March 17 — Hooks, headlines, and social media
Week 9 · Tuesday
Key takeaways
- The blog post assignment was a critical copywriting exercise: critique an industry problem, highlight real-world solutions, and subtly position your organization as part of the solution.
- Social media promotion is a distinct skill from writing. The headline, featured image, and social copy are the primary tools to hook readers and overcome short attention spans.
- A good headline must be a hook that is intriguing but also delivers on its promise, avoiding clickbait. The featured image is critical for visual impact and taking up more screen real estate.
Topics covered
Blog post assignment debrief
- Assignment goal: A critical copywriting exercise to establish authority by critiquing an industry problem and showcasing solutions
- Reviewed what worked and what didn’t in student submissions
- The distinction between selling and establishing credibility through solutions journalism
The art of social media promotion
- The challenge: Most users only see a headline and image while scrolling. The goal is to make them stop and click.
- Headlines need to be hooks — intriguing enough to stop the scroll, honest enough to not be clickbait
- The featured image does most of the work on social: it determines whether the post gets noticed at all
- Social copy (the text above the link) should add context, not repeat the headline