Social Media Copywriting: Write How People Speak

When we speak, there’s no delete key.

Even if we take a pause to get a point across, we don’t have the luxury of musing on it for an hour. Because that’s not how conversation works. It’s a casual back and forth full of contractions, slang and filler words that wouldn’t find their way into formal writing.

It’s ifs, buts, stammers and stutters; it’s impromptu questions and off the cuff answers.

It’s as authentic as it gets. Even when we’re holding back.

Yet, when we take to social media to engage in conversation, something happens. Suddenly, we’re not our spoken selves anymore. Instead, another part of the brain takes over – that part of the brain that was taught to write formally.

Suddenly, we’re penning a post for Her Majesty The Queen. No abbreviations, no contractions, no colloquialisms. Every sentence takes an entirety. And none of them address the reader directly. (None of them start with ‘and’ either – a criminal offence according to the law of formal writing).

Later, when we refresh the page to find no likes, no shares, no nothing, we’re surprised:

‘Say, why is no one conversing with me on this digital platform?”

The answer is simple. We aren’t writing naturally.

But what is writing naturally, anyway?

Oddly, although the human ability to write evolved from our ability to speak, neuroscientists have found that writing and speaking are independent systems in the brain. So much so, in fact, that someone who can’t write a grammatically correct sentence may still be able to say it aloud flawlessly.

That’s because spoken language is hard-wired inside the human brain; our language capacity as a species evolved around 10,000 years ago. Speaking comes naturally, whereas reading and writing are skills that we must formally learn in order to fully grasp.

Most of us are taught how to write at school, and generally, we’re taught that these rules are non-negotiable. One must stick to them at all times or one won’t be taken seriously.

But here’s the thing. If you’re reading this post, there’s a high chance that social media didn’t exist when you were taught how to write.

In a way, writing for social is about unlearning professional writing. Scrap those stuffy sentences we were taught at school when writing resumés. You aren’t writing an academic journal. You’re copywriting for social media. And if you’re posting on behalf of your brand, writing formally is unlikely to win trust.

However, there are various ways to develop a conversational tone while writing.

Always keep your audience in mind

Part of what makes the conversational tone so successful is its ability to create intimacy with readers. Take J.D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ for example. Salinger deliberately wrote the story from Holden Caulfield’s perspective as though Holden were confiding in the reader as a friend. Throughout the story, the narrator directly addresses the reader and speaks with a colloquial tone. The result is a very personal experience between the narrator and the reader.

To create intimacy in language, pick a reader from your target audience. Imagine you’re telling them this story in person over a coffee. Then start writing, all the while keeping the mental picture of your reader in mind. Are they smiling and nodding in agreement? Are they chuckling at the right parts? If not, why not?

Read your writing out loud

Reading your work aloud makes you a better writer – fact. If you’re stumbling over a sentence or tripping over a turn-of-phrase, it doesn’t belong in there. When you read a passage aloud, you’ll immediately get a sense for which parts work and which don’t.

Like a missing beat or a wrong key played on a piano, the mistakes will make themselves known. You’ll notice sentences that are too long because a breath will be needed to finish them. You’ll catch words that break your flow because they’ll interrupt the rhythm of your reading. You might even find yourself skipping sections or skimming sentences when they demand too much attention.

Even better than reading aloud to yourself is to read to another person. If you do have the opportunity to do so, take it! This is basically a chance to beta-test your social post before blasting it off into the world. If it’s too long-winded, too formal or the rhythm is off, you’ll know instantly from their reaction.

Pay attention to the way people speak

The key here is to not overthink it. But paying a little extra attention to the flow of natural, in-person (or virtual) conversations will help when you’re writing for social media. It’ll help you to prioritise emotional connections above grammar rules. Plus, it’ll raise your awareness for how people speak when they aren’t under pressure to get a point across.

Don’t dumb it down

Clearly, there’s a difference between writing how people speak and bad writing. I’m not suggesting you swap out every three-syllable word for the most basic alternative, nor am I saying “write as if you were speaking to children.” The aim is to build trust and to create familiarity with your reader. That means cutting down on industry jargon and ignoring the rules of formal writing.