Let’s talk about dinosaurs. They went extinct. End of story, out of business.
Now let’s talk business. Your business.
If you want to attract new clients and customers, you have to go where they go. Forget the mall. Social media, especially Facebook, has become prime real estate. It offers crowds of foot traffic and high visibility. Young, old and middle-aged, 500 million people congregate on Facebook.
On Facebook, the two most important ways of communicating are through images and written text. Both can funnel readers to your blog. To write blog entries with Facebook in mind, remember that only the first 30 to 60 words will show on the Facebook page, and then readers who want to continue reading will click on a link that takes them to your (or your client’s) business blog. So make your audience keep reading with the best quality content you can provide in those few words.
Compelling
You have ten fleeting seconds or less to to hook your reader, so you need some seriously hard-working writing on your Facebook page. It must charm people into entering the store or main site, arouse their curiosity, or offer the solution they need at this very moment. Any of these three approaches invites the audience to keep reading, to enter your store, so to speak. An effective lead to quality content writing , then, is bright. It offers that charm, the solution or arouses curiosity.
Fresh
If your business is writing, or if writing represents your business, that writing better be good. Your Facebook page and everything on it is an extension of your business—think of it as an old-fashioned storefront. It has to be clean, professional and reflect the times. Most of all, it has to be eye-catching. The window display is either fresh and changing every week or it’s not. If you neglect it, if you let grime accrue and sun fade the colors, you’re in trouble. Write and post something new at least once a week. For a business’s purposes, more short posts are better than one long post.
Pithy and Reader Friendly
Social media is all about quick, friendly communication. So first, cut wordiness. Pare those sentences to the bone, but keep them interesting. No one wants to read a telegram. Second, use lots of simple words, short sentences and short paragraphs. Lots of white space is easy on the eye. Think about it: If you’re confronted with a wall of text, do you want to keep reading? Use subheadings to accommodate scanners—that part of your reading audience that wants a super-fast way to take in the article.
Quality Content Can Tap New Markets
The “Share” and “Like” buttons are today’s word of mouth—the best type of advertising. Every time you post to your Facebook page, get as much free mileage out of it as possible. Tweet the link, and share to other social media as well. Send notices to Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious and others. Also, Google now has a “Buzz This” button that will re-post the article on Google Reader. LinkedIn is particularly good for business-to-business marketing.
To the Dinosaurs
Social Media is here. It’s happening. Content writers have to think like marketers. So think like a marketer. Think like an entrepreneur. But don’t forget to think like a top-notch content writer, too. Write for Facebook and all social media with sharp, compelling content targeted to your unique audience. Don’t go the way of the dinosaurs.
Carol F. is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments. WriterAccess is powered by ideaLaunch.
