Don’t Ignore Your Social Media Copy. Here’s Why.

Yes, your audience may prefer more videos and images, but your copy needs to impress too.

You open up Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn and what catches your eye?

It’s probably a one-minute video from Gary Vee, an image from your favorite food blogger making a quick lunch meal that looks so good you can taste it, or that Instagram fitness model working out at the gym.

This is our current digital landscape. We obsess over the visuals. We want to see videos and pictures of people we admire, look up to, or are simply curious to what’s going on in their lives.

We also want solutions to problems, and that’s why so many successful brands are active on social media.

The truth is if you’re someone who wants to grow their personal or business brand or promote a product or service on social media, you can’t ignore your copy. Why?

Because we get sucked in by the imagery, but we stay to read the copy (or the message). You can post a picture of you smiling on the beach or holding a delicious meal you prepared and cooked yourself, but you also need to add value with your caption copy.

Let me show you two great examples from Gary Vaynerchuk and Jasmine Star on Instagram. Both are two very successful entrepreneurs and communicators on how to build a successful brand using social media.

Over 1.1 million views for this video from Gary Vee. His messages resonate and he always gives people the tough love they need to hear. As you can see, he puts a call to action at the end of his caption copy to get his audience to engage. That resulted in hundreds of comments.

Jasmine always kills it with her copy as you can see. In this post, the image is a simple one of her sitting at a table on her phone. She then goes on to tell a story and break it down in an easy-to-read format. She ends with a call-to-action asking her followers for their advice. This led to nearly 500 comments.

Individuals like Gary Vee and Jasmine Star post consistently and often. And they utilize their copy to be real and offer value. This is exactly what you need to do when posting images and videos if you want to build a brand online.

When it comes to social media, there are so many people that focus on the visuals because that’s what they think works. Yes, a badass image will get thousands of likes, but if you’re a business or someone wanting to grow a personal brand, you need to add value on top of the visuals, and that happens with the copy.

When I post images or videos, I always make sure to write a message/story in my captions that reflect what you’re seeing and try to get my audience to engage.

This is how you build an audience and gain their trust. And by writing your captions and putting thought into it, you’re showing people who you really are.

Your copy is another opportunity to be you and prove to people you aren’t someone “fishing” for likes. You’re showing them there’s a purpose to your posts.

So, you can either be someone who wants to deliver specific value to a specific audience by writing insightful, engaging copy. Or you can be lazy and post an image with you sitting in front of your laptop with the short caption, “work smarter, not harder.”

Really good copy will separate you from the fake influencers out there. And to answer the question does it matter if it’s short or long-form? It doesn’t matter. If you can tell people something valuable in 40 words, do it. If it takes you 100 words to say it, then it takes 100 words.

The problem I see is that there isn’t enough substance behind the copy. There will be times where a very short caption is all you need, but there will be posts that need more explanation and to feed the curiosity of the person seeing your image.

And let’s not forget this either. If you’re posting videos of you or anyone speaking on any channel (IG, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter), I have to touch on one of the most critical reasons you need to take time with your caption copy.

This stat will tell you enough

According to Digiday, as much as 85 percent of video views happen with the sound off.

This means that if you don’t add context to your video with copy, then a majority of your audience won’t know what your video is saying.

So, I suggest using captions in the video or writing out a synopsis of what you’re saying in the video so your audience can read that first and then click the video to listen with sound.

Be strategic and get creative with it. Write something that makes them have to watch the whole video with sound.

The moral of the story is that copy sells. This isn’t just the copywriter in me saying this. It’s what separates people who get people to engage with them on social media and from the people who have a ton of likes, but no one leaves comments.

If you’re increasing your social media posting or starting a new strategy, take the time to think of what you’re going to write alongside your visuals.

Embrace the power of the written word when it comes to your social media content, don’t neglect it.

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