how to write social media headlines that engage users and get results

Writing headlines for social media bedevils me.

Photo: Pixabay

I must toss rules of print writing for punchy openers that grab search engines.  And though it gives me sleepless nights, I insert the cyber-preferred second-person voice, you - GASP! --- a huge no-no from my days as a college writing coach, where professors deducted points for every ‘you’ found in papers they graded. 

Advanced Marketing Institute

Then I stumble on the  Headline Analyzer,  a  FREE gem of an online tool  from the Advanced Marketing Institute. I don’t know much about this organization, other than I love how its analyzer tool measures my headline's likelihood of click-throughs and shares.  This tool is based on an Emotional Marketing Value (EMV): words measuring three areas that engage people: 

• intellect
• empathy
• spiritual
  

The headline analyzer helps me focus and gives me immediate feedback about my titles.   I just type in my headline -- there’s a 20-word limit -- select my industry category, hit the submit button, and cross my fingers I’ll get an EMV score between 30%-40%....the range most likely to get more clicks and shares.

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Here’s how the analyzer helped me find an effective title to for  this post. 

• I start with this headline: 
  

           Writing the perfect social media headline: less is more. 
          Boo.  An EMV of just 11% (see below).  I'm so hosed.  

First attempt using Headline Analyzer

I stress out when I read studies about writing headlines like the one reported in The Guardian.  Eight words max. OK.  Odd numbers are better.  Huh?  Colons (not of the human intestinal kind) are magical.  Really?

Yikes! I need help!   

• Then I write different headlines, trying to get a higher EMV score each time by reading the instant feedback the analyzer provides.

• Eureka!  Five minutes and a few more attempts later, I score a 33% EMV with the headline I finally use for this post: How to Write Social Media Headlines That Engage Readers and Get  Results. This score suggests my headline is likely to get a higher click and share rate.

And now that you know how to write powerful social media titles with this handy tool, may the headlines be forever in your favor. 

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TAKE-AWAYS: 
To learn more... 
Check out this comprehensive post for writing effective headlines for tweets, emails, and blogs by social media guru Kevan Lee, Content Creator for Buffer Social.

30+ Ultimate headline formulas

Blogger  Amy Lynn Andrews also shares a dandy blog content generator you can use to stimulate ideas for blog topics and titles.

'blogabout' by Impact

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P.S. 
We're all on this writing journey together, so please join the conversation in the comment section.

What do you use for writing social media headlines?  And if you tried the headline analyzer, how did it work for you? 

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