Creating high-performing social media posts takes strategy and effort. While each brand must fine-tune their own voice and style, there are some general dos and don’ts worth following. Use these essential tips to optimize your future social media content.

Do:

  • Add visuals. Posts with images and video tend to garner more engagement across every social platform.
  • Vary your post types. Mix up link shares, photo posts, videos, questions, lists, infographics, quotes and more.
  • Target prime posting times. Study your past analytics to identify when your audience is most active online. Scheduling posts for those high-traffic periods can improve visibility.
  • Write scannable copy. Bulleted lists, emojis, captions, white space between paragraphs and other tactics make long blocks of text more digestible.
  • Use relevant hashtags. Include a few hashtag keywords where appropriate to help the right people find your content.
  • Interact and engage. Reply to comments, like follower posts, and post questions to get conversations going.

Don’ts:

  • Overuse hashtags. Too many can seem spammy. Focus on a few strategic ones per post.
  • Neglect call-to-actions. Guiding followers how to engage or where to go next via CTAs boosts post performance.
  • Forget to optimize for mobile. Short paragraphs and text, crisp images, large buttons, and videos filmed horizontally optimize the mobile experience.
  • Overpost. Find a sustainable posting cadence. Posting too infrequently or too often both tend to decrease reach over time.
  • Automatically reuse or duplicate content. Each network’s algorithm favors unique, tailored content.
  • Use spammy tactics. Buying fake followers or automating excessive posting will likely backfire. Focus on genuine engagement.

Analyze how your posts are performing and make incremental optimization changes over time. With consistent effort, you can discover the strategies that work best for your brand.