Although we’ve always been told not to judge a book by its cover, often, the make-or-break moment is…the title. Just like a book, your social media headlines will either draw in or push away your audience.
They must intrigue them enough so they want to click and read the rest of what you’ve got to say. But as nearly every small business has experienced, the volume of content streaming in front of your audience (and competing for their attention) is growing at a rapid rate.
On average, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline copy, but only two of those people will stop scrolling to click on the post and read the rest. The harsh reality is that your Facebook posts are getting lost in the sea of about 1,500 other posts that are showing up in your fans’ feeds.
Grrrr. What’s a brand to do?
Write a catchy headline and you’ll increase your odds of beating the averages and get your content read by a larger number of customers. This, alone, is why your social media headlines must be engaging.
5 Quick Tips to Write Killer Social Media Headlines
Because we strive to make your life a little easier, here are five quick tips to write a killer headline that gets the attention you’re looking for:
1. Think Fast.
The max character count before getting cut off in search results is 65, but Nielsen group found that people typically consume the first 11 characters of headlines. Your blog post title must capture attention FAST. Research tells us that our average attention span is less than that of a goldfish, which means that people are going to determine if your post is worth their time in a split second.
2. Count on Numbers.
Include numbers in your headline and they’re more likely to perform better than those without. Oddly enough, odd number perform well (better than even numbers) and the number “7” seems to be lucky after all. Some reports say that readers absorb the first three words of a headline as well as the last three words; so start strong and finish with a bang.
3. Keep Your Promise.
If your social media headline promises that the reader will learn or discover something, you better deliver. The worst thing you can do is to over-promise and under-deliver. Entice them with a clear benefit and you’ll nail a strong first impression. Plus, a catchy headline that keeps its promises will also improve your CTR, increasing the probability that the user will stay on your site longer.
4. Become a Power House.
Add adjectives and power words to pique readers’ interest sufficiently to read on. Get creative with adjectives such as effortless, essential, horrifying, incredible, brilliant, valuable, catchy, useful, etc. And incorporate other power words, such as free, you, new, instantly, because that will persuade your audience to click.
5. Include Keywords.
Doing your keyword research is like peeking inside a magical window into the minds of your audience. Find out what information they’re searching for and you’ll have a better chance of getting discovered along the way. Include those keywords in your headline, but they must be written for humans, not exclusively search engines.
Your Turn
Without an attractive social media headline strategy in place, your posts won’t capture customers’ attention in the sea of social clutter (as they should). But be patient, it takes time.
On the other hand, if you’d rather leave the content writing headlines up us so you can spend more time on your business, let’s talk. Find out how Post Café works and call 732-218-9377 for more information.
