Are you thinking about ways to get more clicks from your social media audience? Have you tried multiple strategies but so far you’re not getting the results you want?
Everything that you’re doing on the social media platforms is important for your brand reputation.
But one of the most important things that you can do is to write better headlines. Engaging with your customers and participating in conversations is also imperative, but the first thing you need to take care of is your headlines.
Sites like Twitter and Facebook have a continuous stream of information. So, in order to get more clicks to your post or landing page, your status and headlines need to be really compelling.
For example, check this tweet from HubSpot: “Free Webinar: How to Master LinkedIn for Marketing – link”. They used just 8 words and a link and they knew they’re going to get the clicks they wanted!
Useful tip: Always try to imagine that you are posting on Twitter. As there you have a 140 character limit, you might find it a useful training process for your headlines.
Headlines are V-I-T-A-L for Digital Marketing
Do you know why people take action? Do you know why they say “yes”?
In marketing, you always need to make your audience say yes after reading your paragraphs. It is one of the first and most important rules in the business.
People will take action and they will say yes if you understand how to write awesome headlines.
It’s like a circle…
There are three types of GREAT headlines: Threat, Social Proof, and Gain. I will be walking you through all of them:
Threat Headlines
People can get motivated into taking action if they know they can avoid pain and earn a benefit.
Take for example threat headlines like:
- Warning: Don’t Put Any More Foundation On Your Skin Until You Read This
- The Big Lie Hiding On The Labels Of Best-Selling Foods
- Is Your Toilet Cleaner Harmful To Your Child’s Health?
All these headlines show you a way of protecting yourself from something, but only if you take action.
No one likes to be in pain or get scammed, so great threat headlines go exactly where you want them to in your reader’s’ mind, making them to take action.
Social Proof Headlines
What is your opinion on these headlines?
- What Oprah Does To Stay Healthy And Fit – Even If It Means Eating At Midnight
- Why 1000’s Londoners Will Gather At Psymera in December 2015
- The New WordPress eCommerce Plug-in Everyone is Talking About
The second and the third headline express social proof. From each of them you are getting the feeling that everyone (or many people) already know what’s going on, but you don’t. Doesn’t that make you want to click that headline?
The first headline is a Piggyback headline, which means it attracts readers because of Oprah’s popularity.
Smart marketers know that people are influenced by what other people do, so they are always trying to include social proof when creating their headlines.
Gain Headlines
One of the simplest way to create an effective headline is by showing your audience a benefit. Indicate that by taking action they will achieve a benefit. A headline that shows a promise:
- If You Can Boil Water You can Make These Delicious Italian Recipes
- Can You Say No To Quiet, Well-Trained Pets?
- Give Me 10 Minutes and You’ll be a Master at Making Risotto – Michelin Stars Style!
Now Let’s See How You Can Improve Your Headlines…
- Communicate Time
Most people do not have the patience to read all of your content, and most of them do not have the time, either. They want a quick solution. And the question that pops into your reader’s head is “how long will it take to fulfill the promise in the headline?”
So give them headlines that appear to take the reader into a rapid fix. Imagine that you are reading this headline “Twenty Huge Trends That Will Dominate The Online Marketing World In 2016 [Link]”. If you are in a rush you might not consider this headline, as the word twenty makes you think it’s a quite long post.
But if you’re reading “A Single, Simple Trend That Will Dominate The Online Marketing World In 2016 [Link]” it changes the aspect of time and you just might click on it.
- Do not forget about the words “how to”
There are many tweets and status updates that are more of a statement than a promise. If you want a good headline, it should have a promise, a promise that will be completed when clicking.
Useful tip: Even if you first thought about your headline as a statement, try adding a “how to” to it, and see the improvements for yourself.
- Curiosity & Fascination
Anyone can tell you that they are more likely to click on something that makes them feel fascinated and curious. These two can bring you a massive increase in engagement.
How to do it? The important thing to remember is to connect a threat or gain to something that appears unrelated. Make a promise but bring your audience a little curiosity.
Take for example this headline: “How to Be the Schumacher of the Web: 5 Speed Ways to Boost Your Online Marketing And Leave Your Competition Behind [Link]”. It makes a promise to boost your online marketing fast, while adding the fascination layer – the famous formula 1 driver Schumacher.
In conclusion, these strategies will help you bring more clicks, and more importantly they will eventually improve your business if implemented regularly…
Now it’s your turn…
- What strategies are you using for your headlines?
- Are you satisfied with the number of clicks you’re getting from your current headlines?
- Do you think these headlines are efficient in delivering your readers what they promise?