Copywriting for social media

A copywriter is a person who writes for a company with a commercial objective. He or she writes content so that it works as a marketing strategy and the company can increase its sales. Nowadays, a large part of these strategies are concentrated on the digital level, where social networks are becoming increasingly important.

What is a copywriter:

Some dictionaries translate the term "copywriter" as creative copywriter, although the reality is that more than creativity, what a copywriter needs to achieve is to be persuasive and accurate. It is not about being innovative and imaginative, but about getting the right word right.

Nowadays, almost all companies focus their marketing efforts on the web, and a large part of the content to which the copywriter is dedicated (although not all) is online. It is a highly valued and varied profession. A copywriter can be part of the staff of a company, or can be a freelance. It is common for the worker to be paid by texts or articles, even by words. From this we begin to see that the choice of each word is a determining factor for commercial success.

It could be thought that the only text that matters at a commercial level is the content of a press release, the text of an advertisement, or a post on social networks. All of them are very important at a commercial level, but the reality of current marketing is that any form of contact with the customer can be a great sales opportunity. Advertisements or posts are not the only things that a customer reads. The task menu, emails, the description of a product on the web, information about the company... all this information can work as advertising if they manage to attract the customer and make him/her trust the company.

Therefore, the copywriter is in charge of optimising any word and content so that it is attractive to the customer, persuasive and can be transformed, in the short or long term, into a sale.

Merakist via Unslpash

Types of Copywriter:

• Web copywriter: He/she is in charge of a company's website, of writing almost all the words and phrases that appear, as each one of them is an opportunity to attract the client. He/she would be in charge, for example, of writing the pop-up messages that appear on the screen when you browse a website, the text of the chatbox to talk to the client, the informative sections about the company, the descriptions of its functions or products...
• SEO copywriter: Its objective is to position the company's website among the first positions when an online search is carried out.
• Micro copywriter: The Micro copywriter is in charge of revising the search menu, the title of each of the sections and subsections, the links to other areas of the website. Is it more efficient to put "contact" or "contact us", or maybe a telephone icon is more attractive? All these small decisions make the difference.
• Social copywriter: Your content is focused on social networks. Writing the content of publications, the text of the stories, the description of the company in its profile, conversations with customers... And, like the web copywriter or the SEO copywriter, you must master the specific technological language of your field: Hashtags, records, terms and jargon of the different social networks that, as we know, are completely different worlds.

Copywriting in social networks

The work of the copywriter in social networks is fundamental because rarely is all the text of a publication read. That is why it is important to know where and how to put the important information. The behaviour in networks can sometimes be very alienating, so knowing how to stop the user in your publication, make them read the text, and beyond that, get them to perform an action, is a difficult task. And it might seem that all the weight falls on the image and graphics, but the text is fundamental. In this struggle to capture attention among so many profiles and words, it is essential to know how to choose the right word.

The main objective of the copywriter in networks is to increase conversion rates, which can be achieved in several ways:

• Increasing the number of followers
• By clicking on a link
• By liking a post
• Leaving a comment

Comments are one of the main objectives of a copywriter, as they not only increase conversion, but also improve positioning. It is therefore a matter of encouraging interaction as much as possible.

In particular, a large part of a copywriter's work in networks is focused on advertising content, the most important because it requires a cost, provides a benefit and, therefore, it is necessary that it meets a goal. This can be a specific number of clicks, followers, purchases....

The language of social networks is not the same as that of a website. The copywriter must know what a reader is looking for and what generates the most interest in your profile, your brand and your offer.

In more detail, the copywriter in networks is in charge of:

• Feed y Posts: Es el lugar donde se pueden escribir textos más grandes. Aunque tampoco es muy recomendable escribir grandes párrafos, el copywriter puede alternar palabras con gran potencia y explayarse más entre las frases. No obstante, cada palabra sigue siendo importante, pero el margen que existe en el feed para llamar la atención del lector es mayor que el de un story. Como ocurre en las noticias de los periódicos, las primeras frases son fundamentales para captar la atención. Además, los posts cuentan con el inconveniente de que, si se trata de un texto un poco más largo, no aparece todo completo. Llegados a cierto punto el texto se corta y aparece un botón “Leer más” para desglosar el resto. Esto supone una acción más que supone un esfuerzo para el usuario y que no siempre realiza, por lo que el copywriter debe asegurarse de que la información más importante esté antes de ese límite pero, que al mismo tiempo, quede todavía algo suculento por leer y descubrir.
• Stories: Stories last about 15 seconds, and are almost never seen in their entirety. Much less if they are static, such as an image, a text, or an image for text. It is a very visual format and therefore the few words that are included must be effective to achieve the desired return. This can be clicking on a link, continuing on to the next story, following the profile, etc.
• Biography: It is a shorter text than the posts but very important for people who do not know your profile. You can learn how to optimise it here

  

  Georgia de Lotz via Unsplash

Generally speaking, it is not advisable to write large paragraphs on social networks, nor a large number of them. The user does not read them and they are largely a waste of time. The hashtag will be one of the most powerful weapons for the copywriter. Readers read them but they also serve for the classification of the post and the positioning of the publication or story within the applications. Just like the hashtag, emoticons are already an element of language on networks. They accompany words or even replace them, providing a tinge of emotion and description that written language sometimes has trouble achieving. They generate a casual and somewhat informal tone that in certain applications is very successful but, above all, they are excellent attention grabbers.