How to improve your Facebook copywriting

Facebook is one of the most powerful marketing tools in the world. That is undeniable. Due to the immediacy of the platform, people can mistakenly lack thought and attention to the copywriting they put out there on their Facebook business page, forgetting that it represents the quality and credibility of their business and service.

An easy assumption to make is that you can write with reckless abandon on Facebook and that not every post counts. Just because the content isn’t static and is forever moving, does not mean that you do not apply the same copywriting techniques that you would for any other marketing activity.

Simply, putting time and effort into carefully copywriting every Facebook post will reward you over time.

Here are some tips on writing great Facebook copy for your business:

  1. Don’t waffle on! Keep your status to a maximum of three short sentences. Save lengthy pieces for your blog or website.*
  2. Use correct grammar and spelling to convey a professional tone and generate trust from your audience.
  3. Don’t overuse grammar! If you’re using more than one ellipses or exclamation mark, you’re doing it wrong! If everything you say is an EXCLAMATION!!! then your real announcements will get lost in the noise.
  4. Before you post, think about how you can refine the same message into a sentence or two. (This is why Twitter is great because you have to limit what you’re saying to 140 characters or less).
  5. Don’t forget to make your audience do something. That could include commenting, visiting your blog or website, phoning for an appointment, pondering something or answering a question. Limit statuses that are purely statements.

*Facebook has significantly changed since I first wrote this blog post many years ago. Now, people tend to write quote longform copy in some Facebook posts. Which is great and can be interesting but to make this work, be sure to apply the other principles above, keep these longform posts sparingly (aim for two to three per month max) and employ genuinely good writing structure.

Choosing the right words for Facebook

So what words should you use when copywriting for Facebook? Well, aside from keeping your tone, language and style in alignment with your brand and business, here are some words to include and words to avoid.
 
Words that have a positive effect on your audience:

  • tell us
  • deals
  • comment
  • take
  • inspires
  • warns

These are all great eye catching words that people automatically associate with relevant articles, posts and written content that will improve our lives as readers and will get people clicking through to your blog posts or website (which is what we want them to do for SEO benefits and to get them to buy from you!). Using one of these words in your social media posts will help boost interaction. Give it a go today!
 
Words to avoid when running a social media competition:

  • coupon
  • sweepstakes
  • contest
  • promotion

 
Instead use winner, win, winning, lucky, events, free, bonus… you get the idea. People don’t want to know the process – they just want to know the end result for them, or at least the possible end result.Bonus tip:
Did you know? Manners cost nothing but double everything! Including the word please in your call-to-action can increase your engagement by almost double, according to The Most Effective Calls to Action for Facebook Posts, by Ayaz Nanji, 18 June 2014.

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