Copy That!

Start-ups can sometimes spend hours labouring over the creation of beautiful assets and producing a cohesive feed with engaging visuals - but their content still underperforms on every single post. Why?

The answer is obviously very context-dependent and complex, but a determining key factor tends to be the quality of copy they are producing (or not).

Captions are the unsung heroes of social media marketing. And unfortunately, they are often an afterthought considered too short or insignificant to be worthy of much attention. However, all it takes is one well-crafted caption to make your social media post go viral. And, if done right, captions can be one of your greatest assets for content marketing.

We often give primacy to visuals within our culture - specifically within a lot of marketing circles. However, what makes social media so exciting is its fluid relationship between multiple types of communication. We only need to think about TikTok and its reliance on sonic soundscapes, or Twitter and its backbone of words/language. Because of this, social media is absolutely a space where solid visuals are not the only recipe for success.

Of course, what makes a solid piece of copy is always changing. Luckily, at Spin, we have a team of expert copywriters who have some of the best tips and tricks to produce the best captions going.

1. Tone of voice is more important than anything else. You could craft the perfect caption that grabs attention and has a clear and solid call to action; but, if it doesn’t fit the tone of the brand it simply won’t work. Before getting out your notepad and scribbling ideas for copy - make sure you have a robust tone of voice guide to refer back to. This is very important.

2. Social media is a fast-paced landscape (duh). When we scroll down your feeds we never stop to read every post - and you probably skip longer and more complex posts. Most people do this, so make sure your copy is short and sweet. At Spin, we use a method where we write ‘poetically’ first then cut it down with no mercy. Aim to delete any word that is not essential.

(On that note there is a TLDR. So, if you are having a lazy read scroll down 😉)

3. Copy must also always compliment the visuals. It seems like a no brainer, but so much copy takes a fractured tone from the content it is placed directly next to. Use copy as a way to provide context to the asset, and an asset as a way to provide context to the copy - think of it as a symbiotic relationship embedded throughout the whole creative process. The two will end up displayed together, so make sure you have a collaborative process where designers and copywriters work together. The disconnect between the two is often obvious and awkward (never mind the fact it makes the copywriter’s job very difficult).

4. Creating copy with value is also an important quota to hit. Educate your audience and allow them to gain something in reward for not scrolling past your post, and let them know to come back for more. Frantic copy obsessed with summer sales, new products and influencers (BUY BUY BUY) doesn’t make viewers feel compelled to keep coming back. Within the copy, ask questions that matter to your audience - and listen to what they say. People genuinely like chatting with brands - and the copy facilitates this chat. Again, this highlights the merits of having a robust pipeline. Community managers can report back to copywriters on what is working ‘on the ground’ - and then flag when other things are not.

5. Emotion is important - and it should be imbued into every piece of social media copy. To do this, we can learn a lot from the ‘everyday account’. A big part of 2021 has been bigger brands attempting to humanise. Unless you are an AI copywriter (🤖), we are going to assume that you are human. So just get into the mindset of writing your own Instagram captions - and just write it out. If you were posting these polished assets onto your feed what would you say? A little sarcastic joke? A short and snappy quote? A singular emoji? Then, afterwards, edit and cut it to fit the vibe of your brand. What you will (hopefully) end up with is a hybrid of authentic and relatable, yet also smart business captions. Put your human hat on, and THEN your brand hat.

It is always a good idea to keep your eye on what people's personal accounts are doing. Usually, they spearhead the trends way before big businesses jump on board. Cutting edge and fashionable copywriting seems to always come from the bottom upwards - we can learn a lot from ‘non-professionals’. Don't be a snob.

6. Vague captions don’t work. Seriously. With a quick Google search, you might find articles claiming that various forms of “psychology” (used loosely) show that you can subtly manipulate the reader but it’s just best to directly say what you want. A great summer sale link in bio? Tell them! Want lots of comments - just say. While nobody wants a feed that makes their brand look like corporate try-hards, most followers are under no qualms that you are a brand and are not running an account purely for fun. Have a solid call to action that doesn’t beat around the bush.

5 and 6 lead to a tricky dichotomy. On the one hand, you are trying to appear ‘genuine and ‘authentic’ yet on the other hand you have something to sell. To be blunt,

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Eligible creators will be able to search for relevant Ticketmaster events through the “add link” function before posting a video. They will then have the option to “add to video” which will display the Ticketmaster link to the event towards the bottom of the video once posted. Users will then be able to click on the link and, in a similar fashion to the Tiktok shop, will be taken to the Ticketmaster website in-app to continue browsing.

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Spin Welcomes Fujifilm & Instax to the Roster

Japanese multinational conglomerate Fujifilm has appointed Spin to carry out an ongoing strategic social media service to continue to drive and develop their growth to new audiences.

A brand that is world-renowned for their work in the realms of photography, optics and wider electronics. Headquartered in Japan and first established in 1934, Spin couldn’t be happier to partner with the brand and support their innovation across social with the intrinsic synergy from their image-focused products to the constant evolution of the platforms we use to share this very outcome.

Explore more from Fujifilm & Instax here:

– https://global.fujifilm.com/en/

– https://instax.com/

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Spin is an award winning pure-play social media agency that combines the sharpest creative minds with the smartest performance specialists. For more information or to enquire about scaling your brand through social please email hello@spinbrands.com

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Instagram in The Age of Video

Things are changing… again (and again, and again).

Instagram has, rather ironically, faced widespread backlash from a static asset created by photographer @illumitati and shared by thousands, including the queen of lip kits (and chickens) Kylie Jenner. We all know the famous phrase ‘a picture can say 1000 words, but here we are seeing the defiant power of a picture when put in the hands of everyday users

Here’s a quick Spin-centric rundown of why this happened, what happened next and what this means for brands.

Why Now?

It’s simple really:

When we think of TikTok we think of short video clips.

When we think of YouTube we think of lengthy videos.

When we think of Twitter we think of sassy snippets.

When we think of Facebook we think of our mums.

And, when we think of Instagram we think of a feed of static images.

Not so fast! Early this year, Instagram began testing a brand new version of its app’s home feed that featured full-screen photographs and videos, similar to TikTok, and the response was very very loud. Users said the feed was cluttered, ugly and pushing for the primacy of video far too hard. This was no accident; this feed re-jig came hand in hand with other recent changes which include an increasingly algorithmic main feed, a push for TikTok-style “reels” videos, and the increasing presence of a remix function.

These changes have led to everyday users struggling to interact with their friends and family’s posts which get sucked down the bottom of the algorithm in favour of ads and (poorly) recommended posts, hand-curated by the algorithm.

Soon, the post by @illumitati began to spread like wildfire, with a whole app seemingly uniting behind a shared hatred for the new update. The post, overall, gained 2.2 million likes and 43k comments. And, eventually, the spreading of this post led to collective action – with a petition being signed over 300k times.

What may seem like a funny or playful post, could be disastrous for Instagram. Let’s not forget that when Kylie Jenner last talked smack about a social media app, the tweet reduced its market price by $1.3 BILLION (🪦 RIP Snapchat).

What’s Going on Now?

Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO (aka the cause of many SMMs’ stress and anxiety), quickly responded to the widespread criticism with a video (lol) carefully doubling down on the controversial changes. He told his audience that Instagram would “continue to promote photographs,” but made sure to reiterate that: “over time, more and more of Instagram will become video.”

The reaction to this? Similar to this brilliant slack from a client:

What does this mean for brands?

It may seem like a lose-lose scenario, but fear not, here are some quick tips on how to ride this wave for social success:

Push for authenticity 🔥

Audiences are sick of their feeds appearing manufactured, ad-centric and controlled by the algorithm. Now, more than ever, producing authentic and engaging content is key. Show a little humanness with friendly faces or relatability. Gone are the days of a polished Instagram (whether that be in video or static format), so act like the best friend and not like the big brand.

Use (real) reel content 📹

Look, video isn’t going anywhere. So, it’s a perfect time to experiment with reel content and see what sticks. The likelihood is your reach will Skyrocket. Again, just keep it as authentic as possible.

Keep in mind what people want 🪧

Maybe it’s wouldn’t be a bad idea to play around with statics and see if you can hit the sweet spot of engagement: people are hungry for the return of pictures. Yes, your reach might drop, due to the ever-changing algorithm, but your audience will appreciate a feed made up of a variety of content. Don’t be a one-trick pony: have a content plan based on statics, Carousels, Reels AND Stories.

Virality is still a thing 🦠

It’s kind of crude, but the mass spreading of this post shows us that ‘things’ can still go viral. Don’t give up hope! Here is our go-to guide for all things viral.

Play it by ear 👂

Things are changing every day. New trends rise, and old social media sites fall. Algorithms change, but sometimes the users do not. A great social media presence requires A LOT of social listening, reading and knowledge. Keep up to date on everything social.

Or, what if we told you that there is a dream team of social media experts waiting to help you out with this confusing digital landscape? Experts in the algorithm AND the everyday user. We are here to help. Spin is an award-winning pure-play social media agency that combines the sharpest creative minds with the smartest performance specialists.

For more information or to enquire about scaling your brand through social please email hello@spinbrands.com

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