11+1 useful tips for writing posts on Facebook and Instagram
Social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram, are among the most frequently used communication channels today. Read on to learn how to write an engaging post that will truly capture your audience’s attention.
“We take all the information we have, knead it into a uniform dough, and roll out a nice long post, generously sprinkling it with various emojis. Finally, we don’t forget to garnish it with a nice picture. They grow everywhere on the internet, so it’s not hard to pick one up.” Congratulations, the recipe for a great Facebook or Instagram post is complete.
Really? Don’t be fooled. Managing social media is far from as easy as it may seem at first glance.
First, take a moment to consider whether you’d want to read a post written according to the “recipe” above. After just a few words, you’d probably lose interest, or get lost in the jumble of lines filled with colorful hearts, animals, and other emojis. Writing such a post is truly pointless.
So, let’s take a look at a few simple yet effective rules on how to invest your energy and time into creating a quality post—one that will engage readers on Facebook or followers on Instagram and bring them to your website or online store.
1. Grab the reader’s attention immediately, or never
Today’s Facebook and Instagram users decide within fractions of a second whether they will read a post they encounter while scrolling. That’s why you need to capture their attention instantly, with the very first sentence. If you fail to do so, the reader moves on, and you’ve lost the chance.
2. Important information comes first. Always
Carefully consider everything you want to convey to the reader. Then, organize the information by importance and present it accordingly. The “inverted pyramid” model can help you with this. The most important information goes at the top, and everything else follows at the bottom.
3. Paragraphs aren’t the enemy—they’re a must
A “wall of text” is the most reliable way to drive people away before they even start reading. That’s why you should break your post into paragraphs. Generally, one paragraph should contain just one idea. This will make your post more readable and help maintain clarity, so the reader doesn’t get lost. Don’t forget to leave a space between paragraphs.
4. Not too long, not too short. The text should be just right
Four words or just a few emojis on one side, and a “novel” stretching over 40 lines on the other. Both extremes are wrong. When writing a post for Facebook or Instagram, it should be long enough to cover everything important, but concise. Also, remember that one post should stick to one topic. Otherwise, it becomes unclear.
5. Choose your communication style carefully and stay consistent
Adapt the way you communicate in posts to your business. For example, if you’re managing the Facebook or Instagram account of a lingerie store, feel free to be playful but not vulgar. If you’re selling tools, opt for a more conservative tone. Whether you’re promoting a hot new product or announcing a contest, maintain a consistent style across all posts.
6. Pay attention to spelling, grammar, and typos
Many people think this is unnecessary, but the opposite is true. Social media posts are now just as important a form of communication as emails or letters. Avoid mistakes in capitalization or missing or extra commas. Completely avoid writing without proper punctuation. Pay close attention to typos, as their presence suggests the text was carelessly written.
7. Don’t overdo it with emojis, and choose them wisely
Emojis are a popular way to liven up a post. However, as with everything, moderation is key. Use emojis sparingly, and carefully consider which ones to include. Three or more emojis stacked together, especially if they’re not visually consistent, won’t make your post better.
8. Be authentic
Think a post without a beautiful photo doesn’t stand a chance? That’s no longer true. Instagram and Facebook are primarily lifestyle platforms, where users seek entertainment, education, and inspiration. If you want to engage the widest audience possible, your feed shouldn’t be just a product showcase. Forget about polished studio photos and focus on authenticity and believability. Replace monotonous product shots with real photos of people using your products. No stock images—use content that feels like it was created by your customers.
9. Use more than just photos
Even authentic photos alone won’t cut it today. Social media algorithms, and more importantly, their users, prefer more dynamic formats like reels (short videos) or stories. While reels can be used to present your brand in a fun and creative way, stories offer a chance to share current behind-the-scenes content or create interactive elements like polls. Both formats help boost follower engagement and build stronger relationships with your audience. You can also use live broadcasts, which encourage real-time interaction with your audience. Live interviews with industry experts, for example, are ideal for education and answering audience questions on the spot.
10. Educate and entertain with your content
One of the main goals of a company’s social media profile is to build an audience that you can gradually convince to choose you over the competition. That’s why it’s important to differentiate yourself and offer more than just your products. Ideally, give users what most people expect from social media—fun or valuable content. This type of content is what ultimately sells the best. Share practical tips, advice, or tutorials that people will want to save and come back to. And in addition to appealing visuals, don’t forget to include detailed captions that explain the topic more thoroughly.
And how do you create entertaining content? Let’s admit it: we’d rather read stories about failure than success. You could, for example, ask your followers to share their worst experience with … (fill in the blank). This type of post not only entertains but also encourages interaction and engagement from your audience. And in the end, these are the values that will boost your post’s reach the most.
11. Follow trends and adapt to them
On social media, perhaps more than anywhere else, being trendy means being seen. So, keep an eye out for the types of posts that are currently popular. If, for example, stories or reels are the hottest formats on Instagram, a post featuring a dark, blurry photo is unlikely to catch anyone’s attention. Don’t try to break through the wall by force. Also, remember that while hashtags aren’t used in Facebook posts, they’re essential on Instagram.
And one more tip: Engage in the discussion
When a discussion starts under your post, that’s definitely a good thing. If you can, get involved and reply to relevant comments. But what should you do when a negative comment appears? Try to explain the situation truthfully and offer a solution. Whatever you do, don’t attack in your responses, ignore the bad comments, or worse, delete them. Even if you know you’re in the right, don’t let anger get the best of you. This could lead to trolling, which is even worse than the original negative comment. A so-called troll can completely disrupt the discussion.
As you can see, creating quality social media posts is far from as simple as it might initially seem. There are many pitfalls you can encounter. And we’ve only listed the most important ones here—there’s actually much more. Social media posts often play a key role in performance campaigns. That’s something we specialize in as part of our comprehensive approach. From our own experience, we know how much a poorly crafted post can negatively impact the results of these campaigns.
Not sure if your Facebook or Instagram posts are up to par? Contact us at marketing@fourbros.cz, and our team will gladly help you with your posts. If you still decide to create the content yourself, we’ll be happy to provide feedback on your existing content.