to proven techniques for writing social media posts. You should use a different structure for posting on each channel. Once you’ve nailed the fundamentals, you can add your own ideas to get creative and stand out.

Follow these best practices for writing social media posts for the big five: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok.

1. Posting on X (Twitter)

While X can feel tricky with its tight character limit, it offers many opportunities for businesses to speak out about relevant topics and engage in authentic conversations with followers. You may still feel the pressure to keep to the old 140-character limit, but today, you have room to use up to 280 characters for every Post.

Best Practices

• Try to constrain your Posts to 71 to 100 characters to grab people’s attention fast and encourage engagement. This practice also leaves room at the end for your Twitter handle if someone retweets your post.
• Keep hashtags short – under six characters whenever possible. Sticking to one or two highly relevant hashtags is a good benchmark to hit.
• Only address one topic at a time.
• If you have more to say than you can fit in a Post, you can link to a blog post or website that goes more in-depth.
• Use a tool like TinyURL to shorten lengthy website addresses.
• Add a captivating image.
• Tag people (when appropriate).

2. Posting on Facebook

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Despite its flaws, Facebook remains the world’s most popular social media site, with about 3 billion active monthly users. You can use various posting techniques successfully on Facebook, but there are some general guidelines you’ll want to follow. We encourage you to play around with them to find the best methods for your particular business and following.

Best Practices

• Include an eye-catching visual with every post to increase engagement.
• Share videos. Facebook reports that 50% of time spent on the platform and Instagram involves watching videos.
• Stay positive.
• Add an exclamation mark now and then to add excitement and grab users’ attention.
• Ask questions to encourage readers to leave comments and share your post with others.
• Use one or two hashtags to engage in more extensive discussions.
• Consider creating your own branded hashtags to use consistently (e.g., #justdoit).
• Stick to around 40-80 characters for maximum performance.

3. Writing Captions for Instagram

Some businesses do a superb job of posting quality, captivating photos on Instagram, but they struggle with writing complementary captions. Captions can increase engagement and help you connect with readers in a way that images may not.

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Best Practices

• Mind the 2,220-character caption length limit. You can also use up to 30 hashtags per post.
• Remember that just because you can write a lot doesn’t mean you always should. The ideal length for regular Instagram posts is 138-150 characters.
• Shoot for 5-10 hashtags to grow your audience while avoiding “shadow banning.” Make sure each one you use is highly relevant.
• Think about how you can add to your photo and increase engagement. It may include asking a question or adding a call to action (CTA).
• Break up longer posts into different sections by hitting the enter/return key a couple of times.
• Add emojis creatively.

4. Posting on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional B2B platform that connects different organizations and encourages collaboration. It’s a great place to share news and insights from your business or industry, along with enlightening work-related topics. Keep in mind that this platform is more text-based than many other social media channels.

Best Practices

• The optimal length for a LinkedIn status update is around 100 characters, but you can go longer. At 140 characters, LinkedIn will cut off messages with a “See More” button.
• The platform discriminates against status updates containing links, pushing more businesses and individuals to take advantage of LinkedIn Publishing (posting an entire article on the channel).
• If you want to publish a post on LinkedIn, longer articles tend to perform better. Aim for around 2,000-word posts. Include a headline, subheaders, and other elements to organize your content and make it scannable and easy to read.
• Add up to 3-5 relevant hashtags.

5. Pinning on Pinterest

Like Instagram, Pinterest is a highly visual platform. Pin descriptions can help boost engagement and describe the images you share.

Best Practices

• Use proper grammar and punctuation.
• Keep an informative tone.
• Avoid using “salesy” language.
• Don’t use hashtags.
• Write clear titles and descriptions. Use up to 100 characters for titles and 500 characters for descriptions.
• Use precise language to describe your Pins accurately.
• Include relevant keywords in your descriptions and a CTA that makes users want to click to learn more.
• Your brand should be the focal point, so don’t forget to include your logo.
• Learn more about the best practices for different types of Pins on Pinterest Business.

6. Creating and Captioning TikTok Videos

TikTok has taken the social media world by storm, becoming one of the most popular platforms with over a billion active monthly users. Known for its short, engaging videos, TikTok offers a unique opportunity to create content that can go viral quickly.

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TikTok videos are typically 15 to 60 seconds long, focusing on creativity and quick, impactful storytelling. The platform’s algorithm favors engaging and interactive content, making it easier for a broader audience to discover videos.

Best Practices

• Hook Your Audience Quickly. The first few seconds are crucial to grab the viewer’s attention, so use vibrant visuals, intriguing questions, or bold statements to draw people in.
• Keep It Short and Sweet. While you can use up to 60 seconds, shorter videos (15-30 seconds) often perform better.
• Use Popular Music and Sounds. TikTok thrives on trends, so incorporating popular songs and sounds makes your video more relatable.
• Leverage Trends and Challenges. Participate in trending hashtags and challenges. This practice boosts visibility and makes your content relevant and timely.
• Be Authentic. TikTok audiences value authenticity. Show your personality, be genuine, and avoid overly polished content.
• Engage with Your Audience. Respond to comments, collaborate with other users, and encourage interactions.
• Use Text. TikTok allows hashtags, tags, and text-based content, and playing around with those features can open your business to an entirely new audience.

3 General Tips to Keep in Mind for Social Media Posting

Here are three quick tips to remember when you find time to sit down to compose some posts and publish content on various social platforms.

• Be genuine: Authenticity can go a long way. Avoid being too promotional or “salesy” on social media. People would much rather engage with an actual human – with real emotions and opinions.
• Keep it concise: When in doubt, keep your posts short and to the point.
• Stay evergreen: Most social media posts don’t stay front and center for long. They can quickly get buried in users’ feeds. However, if your posts are evergreen, you can easily reshare the same content again in the future, saving yourself time and getting in front of more people.

Gain Your Audience’s Attention With Social Media Content

Creating shareable social media content is a blend of understanding your audience, leveraging trends, and producing authentic, engaging material. Each strategy plays a crucial role in boosting your content’s shareability, from crafting attention-grabbing headlines and utilizing compelling visuals to participating in trending challenges and engaging with your audience.

Whether it’s the quick, vibrant videos on TikTok, insightful articles on LinkedIn, or visually appealing posts on Instagram, the key is to create content that resonates and inspires action. As you navigate the social media landscape, remember that creativity and adaptability always stand out.

Grabbing your audience’s attention is only part of the battle because once you get them to your website, you want them to return for more. As a result, investing in high-quality blog content should be a priority.

Marketing Insider Group can assist with our Content Builder Services. The result is content that stands out and is shared widely, amplifying your brand’s impact. Contact us to learn more or for a free consultation.