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A few years ago, LinkedIn was my strongest marketing channel for my job search coaching business, Recruit the Employer, and I had amassed over 40,000 followers. But then I got a full-time job and put my business — and my social media presence — on pause. 

When I decided to relaunch my company this year, I knew returning to LinkedIn would be part of my social media marketing strategy. But as I started to step back into it, I realized it’s an entirely different landscape than a few years ago. The platform is more saturated with content creators, so it takes more to get attention, and different post styles and content themes seem to resonate. 

Not only could I see these trends while browsing my own feed, but I also tried reposting some of my most popular content from a few years ago, and it completely flopped. For instance, when I shared this post three years ago, it got around 20,000 impressions. I revised and reposted it recently, and it only saw 3,000 impressions and a fraction of the engagement.

I decided to go back to the drawing board and experiment. I committed to spending two months posting nearly every day, with the goal of trying as many different content approaches as possible. Sixty days, 58 posts, and 568,000 impressions later, I analyzed everything to determine my LinkedIn strategy moving forward.

Now, I have a new playbook for best practices for LinkedIn, which I’m detailing here. That said, every audience is slightly different, so I’m also including details on conducting your own experiment to give your content the best chance of resonating with your audience.

What performs well on LinkedIn now

Based on the results of my experiment, these are the guidelines I follow when I batch-create my content each month. 

Text-based posts still reign supreme, but keep them snappy

LinkedIn had come out with new post styles since I had last used the platform, so a big goal of my experiment was to understand which would give me a strong ROI (return on investment). I tried polls, picture posts, carousels, plus text-based posts of various lengths.

Ultimately, I learned that my bread and butter would still be text-only posts — on average, they receive 5,000 to 10,000 impressions each, with top-performing posts seeing 20,000 or more. Plus, they require less effort than others (more on that in a bit).  

But text-based posts require a slightly different style than before. A few years ago, my best-performing posts were dense and storytelling-based, but now the content needs to be much shorter and choppier, almost like a series of sound bites.

Even if the posts themselves are longer, they get more attention if I break the content up into one-line points interjected with line breaks. It makes the content more easily skimmable when folks are scrolling and forces me to get to my point more succinctly — plus, it’s much easier for me to write.

I like to think of it like writing a persuasive paper where every single line is driving people to read the next one.

Polls can serve their own purpose

The other post style I’m excited to pepper into my social media content calendar more frequently is polls. While they were not necessarily my highest-performing posts at around 15,000 impressions each, they provided value in other ways.

For one, they are good for engagement. People love taking quizzes or sharing their opinions, so these types of posts often have the highest amount of interaction and conversation. One poll with 300 participants also garnered 21 comments and 10 personal messages.

But more than the metrics, these polls have become a valuable tool for me as a business owner. I can beta-test an idea and see if it’s worth pursuing. I did that with a podcast idea, and I got some interesting feedback that helped me think differently about it. 

I can also ask questions to understand ways I can better serve my target audience: Is this a problem that your team faces? Would your team be interested in this sort of solution?

The other valuable aspect of polls for business owners is that you can see exactly who responds to them. So, if I pitch a business idea, I’ll reach out directly to the people who voted that they’re interested and start a conversation. It’s a strong way to warmly pitch new business.

I don’t want to do polls all the time because followers may burn out on them, but I like to incorporate them as a second post some days or when I need to fill a hole in my content calendar. 

Your hook is everything

A catchy headline is critical to an article performing well, and similarly, a good hook for a LinkedIn post leads to much better results. And because the platform only shows the first few lines of a post in the feed, that hook has to be no more than a sentence or two.

I found three types of hooks that were the strongest for my audience. The first is sharing numbers or data. Just like quantifying information catches a hiring manager's eye in a resume, quantifying information catches readers’ eyes in the feed.

The second is sharing a strong (and maybe slightly controversial) opinion. These are especially valuable when the goal of a post is building my audience — nothing expands reach like a take that gets people talking.

Finally, when the goal of my post is to reach my ideal customer and move them down the funnel, I like to call out who I’m talking to directly and lean into a problem they may be facing.

Don’t be afraid to get personal

LinkedIn used to be more traditionally professional, but now people are craving connection with the creators and business owners they follow. Many of my most successful posts involved sharing a bit about my personal life, be it my career journey, my experiences as a working mom, or even my faith.

That said, too many leaders overshare in the name of being “vulnerable.”  My rule of thumb is not to post if:

• I'm doing it to gain sympathy likes. 
• It could damage my brand's image or reputation.
• It could embarrass a loved one.
• It wouldn't be something I'd want my parents or grandparents reading.

It's okay to be vulnerable, but be careful that you aren't just emoting online. Find a community of friends and family to share the inevitable rollercoaster of emotions—not your LinkedIn followers (and potential customers!). 

How to conduct your own experiment

What works on LinkedIn is always changing. Plus, what worked for my business and audience might not work for yours.

So, rather than copy my strategies directly, I encourage other business owners to run their own experiments. Give it at least 30 days of daily-ish posts, give yourself permission to try a variety of approaches (and know some of them will fail!), and use the best practices below to make the most of this exercise.

Start with what’s working for other people

While other people’s structures and strategies might not work for you, they’re a shortcut for starting your experimentation. 

While doing my experiment, I loved browsing LinkedIn to see what posts were succeeding for other people and thinking through how I could apply that to my content.

I always tried to look at creators outside of my niche to ensure I wasn’t directly copying anyone, and I even bought templates from some creators. I especially liked looking at the work of Justin Welsh and Lara Acosta. I still try to do this regularly to keep up with changing preferences on the platform.

Consider the effort that goes into posts

When analyzing your posts’ results, it’s important to consider not only the success metrics but also the ROI. For example, carousels are consistent at getting me 5,000+ impressions, but they don’t consistently perform better than text-based posts, and they take so much more effort that the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. 

It’s about working smarter, not harder. I think I’ll see more success by having the bandwidth to pump out more text-based posts rather than spending all my time building a few carousels. 

Make sure the content aligns with your brand

Even if a post succeeds, it’s essential to consider whether it’s the right message for your brand. For example, some of my most popular posts were when I called out companies for bad behavior—but I realized that I don’t want to bring that negative energy into my brand ethos. Don’t repeat your most popular posts without ensuring that’s the type of content you want to be known for. 

Post regularly!

In my experience, posting five days a week (at least) is the key to building your LinkedIn presence. Even when the numbers flop, the consistency has allowed me to increase revenue, make meaningful connections, and get feedback on product features. 

After my experiment ended, I still post five days a week and even more when I’m feeling inspired. It’s less about hitting a certain metric and more about connecting with my ideal client. 

LinkedIn is such a great place to be, especially if you’re selling to a B2B audience or professionals. Take the pressure off yourself to be perfect every time, and just commit to showing up. I think you’ll be surprised by how quickly you discover what works for you.

For years, I struggled to grow my audience on Instagram. After 6 years of trying hard to build my fitness-focused account, I only had 2,300 followers to show for it.

While I do believe follower count is a vanity metric, I couldn’t help feeling frustrated and like a failure. Realizing I needed a change, I revamped my strategy based on my experience to grow a new Instagram account Not Bored in DC to over 20,000 followers in just 9 months while also getting paid to create content.

The secret? I have a crystal clear picture of my target audience, speaking clearly and speaking only to them, treating every piece of content as an experiment, and spending my energy doing things that prioritize long-term income.

In this article, I will walk you through exactly what helped me grow and how you can do the same.

Defining a target audience & monetization strategy

Success on social media requires planning beyond a posting schedule. Focusing on creating content for a well-defined audience is essential. Creating generalized content that may appeal to everyone ultimately appeals to no one.

Deciding which audience you want to target will impact your future monetization. For that reason, I think everyone should have a monetization strategy from the beginning.

When brands are looking for influencers and content creators to work with, they are looking for someone who knows how to speak effectively to a defined audience.

Identify content themes

When deciding to become an influencer, consider the kind of content you want to create, such as fashion, technology, or travel. As I was thinking through the content themes I wanted to discuss, I realized it would mean shifting into new content my existing fitness audience did not care about. I thought it best to start from scratch.

I brainstormed various topics I’d be interested in creating content, organized all of them into broad themes, such as “DC fitness,” “DC lifestyle,” “event highlights,” and “affordable adventures,” and saw that most of them were centered around Washington, DC. I used this to create my user personas.

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A post shared by Not Bored in DC | history & things to do in dc (@notboredindc)

Create user personas

In my day job as a product manager at MetaCTO, I create user personas to better understand users’ needs and build apps that solve their problems.

A user persona is a fictionalized person who represents a segment of users of a product, like a website, app, or service. It is general enough to represent many people but detailed enough to feel real and elicit empathy.

Based on my content themes, I created user personas for who I thought would be most interested in my content, segmenting them out by broad groups:

The early 20s student who is looking for affordable and unique things to do in DC. The person who has lived in DC for many years and feels like they’ve seen it all. The suburban parent who dislikes crowds. The tourist from out of state. And the recent transplant to DC who’s looking to get to know their new city.

For each of these, I imagined what they would be like and created a representative person. My primary persona is Alex:

This exercise helped me identify the most valuable content for each audience segment. I selected my primary target user persona and secondary personas and excluded those that did not fit.

Recognizing which audiences to ignore is crucial. For example, I decided against making content for tourists because their needs are too different from my primary audience. This doesn’t mean that tourists won’t find my content useful. It just means that I’m not trying to solve their unique problems.

Focus on a niche

To be successful, you need to narrow down the types of content you’ll be making and determine your niche. A niche is a highly targeted and specific audience or topic.

I went through an exercise to clearly state who I am helping and how using the following statement:

I help [type of person] to [outcome] by [method].

For me, I help people living in Washington, DC, to have a more fulfilling life by connecting them to new experiences and information. This means I share things to do, eat, and know in and about Washington, DC.

Understand monetization options

Creating content is time-consuming and requires many skills. To ensure I get compensated for my time and expertise, I planned possible monetization options from the start, even though I didn’t plan to monetize immediately. I didn’t want to struggle to

We’re always adding new features and updates to Buffer. This year, we've introduced several new additions, and we're excited to give you a sneak peek at what's coming next.

Here's everything you need to know about our latest updates and what to look forward to.

Already released in 2024

Notification Publishing for Instagram

Buffer can either auto-post on your behalf or you can choose to get notifications to finish the post yourself. More flexibility, more creative control.

Board View

Keep track of your social media ideas, visualize your progress, and drag and drop your way from “To Do” to “Done” with this Trello-style planning feature.

LinkedIn First Comment

Amplify your engagement by scheduling the first comment on your LinkedIn posts. This feature lets you strategically plan initial interactions, sparking conversations and increasing visibility.

Facebook Stories

Schedule your Facebook Stories with Buffer. More than 500 million people watch Facebook Stories every day. 

Pinterest Personal Profiles

We've expanded our Pinterest capabilities. You can now schedule posts directly to your personal Pinterest profiles, opening up m

If you’re confused about TikTok video length, you’re far from the only one. 

When you think of TikTok, you likely think of short-form videos (and even shorter attention spans) — it was 15-second videos that helped the social media platform skyrocket to 1 billion users in a few short years, after all. 

But shorter no longer equals better when it comes to growing a following on TikTok. 

The app has slowly been inching into YouTube’s territory by allowing users to upload longer videos. In 2024, the app started rolling out the ability to upload videos of up to 30 minutes, a big departure from its original offering. 

If you’re wondering how long TikTok videos can be, the answer is not quite as simple as it used to be. Perhaps a better question, too, would be, “How long should TikTok videos be?” This is where things get interesting!

In this article, we’ll unpack all of the above and dig into some fascinating data from millions of TikTok videos sent through Buffer to understand how to optimize your TikTok video length for video views and watch time.

How long can a TikTok video be?

TikTok videos can be anywhere from 3 seconds to 30 minutes in length. When filming a video within the app, users will be able to choose from various specific durations — 15 seconds, 60 seconds, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes. 

Note that 15-minute and 30-minute video options might not be available in all regions just yet. 

That said, videos don’t need to be exactly those lengths. Technically, you can film for or upload a video of any duration between 3 seconds and 30 minutes. 

Where things get a little confusing is filming within the app. If you choose the 15-second option (see no. 1 in the screenshot below), you will be cut off at 15 seconds. 

You won’t be able to film additional clips, but you can upload clips from you camera roll to make the video longer. 

To do so, tap the check icon on the bottom right of the screen (2), then the square edit icon on the top left (3), and the + button on the bottom right. 

When you upload a video you’ve filmed or edited elsewhere, there’s no need to choose a specific video length — the app will do that based on the length of the video.  

How long can a TikTok Story be?

When filming a story within the TikTok app, a story video can be up to 15 seconds. Unlike regular TikTok posts, TikTok Stories will remain visible for 24 hours before disappearing. 

They also won’t appear in your main feed, other users' For You Pages, or following feeds. Your Stories will only be visible when followers tap on your profile photo, either while viewing your profile or within the DMs or messages tab. 

To film or upload a story on TikTok, tap the create button (the + icon at the bottom center of the screen when you open the app), and choose the Story option, also in the bottom center (no. 5 below). 

How long can TikTok Photo carousels be?

Users can upload from one to a whopping 35 images to a TikTok carousel post, which will play on users’ feeds for as long as it takes to scroll through them all. 

TikTok photo carousels will appear in For You and Following feeds, as well as on your profile, just as regular TikTok videos would. You can also add trending TikTok sounds and other effects to them. 

To create a TikTok carousel post, choose Photo above the camera button within the main create window (no. 6 in the image above). 

How long should a TikTok video be?

Now all that housekeeping is out of the way, you know you have a plethora of options when it comes to how long your TikTok videos can be. However all video lengths are not created equal when it comes to views and engagement. 

We analyzed millions of TikTok videos to better understand what the ideal length is for two metrics: total views and full video watch rate. Note that at the time of this analysis, we didn’t yet have enough data on videos longer than 10 minutes (600 seconds) — we’ll update here as soon as we have it. 

The best TikTok video length for views

According to our data, the longer the TikTok video, the more views it tends to get. On average, 3 to 10-minute videos received the most views, followed by 2-3 minutes, then 1-2 minutes, and so on. 

Videos longer than 3 minutes received, on average, more than double the views of videos between 6 and 10 seconds. 

The worst TikTok length for views is 0-3 seconds, with 4-5 second and 6-10 second videos not far off.

With all this in mind, it makes sense that TikTok is expanding to include videos much longer than their original offering. 

“TikTok has been pushing longer videos, so I’m not surprised by these results,” Mitra Mehvar, Buffer’s Social Media Manager, told me. “A couple years ago, it was definitely suggested to keep your videos as short as possible, but these days it’s all about longer videos.”

So longer videos will always win out when it comes to the TikTok algorithm? Well, not necessarily…

The best TikTok video length for full video watch rate

When it comes to full video watch rate, the opposite of the above is true. Our data showed users are more likely to watch entire videos if they are shorter.

It makes sense — videos 10 seconds and under are unlikely to be skipped simply because viewers likely won’t have the time to decide to swipe past before they’re finished.

So, while the data shows that shorter videos are best for full watches, it doesn’t necessarily mean viewers find them the most engaging. 

What is really interesting to note is the spike in the full watch rate for videos between 2 and 3 minutes long. There definitely seems to be a sweet spot for watching full videos there. It’s also worth noting that there is very little difference in the full video watch rate between videos 11-30 seconds, 31-60 seconds, 1-2 minutes, and 3-10 minutes long. 

While full watch rate might not be as appealing as total views, it’s an important metric to be aware of — we know that watch time is a crucial signal to the TikTok algorithm that your videos are high-quality and worth serving in other For You Pages. 

TikTok hooks > TikTok video length

By now, you’ve probably realized that there is no magic number when it comes to TikTok lengths. 

While you might want to explore videos two minutes or longer to help you maximize watch rate and video views, there’s one factor that will always trump video length on TikTok: A good hook. 

In content creation, a hook is the ‘why’ of your video — what will your viewers get from watching the video? Will they learn something? Be shocked? Entertained? Being clear and compelling about this upfront will help you ‘hook’ viewers in. 

TikToks that open with a strong hook during their first three seconds tend to perform the best, the platform says.

“Over 63% of all videos with the highest click-through rate (CTR) highlight their key message or product within the first three seconds,” research directly from TikTok says. This means you want to start your TikTok off strong and quickly introduce the topic or thesis.

This TikTok by content creator Naomi Burtt is 46 seconds but opens with a hook quickly: “This is my Chipotle hack.” It has received over one million views.

Here, content creator Kevin – also known as the CEO of Chai – has an immediate product hook. The TikTok opens with a clip of Emma Chamberlain highlighting her chai powder mix. In the video, Kevin reviews the product and talks about the chai for one and a half minutes. Note that even at a longer length, the TikTok performed well and garnered over 180,000 likes.

We went viral on TikTok with a fun video our social media manager Mitra made about remote work. While the video is short — only five seconds — the visual hook is immediate as the first thing people see is the text, “POV: You’re a remote worker vibing at Target in the middle of the work day.”

A good hook will captivate the audience's attention right away, meaning these users will be more likely to finish your video instead of just scrolling past it. This is important because the TikTok algorithm will ding you if users aren’t engaging with your video and watching it in its entirety.

The length of TikToks vs. Instagram Reels vs. YouTube Shorts

TikTok videos can be up to 30 minutes long, depending on your region. The time limit for Instagram Reels is 90 seconds. For YouTube Shorts, the maximum video length is 60 seconds (any new videos longer than that will be published as regular YouTube videos).

Thanks to the rise (and rise) of TikTok, social network competitors Instagram and YouTube introduced their own TikTok-inspired experience: Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. 

The platforms don’t feel all that different. In fact, it’s common for creators to cross-post their TikToks directly on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — we even recommend doing so for more visibility on your posts.

In this regard, much video content that performs well on TikTok can also perform well on Reels and YouTube Shorts, and vice versa. 

But there’s no guarantee that it will, and it’s largely thanks to some key differences in length: With YouTube Shor

There’s a lot of talk about “excellent copywriting” on the internet. And it’s versatile, too: Copywriting techniques can be used for multiple formats — from e-commerce websites, landing pages, sales, pages to product descriptions and content marketing.

But what about social media — where holding attention is harder than ever before? Someone might revisit your website even if you have a poor copy, but your audience is aggressively skimming on social media. If you don’t stop the scroll and give them their time’s worth, you’re invisible.

In this article, you’ll learn about ten copywriting formulas that can help you package your social media content in a more engaging way.

Why do you need copywriting formulas?

Copywriting formulas aren’t cheat codes. They won’t buzz your phone with thousands of new followers overnight. But you should try them anyway.

Why? Think of creating social media content like cooking a meal. You already have the ingredients — your ideas. Copywriting formulas are the recipe. They help you understand what order you should implement with your ingredient list, how long to cook (a hook) for, and when to simmer down with a call to action (CTA).

Think of copywriting formulas as templates within which you can fit your social media content for maximum engagement.

Why do copywriting formulas work?

Copywriting formulas work because they play on primal human psychology. They embed core persuasion techniques that have stood the test of time.

For example, many copywriting formulas help you appeal to the emotion behind your content. This is because emotionally connected customers have a whopping 306 percent higher lifetime value versus satisfied customers.

Another reason copywriting formulas work is because they’re designed to stop the scroll. Getting (and holding!) your target audience’s attention is getting more and more challenging. Copywriting formulas are designed to grab attention and deliver value without losing your audience in the doom scrolling void.

But copywriting formulas aren’t clickbait

Clickbait is writing misleading, sensational, or controversial headlines to attract attention. Hooks (or the opening of your social media posts) are a part of copywriting formulas, but they aren’t clickbait.

The core distinction is that clickbait is usually deceptive while copywriting formulas are rooted in truth. For example, if I write, “Learn more social media growth techniques in seven minutes than I learned in seven years,” the red alarm blares off. It’s transparently designed to draw the audience in — even if the technique is shady. That’s clickbait.

Most of your audience will be able to recognize it because most consumers today know PR speak like the back of their hand. Even if you use clickbait and attract people falsely, you’ll lose their trust because you won’t be able to deliver on the promise of clickbait.

Copywriting formulas stitch the content you already have in a more appealing dress — no lies or exaggeration needed.

And copywriting formulas don’t exist in a silo

When people think of “copywriting formulas,” they typically think of text-based templates. But social media content is a combination of visual design, video editing, scriptwriting, and captions.

Using copywriting formulas in your caption while your images & videos are lackluster will suppress your engagement potential. All the elements of a social media post work in tandem. If one element performs poorly, the whole post performs poorly.

Similarly, you can also use copywriting formulas in your videos. For example, you can use copywriting formulas in your TikTok transcript or showcase an element of a copywriting formula (like desire) via video or voiceover instead of text alone.

All this to say, don’t think of copywriting formulas in a vacuum. They exist with all the other elements of your social media post. And don’t be afraid to be creative if you want to use them in innovative ways using visuals and videos! There’s no rulebook on how to use copywriting formulas.

10 copywriting formulas to craft engaging social posts

If you start to look, you’ll find hundreds of copywriting formulas. But here’s the secret: You don’t need to know, remember, or even use them all. Many copywriting formulas are different derivatives of the same core concept. You don’t need the 100+ list if you learn those primary ideas.

Here are the ten most common and effective copywriting formulas for creating social media content.

1: Awareness–Interest–Desire–Action (AIDA)

Best for spurring up action

AIDA shows the various steps a follower needs to take to become a customer.

• The first stage is awareness: This is when you introduce your potential customer to your product or service. Let them know you exist. What do you offer? Who is it for?
• The second stage is interest: This is when you showcase why a potential customer should care. What’s in it for them? How are you helping?
• The third stage is desire: This is when interest converts into want. Is there a limited-time offer? Is there social proof to back you up?
• The fourth stage is action: This is the stage of conversion — usually when you move your audience beyond social media. Should they visit your website or subscribe to your newsletter? Where can they make a purchase?

In some places, you might see that in AIDA, the A stands for “attention” instead of “awareness.” If you go by the attention-interest-desire-action formula, the only difference is that you’re writing copy with an attention-grabbing hook instead of making the audience aware of your product/service.

AIDA works best when you’re enticing your audience to take a specific action. Maybe that’s visiting your website, buying your products, or even subscribing to your newsletter. A CTA is the final punch in the AIDA copywriting formula, so it’s best to use it for social media content where you want direct conversions for a specific goal.

Example

Bryan Guadagno’s Instagram Reel about Skinny Pasta is the perfect example of the AIDA copywriting formula in action.

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June 10, 2024 by simon weiner Internet