Did you ever write brilliant, informative, and engaging content, but once you decided to share it with your audience it failed to convert? We’ve all been there. You could get frustrated and give up, or you could improve your content strategy and boost your conversions. That includes improving your social media strategy- specifically, your social media headlines.
Social media headlines can either make you or break you. They’re the first impression people are going to judge you by. So, if you learn how to nail your social media headlines, you’ll be able to boost your conversions and reach your goals. That’s why we’ve put together this guide, with tips and tricks on how to write killer social media headlines that drive conversions.
Let’s break it down together.
1. Show The Benefits
Social media is an extremely powerful marketing & business tool. That means your competition is huge.
If you want people to read your content, you’ll have to give them a damn good reason to do so. This is why you should focus on creating social media headlines that point out the benefits of the content you’re sharing.
To put it simply, you have to answer the question:
- Why do you need to read this?
Tell them exactly what they win if they read your content, and you’ll have their full attention. Here’s a couple of examples:
- 15 Surefire Ways To Skyrocket Your Email Marketing Strategy
- How To Boost Your Organic Traffic in 7 Simple Steps
- Creating Healthy Study Habits: How To Do it Like a Pro
Each headline needs to clearly show the value it provides and share it with the potential readers explicitly.
2. Be Specific
The more details you share in your headline, the more relatable your content is going to seem to the readers in your target audience.
If you share generic, general headlines, your followers aren’t even going to notice it.
Let’s compare:
- How to Quit Smoking vs. 6 Tips to Quit Smoking For People Over 50
- How to Start a Garden vs. The Ultimate Guide For Starting Your Own Garden on a Budget
In both examples, the second title is much more specific, and thus more attractive to the target audience. Share more details and you’ll boost your conversions for sure.
3. Ask a Question
Questions are great for creating relatable and intriguing headlines for social media. They’re great for hitting the bull’s eye with your target audience and making them feel like you’re talking directly to them.
It’s a good idea to incorporate the word “your” or “your” to further boost this feeling.
Here’s what we have in mind:
- Are You Having Trouble Organizing Your Workday?
- How Can You Improve Your Social Media Presence Today?
Questions are a great way for you to connect with your target audience and grab their attention. They’ll find your content more interesting and feel like it was designed for them to read it.
4. Create a Sense of Urgency
We’ve all heard about the FOMO (fear of missing out) phenomenon, but did you know that you should use it in your social media headlines?
Creating a sense of urgency will make your target audience feel like they have to read the whole story, or else they’ll miss out on a great opportunity.
To create this type of content you should:
- use phrases like “you have to know” or “you must read”
- incorporate words like “today” or “instantly”
- mention the current month or year
So, instead of writing “The Best Fashion Tips For Women” you should go with “The 2020 Fashion Tips Every Woman Needs to Know”.
Do you see the difference in how each headline makes you feel? That’s what you want to do to your audience.
5. Put Together Numbered Lists
Lists and numbers work together brilliantly and can work wonders for your social media headlines. They’re the perfect combination of some of the major headline materials you need:
- making a promise
- showing the benefits
- being specific
To make great numbered list headline, all you need is to create a list of:
- tips
- tricks
- hacks
- secrets
- ways
- steps
- etc.
You get the idea.
You should write a headline such as “The 23 Best Easy-To-Make Breakfast Ideas For Students” or “11 Ways to Start a New Career in Your 40s”.
6. Use How-To Headlines
As we’ve already mentioned, people want to know why they should read your content, and what’s in it for them. It’s your job to show them the value of your content using nothing but the headline.
This is why the how-to headlines work great on social media. Here’s what they say about your content:
- it will teach something
- it will provide guidance
- it will be informative
- it will give advice or solve a problem
So, create headlines that announce a great tutorial or guide for those who decide to read it:
- How to Lose Weight With 8 Simple Exercises
- How to Create Social Media Infographics Your Followers Will Love
- Camping Like a Pro: How to Cook in the Open Air
How-to social media headlines will drive the conversions you need and help you expand your reach.
7. Include Power-Words
Now that you know the basic formula for crafting a killer social media headline, you need to fuel it further with power words that will help you drive more conversions.
Power words are among the basic principles of copywriting.
Those are the words that simply raise the bar and lift the energy of your headline, making it more effective and powerful.
The list can go one, but we’d like to share our favorite ones:
- ultimate
- powerful
- supreme
- huge/big/massive
- surprising/secret
- top/best
- killer
Whether it’s the “Ultimate Guide” for learning something new or a “Killer Digital Marketing Strategy”, you should use these words to make your headlines more powerful.
Choose the ones you like best and fuel your headlines with this powerful shot of energy.
Final Thoughts
Creating killer social media headlines means being able to paint the perfect picture. You need to combine different elements that will fit together and send out a powerful message for the people you’re targeting.
Use the tips we’ve shared above and start working on a new social media headline strategy. Apply them wisely and you’ll see a boost in your conversions.
