In the world of digital marketing, social media has taken center stage as one of the most effective ways for businesses of all sizes to reach their target audience. With the rapid evolution of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, it’s crucial for businesses to stay up-to-date with the latest strategies and tactics in order to maximize their social media presence. However, amidst all the advanced strategies and techniques, it’s important to remember that the foundation of every social media campaign lies in one simple thing: the social media post itself.

In this blog post, we go back to the basics and provide 10 key elements that every social media post should include to ensure maximum engagement and visibility. Feel free to screenshot or print out our list below so that you can refer to it next time you create a post!

Best Practices for Crafting the Perfect Social Media Post in 2023

1. Keep your captions short and sweet. Users don’t have the time to read lengthy posts, and many social media platforms only display the first few lines of text anyway. That being said, you’ll want to make sure your caption is clear, concise, and gets to the point quickly.

2. ALWAYS include a visual element. Whether it’s a photo, video, graphic, or another type of visual, including an image in your post will increase engagement and help it stand out in users’ feeds. Think about Facebook: How many “text-only” posts grab your eye on a daily basis, versus posts with visual elements?

3. Avoid using images with too much text. Social networks don’t necessarily like images with a lot of text in them and often show them to fewer people. We’ve tested this and can confirm the legitimacy of this. Some text is ok, but an image that is almost all text will be shown to fewer people in the Feeds. Try to use visually striking images that are colorful and light to draw a user’s attention and then use the status area to convey the rest of your message.

4. Always include a call-to-action (CTA). Encourage users to take action by including a link to your website or asking them to leave a comment or like the post. CTAs not only help drive engagement but also signal to the algorithm that your post is valuable and worthy of being shown to more users. Additionally, simply stating a CTA message like “Contact us today” will psychologically “drill” the idea to take action into the user’s head.

5. Optimize your image and video sizes. Different platforms have different recommended sizes for images and videos, so be sure to follow the guidelines to ensure your posts look their best and take up as much real estate as possible in users’ feeds.

6. Use hashtags appropriately. Hashtags are a great way to reach new users and attract more followers, especially on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. There are a number of websites and apps that will help you find relevant hashtags in your industry. Users can also follow specific hashtags that they are interested in, so by using the right hashtags in your posts, you’ll be able to reach a far greater audience.

7. Follow the Rule of Thirds. The rule of thirds is more of a general strategy than it is a post-by-post one but is an extremely important rule to follow if you want to organically grow your audience and promote authentic and organic page engagement. The rule of thirds states that in order to cover all of your bases and attract the optimal number of engaged users, you should post:

• 1/3 Sales-y Content: CTA’s, information on services, company promotions, etc.
• 1/3 Informative Content: Blogs you’ve written, content from your website that helps users or is informational and useful in nature.
• 1/3 Misc.: Inspirational quotes, testimonials, motivational posts, fun memes/content, #TBT

The reasoning behind this rule is that users don’t like being sold to 24/7. It’s a turnoff and will actually deter people from following you on social media.

8. Use Stories. Stories have become one of the most effective ways to engage with users on social media. Whether you’re using Instagram, Facebook, or another platform, it’s important to make sure you’re taking advantage of Stories regularly to showcase behind-the-scenes content, highlight products or services, or promote special deals or events. You can also use Stories to survey your audience, run polls, and request feedback.

9. Frequently upload video content. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) has come right out and said it: they are rewarding pages/posts that prioritize video content. This means that any posts containing video will reach a wider audience and see greater engagement. Whether it’s a traditional post or a story, video content will support your page’s growth significantly.

10. Interact with your users. After you’ve posted, it’s important to realize that the job isn’t quite done yet. Replying to comments on your post is essential, as all social media algorithms tend to favor posts that carry conversation throughout the comments section. Not only does responding to comments support your business’s growth on social media, it also lets your audience know that you are active and professional.

By following these best practices and focusing on the basics of crafting a great social media post, you can increase engagement, visibility, and ultimately drive more traffic and revenue for your business in 2023.

Don’t have enough time to master social media marketing on your own? Our team at webFEAT Complete is happy to take over! We’ve been managing social media accounts for businesses of all sizes since the beginning of social media marketing, and we’d be delighted to add your business to our list of successful social media clients! Contact webFEAT Complete today to level up your business on social media!
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