… Techniques for engaging social posts, that is
How can you write social media posts that are as creative and dramatic as those from the FBI Press Office?
OK, granted, the FBI material is great. You’re probably not writing about bad cops, undercover stings and dogfighting rings.
But, no matter what your topic, here are some writing techniques any of us can steal from the FBI:
1. Write mini-heads.
The FBI’s clever, feature-y mini-heads grab attention and pull readers into the post.
“Gotcha!: Bad Cops Caught, Part II: Five cops go bad in Memphis, Tennessee, and the FBI worked with police.”
“A DANGEROUS BETRAYAL: The Case of the Cash Hungry Contractor: An undercover sting helped prevent a federal energ…”
“CANINE CRUELTY: Five-State Dog Fighting Ring Busted: A year-long multi-agency investigation results in approxima…”
Steal that.
2. Find the drama.
You’re sharing a story, right? Not just promoting your products or services?
If so, then something interesting must be happening here. If not, your problem isn’t the writing, it’s the content. Reconsider your post.
“CRIME FROM BEHIND BARS: The Case of the Con Turned Con Artist: Inside a two-year identity theft and bribery scheme …”
3. Push the verb.
The verb is the story. Verbs like “go bad,” “busted” and “exploit” tell good stories. Verbs like “announce” and “introduces” just point to the noun.
“Fraudsters Continue to Exploit Telecommunication Relay Services”
Plus, research by Dan Zarrella shows that tweets containing novel words tend to be retweeted more often than those that don’t.
4. Choose interesting nouns.
Verbs are the story, but nouns help, too. “Sting,” “ring,” “bad cops,” “body farm” and “fraudsters” are fascinating nouns.
Phrases like “Year-long multi-agency investigation” are not. Use Visual Thesaurus and other tools to choose more like the former and fewer like the latter.
“BODIES OF EVIDENCE: Part 1: FBI Trains at Body Farm: Every year, 40 Evidence Response Team members arrive on a w…”
What other techniques can you steal from the FBI and other great social channels to make your own social content grab more attention?
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