Almost every company has a Facebook page these days. Most of them also have a good number of fans but a lot of them struggle in engaging their fans with their Facebook posts.
If you have 100,000-page likes and on average your posts are getting one to 10 likes, something is clearly wrong. Your posts are not capturing user’s attention.
In this post, we will have a look at what kind of copywriting tricks successful brands use to get millions of fans and great engagement rate.
Related Article: The 4 Most Important Facebook Updates of 2016 (So Far)
1. Short and Catchy Writing
Remember Apple’s “Think Different” tagline? Or perhaps Subway’s “Eat Fresh”? People tend to remember short and catchy copy for a long time. Most of the visitors on your Facebook pages scan the first few words of the post before deciding to move on. What if your post is only a couple of words? They stop, think and read it again.
Let's take a look at some examples.
Red Bull
Red Bull’s Facebook campaign is all about promoting a lifestyle. You will be lucky to see their Red Bull can in any of their posts. Their objective is not to promote a simply caffeinated drink but a daredevil lifestyle. The comments they get praise the sport or the athletes rather than discussing Redbull’s products.
The copywriting is short and to the point. Anywhere between two to six words at most.
These kinds of posts evoke Red Bull slogans such as “No Gravity or “Claim Freedom”.
2. Curiosity Generating Writing
This method of writing generates “curiosity gap” among the readers. In a nutshell, it is the gap between what we know and what we want to know. When we notice a gap in our knowledge, it produces a feeling of deprivation that prompts us to go looking for that piece of missing information in order to stop feeling deprived
Let's look at a couple of examples.
BuzzFeed
The whole business model of BuzzFeed is based around generating curiosity. They have successfully hacked this strategy into their social media campaigns too. To start off they have several dedicated Facebook for different countries in the world.
The headlines they use on Facebook are not much different than the ones on their website.
Upworthy
Upworthy is no different than BuzzFeed.
This headline hints at something (the homeless person's story) without actually revealing it. This is great for creating a sense of curiosity that can get others to take action.
3. Use of Hashtags in Writing
Hashtags have become an integral part of online communications. On almost any social media channel, the pound sign (or hash) turns any word into a searchable link. Many major brands have embraced the power of hashtag and use it in their marketing campaigns frequently.
For example, Coca-Cola’s Facebook page is filled with hashtag marketing campaigns.
There are four reasons to use hashtags in your writing:
Related Article: Build Better Ads: 7 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Ad Campaign
A. Brandable
Coca Cola uses hashtags that are relevant to their brand tagline and current events. #TasteTheFeeling is what people associate Coca Cola with. By combining #TasteTheFeeling with #Euro2016 they want people to think of Coca Cola when they are watching Euro 2016 (a huge football tournament).
B. Searchable
Hashtags make your company more searchable on the web. Taking the example above, if some searches for #Euro2016 on social media, there is a good chance Coca Cola’s post would show up.
C. Brevity
A hashtag gives your post a more social look and lets you say more with fewer words. Instead of saying “Enjoy Coca-Cola while you watch Euro 2016” they simply say #TasteTheFeling #Euro2016. This gets the message across quite well.
D. Tracking and analytics
Coca-Cola does a great job in using hashtags that are closely related to their brand. With some tracking tools like, Twitter Listening Report, it’s easy to find out which terms are being used the most with your brand.
4. Tell Stories
Everyone loves to hear/read/watch stories. Brands have been selling by telling stories for decades. You can even say that humans are hardwired to learn through stories.
Dove’s facebook campaign tries to communicate with customers by telling stories with their writing and pictures.
This is a perfect example of using innovative visual structures to create more compelling narratives. The "story" here is how Dove helps women of all races and generations and body shapes and sizes feel good about themselves. The visual structure in the form of slideshows makes this story far more impactful.
5. Persuasive Writing
Persuasive writing is a form of writing in which the writer uses power words and emotions to convince the reader that the writer’s opinion is correct.
Nike
Nike probably has the best tagline out there. Almost anyone can resonate with it. They use #justdoit with every other post.
Time and again Nike has been accused of their code of conduct and exploiting child labor in developing countries. As of now, Nike has managed to turn its image around. Their internet marketing campaign is partly responsible for the makeover. On their Facebook page, they post new products, science, charitable initiatives and encouragement.
Nike emphasizes more on research and development that goes into every design.
6. Humor Writing
Humor is all about timing. If you can make your customers smile, they will forever love you.
Taco Bell
In order to promote their mobile ordering app, Taco Bell blacked out their social media profiles. This is how their Facebook page looked like for 24 hours:
Taco Bell’s ability to use humor as a part of their online marketing campaigns has certainly benefited them. They started a petition to include a Taco Bell emoji in smartphone keyboards.
These types of posts engage your fans. Their lighthearted approach works extremely well for them in selling products.Taco Bell gives you a memorable social media experience. DigitalCoCo ranked Taco Bell number one on the Restaurant Social Media Index. This goes to say using humor in your copy is not only fun, but it also works.
7. Contrarian Writing
This type of writing involves going against a popular notion. It isn’t easy as you may catch a lot of flack from people but if you play your cards right this type of copy can get you a substantial advantage over your competitors.
Aerie
Aerie looks at beauty from a different lens altogether and has taken a stand against “manufactured beauty”. They have promised their customers that they will never modify images of their models using photoshop or retouching to make them look more “sexy”. Aerie has come out with a new slogan, “We think the real you is sexy”. They make their stance known through their Facebook page.
Images of models that are shared on their Facebook posts are quite different than the ones you see on the cover of any popular magazine. They focus on promoting natural beauty.
8. Sometimes Images Speak Louder Than Words
At times you don’t need words, images do a better job of communicating with customers. For example:
Nutella
Nutella heavily relies on visual content for their Facebook marketing. After all how much they can really say about a hazelnut chocolate spread? Images help a lot.
They post funny images and sometimes videos to show how Nutella can be used to make a delicious recipe. Needless to say, these images generate a huge amount of engagement.
TOMS
Brands that give back are usually supported by people. TOMS owe their incredible success to their “one-for-one” strategy. For every pair of shoes or eyeglasses you buy, they will donate a pair to someone in need.
The images they use in their Facebook posts are no less than exceptional. Images speak more than words.
Although unlike Nutella they also post descriptions along with the images.
Related Article: 4 Reasons Why Your Facebook Ads Are Not Converting
Conclusion
All these brands above use different copywriting styles to communicate with their customers. Many use hashtags of their slogan to keep the awareness going and some keep the copy short and to the point.
Few of them don’t bother with the copy at all and use visual content instead. The key takeaway is to understand your audience and craft your copy accordingly. If you can manage to incorporate some humor into your copy, it may do wonders for you.