Producing content, not to mention content marketing online is definitely not easy. It takes time, practice, and constant effort. Now, before you bore your audience with too many words or dissatisfy them with too little content, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s discuss the importance of knowing the right word count for every social media post we produce.
Before anything else, it is important to take into account the fact that everything’s constantly changing with social media, and yes, it can be quite a challenge to keep up. But, you need not worry — simply master the basics, and you should be good. Remember this: every person’s time matters — maximize your readers’ time, and avoid misleading them. And while you’re at it, try to be as eye-catching as possible too.
In this article, we’ll talk about the ideal character count for the different social media posts, especially useful for content creators and content marketers alike.
Table of Contents:
Facebook character count: 40 to 80
Considering that most, if not all, is already on Facebook, this app is one of the most popular platforms used by marketers. With this, the competition is indeed tough. Knowing that you’re not the only one posting content, the attention that you can get from your target audience may be limited.
Posts that are too long tend to get cut off, forcing readers to expand the text if they wish to — and normally, most people find this simple task a hassle. On the opposite end, too short posts can be ineffective in terms of relaying useful content.
How do you address this concern then?
Use the ideal range of 40 to 80 characters per post. Avoid unnecessarily beating around the bush, and try to be concise as much as possible. According to a study by Jeff Bullas, posts with 80 characters or less receive 66% higher engagement.
As for Facebook ads, there are 3 main things that you must consider. First, for the ad headline, make sure to not go beyond 5 words. Second, for the ad body, keep your content under only 14 words. Third and finally, stick to using 18 words or less for your link descriptions. This way, you get to present your purpose, without having to overthink whether or not you’ve said enough.
Important note: Within those limited character counts, don’t forget to insert a call to action in any way you can too.
Twitter character count: less than 100
Although you can go as high as using 140 characters in twitter, an infographic from Express Writers suggests that the ideal tweet should contain only 100 characters or less. These tweets limited to 100 words are most likely to receive more engagements than those longer posts. Since Twitter has been founded on brevity, expect shorter posts to be welcomed and consumed better by the platform’s users.
Instagram: 138 to 150
Although Instagram is a platform that gives more focus on visuals than texts, take note that captions play a great role in providing context to your posts and stimulating engagement among your followers. If you wish to improve on your Instagram marketing reach, put in more effort to post the most captivating captions while considering 3 things:
First, limit your captions to 138 to 150 characters only.
Second, limit your captions for your IG ads captions to not more than 125 characters.
Third and finally, stick to using 5 to 10 hashtags only. In spite of the fact that hashtags are very helpful in terms of increasing the probability of more accounts to find your posts, overusing hashtags can lead your account to be banned from the app.
Linked In: not more than 140 words
Among the previously mentioned social media apps, Linked In differs in a way that it’s the platform with the least need for visuals. Generally, it’s an app that appeals more for business oriented concerns.
Linked In allows you to publish different content types like post statuses, videos with captions, and blog posts.
See the guide below from SproutSocial and Traject to be informed of the maximum character lengths for the different content types:
- Company name: 100 characters
- About us/Summary: 2000 characters
- Company update: 700 characters
- Statuses on individual accounts: 1300 characters
Remember that like Facebook, longer Linked In posts will be cut off, and will then require readers to click read more if they wish to view the whole article. To avoid the possibility of losing readers, try to limit your posts to only 140 words or less. Why 140 words? This is because anything beyond the 140th character mark will be cut off — regardless of the device being used by your readers.
Disclaimer:
Let this be a guide and never your ultimate be-all and end-all. Yes, the rules may differ according to the situation. You may adjust these character limits whenever you feel necessary, for as long as your content remains to be concise and easy to understand.
Considering that different social media platforms have different types of audiences as well, knowing the ideal length for each platform should be one of the main factors that you must always note.
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