April 27, 2011 9:30 AM

When it comes to social media content, it’s important that you can catch your key audience’s attention immediately. There is so much content available to social media users that not being able to instantly engage their interest means that they won’t choose to interact with your content.

When it comes to quickly catching attention, one of the most important things you can do is write a compelling headline for your social media content.

Writing headlines for social media is different than writing titles for content that you’re posting on your blog or your website in general. For one thing, many social media sites require concise titles (think Twitter – 140 characters max) so you need to be able to pack a punch with your headline. How can you do that?

1. Stick to the classics. One of the most interesting and effective types of social media headlines are the ones that are a play on classic phrases or ideas. For instance: “The Seven Deadly Sins of…” I’ve seen this title numerous times, and while we’re not suggesting you use that exact example, using ones like it can help you to catch your readers’ attention by creating a new twist on a well-recognized concept.
2. Don’t forget the shock factor. By including something controversial, emotional, surprising or downright shocking, you have a better chance of engaging social media users. Make them curious by using words and phrases that inspire strong feelings. 
3. Be urgent. Creating a sense of immediacy in your social media headlines encourages users not to pass your content by. If social media visitors feel like ignoring your content will be negative for them (ex. They’re going to miss out on something important that is only around for a short period of time) then they are more likely to take the time to click on your links or visit your content pages. 
4. Remember SEO.  Just because you want to focus on headlines that are catchy doesn’t meant that you can afford to ignore SEO. While you may not always want to include your keywords (they may take away from the overall effect of your headline) the fact is that many people use social media to find information now, and if your content isn’t found, it doesn’t matter how compelling your title is. 
5. Use powerful words. Readers often respond to content that resonates with them. By using meaningful words like money, love, death, etc you can catch readers’ attention by using phrases that have an emotional connect or tie.
6. Make strange comparisons.Comparing two things that seem completely unrelated is a good trick for capturing readers' interest. For instance using a headline like, "10 Reasons Why Your Blog is Like a Rodeo," will engage visitors just because it is an odd comparison, it will encourage them to think, "Why is my blog like a rodeo?"
7. Understand your audience.  You should know what types of content your audience is looking for and what words, phrases and ideas will have the biggest effect on them. Using that information to create headlines will help your content feel more relatable to your target customers.

Blogger Profile: Marqui Web Marketing Blog
Marqui's Web Marketing Blog is brought to you by their marketing and consulting team to share ideas, best practices and trends from the world of web marketing. The blog aims to cover a broad array of topics relating to web marketing including content management, conversion optimization, SEO, email marketing and lead nurturing.

Posted by Sue Ansell at April 27, 2011 9:30 AM

Categories: Social media Social networking

Comments

TrackBack Link