Writing Effective Content Preview for Social Media

Writing Table of ContentsYou may think that writing your table of contents is revealing too many of your cards.

However, it is actually valuable to your reader and can gain you a view if done strategically.

The key is not revealing too much.

Write your main point i.e. the topic of your article and then list the contents.

The points in the content should be general and vague but not uninteresting.

The interesting points will entice the reader to check out the detail behind the points while not spoiling them for your reader.

For instance, if you are writing a preview about the types of blogs then after writing this heading, list blogs such as informational, op-eds, news, lifestyle and travel.

Anyone who will be interested to know about the types of blogs will likely click on your article to know the details about the type of these blogs.

Write a Quote or Citation

You often see quotes, statistics or citations in quotation marks in a caption.

Well, marketers use it because it certainly works.

Starting a caption with quotation marks can get the reader’s attention.

Plus, ending it with a call to action like “get to know about this more below” etc can get the reader curious and they may follow through with the instructions.

Hence, all you need to do is to get their attention and make them curious with a strong quote from the article.

Usually, you cannot write long quotes on Twitter, hence this works better for the other platforms.

State Your Content’s Popularity

If you have a good blog post that got several shares and likes, there’s no harm in promoting it again with the stats.

This works as social proof whereby people feel left out if they haven’t read your popular post yet.

Hence it results in FOMO- fear of missing out on the content that other readers found valuable.

Therefore, if you mention that your content was the most shareable, likable popular or debatable you have the reader’s attention.

Calling it the best of the year works too.

This way they will likely click the blog post to know why it is so popular, gaining you another view.

However, remember to not lie about the shares, likes and popularity.

Only use such captions for content that is indeed popular because once your reader clicks it, they will know it is not all that.

In that case, your brand reputation can take a hit and you don’t want that.

After all, that is more important than a few views.

Use Pictures with a Caption

Pictures are the main form of media in social platform Instagram, while videos are the focus on TikTok and Youtube.

Hence, written content preview is not your only option.

Plus there are cognitive biases whereby the brain cannot receive too much information.

Hence, you will need a picture that is humorous or stands out because of its bright colors in order to get the reader’s attention on their feed.

Use a Conversational Tone

Your tone of writing is an important determinant of whether your reader will click the link or not.

See, if you use heavy industry jargon then odds are your reader will scroll over.

Not everyone is proficient in the professional language or understands complex words right away.

On the other hand, you don’t want to sound too casual either as that can be off-putting or sound rude.

Hence, go for the middle ground.

Be conversational as if you are explaining to a friend but don’t forget the real context and purpose of your post.

Make People Care

People care about your content if there is something in it for them.

Maybe your piece has expert insights, you get a freebie or it is very easy to understand and in a less time-consuming format.

Mentioning this in your content preview will convince the reader to go ahead and click.

For instance, writing that these tips are short and sweet, is enough to convey the message that the content isn’t lengthy or time-consuming.

Hence, the reader can click it immediately without sparing time for it.

Similarly giving a freebie or bonus entices them to click too.

It can be something simple as a template, a checklist or a free audiobook.

The added value attached to reading the post convinces the reader that they should proceed with it.

Hence, your readers will start caring for the post and this will ensure they take the next step for the incentive they get by doing so.

You never know, some people may only want the template and read your entire article in return for that.

Bring Facts to the Table Post

Begin your post with an unbelievable fact that will result in a surprising reaction.

When people get to know something they aren’t aware of, their curiosity is piqued.

Hence, your first sentences serve as the hook.

Start right off the bat with a shocking fact.

The stats in the fact may be unbelievable to your reader hence, they will want to know more detail.

You can also give them exclusive information related to your niche that others are unaware of.

Similarly, you can begin with extraordinary insights into the topic or by using weird expressions and words to gain attention.

As long as you have a strong hook right at the beginning of your article, you can even write a long post without worrying about a lower attention span.

In fact, this trick works for longer previews because you have gained attention already.

So no matter if the post is long, once your reader is interested, they will continue to read.

Tagging Important People

You definitely want more views and readers.

So why not tag important people in the posts?

If the author of the blog or sources in the article is well known, tag them in your post.

This shows that your content is authoritative and includes insights from well-known people in the industry.

Hence, readers will be more convinced to go ahead.

What’s more, the people you tag will likely want to reshare the post.

Once they do that, it will also reach their followers that are not necessarily following you.

Hence, the word will spread about your blog reaching many more people.

That will not only bring you views and conversions but will also increase your followers on social media.

Hence, it is a win-win.

Don’t forget to tag important people in your previews next time you are posting blog links.

Speak to Your Readers Directly

Writing in an active voice and the first or second person is more effective than writing in the third person.

Converse with your readers directly.

This way they will be able to relate to your content much more easily than when they are simply taking information from a third party.

You are aware of your audience’s buyer’s persona.

You know what are their fears, character traits, motivations and frustrations.

Hence, they will feel closer to your content when it is said directly to them.

So keep on writing in an approachable, conversational way whereby your readers are convinced they want to stick with your content and follow your work.

Finally,

Writing any post needs countless revisions.

Hence, even if you are writing a simple content preview, you may only see results after countless trials and errors.

Try these different tactics with your posts to see what your readers are likely to engage with.

Not every reader may like the same thing, hence keep using different approaches to see what they like most.

This process never stops.

Keep experimenting with these tips and write an engaging content preview for all of your blogs even if you reach a good number of followers, readers or views.