Struggling to get social media to actually send traffic to your blog?
You are not alone. Everyone is chasing the next viral TikTok or Instagram Reel, but the truth is:
People still read blogs if you give them a reason.
That reason has to be stronger than just creating great content. It’s a moving target that you can never hit.
The key is to craft headlines that stop scrollers in their tracks and make them click.
In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to write blog post headlines that social media users can’t ignore, headlines that get clicks, drive traffic, and ultimately get your content in front of the audience it deserves.
Know which keyword to target
Keywords aren’t just for SEO. They also help your reader determine what your article is about.
Therefore, your target keyword should appear in the blog title as well as the title you use to promote the post on social media.
use a keyword research tool as In SE Rating to find the best keyword for your article.
Choose a keyword with decent search volume but less SEO difficulty. Consider using keyword synonyms like “fly fishing tips for beginners” instead of “beginner fly fishing tips”.
Use strong words
Power words are words and phrases that evoke an emotional response in a social media user.
They capture the user’s attention in relation to an emotion they feel or want to feel.
Here are some examples of effective words for blog post titles (“best” is generic, but we do better):
- Critical
- discover
- Elite
- It is important
- Exclusive
- Chosen
- Guaranteed
- Hot
- Insider
- The latest
- It is limited
- It should be
- Strong
- Proven
- Rare
- Detected
- Revolutionary
- secret(s)
- Shocking
- Top
- End
- Open
- Unique
- He was released
- Vital
Use numbers in the title
Numbers get a lot of attention in both search engines and social media.
Many writing guides suggest writing numbers from zero to nine, but when it comes to headlines, it’s best to use only numbers to maximize the number of clicks your headline gets.
If your post isn’t necessarily a number-based post, find a creative way to include a number if you can.
Use one sentence from your post as a title
Often the best way to promote something is to sell the most interesting part of it.
Choose a sentence or quote from your blog post and use it to promote it on social media.
This quote can be a fact related to the topic you are writing about or a shocking or emotional quote from the person you are interviewing.
Don’t use click bait or rage bait
Clickbait is a spam social media technique in which the creator describes something in the headline that is not actually reflected in the article it is linked to. They also use it to exaggerate something.
Rage baiting involves a creator intentionally doing something controversial with the intention of making social media users angry enough to click.
Not only do social media users consider these methods spam, platforms like Facebook have detection systems that flag these types of posts.
The more you use these types of techniques, the less social media users you have and social media algorithms will interact with your content.
Let your audience know you’ll save them time
If your blog post describes a tutorial or guide that can be completed quickly, your title should describe it.
If you’re not sure how long it will take, but know it will be quick, use a phrase like “here’s a quick way” to let your audience know you’re a tutorial. will be save them time.
If you’ve written step-by-step instructions, use a phrase like “5 steps or less.”
If you know how quickly the guide you’re writing will take to complete, use phrases like “5 minutes or less” or “5 minute recipes.”
Tell your audience what you can help them achieve
If your article is designed to help your audience achieve a specific goal, describe that goal in your title.
If you’re teaching your audience how to kickflip, use phrases like “become a kickflip master” in your headline.
If you’re displaying a list of room design ideas, use a phrase like “transform your room.”
Use your headline to explain how something changed your life
Many titles for reviews of products, services, and techniques are quite descriptive on social media.
Many “Spotify Review: Does This Streaming Service Live Up To The Hype?” and “The only music streaming app you’ll ever need.”
Instead, try to share with your headline how the product has improved your life.
For example, say “How Spotify helped me discover my new favorite band” or “How I used Spotify to organize my entire music collection.”
Let your followers know that you will stand up for an unpopular opinion
If your article is controversial and you know it is, defend what you have to say in your title.
Then, let your audience know that you will support the points you made in the article.
A phrase you can use to describe this is “here’s why.”
Example: “Pineapple belongs on Pizza. Here’s why.”
Alternatively, it could be “I’m going to prove to you why pineapple belongs on pizza.”
Name your target audience in the headline
Many of the strategies we use on social media are designed to help us engage our target audience in subtle ways.
We use the keywords they use in our headlines, create blog posts for topics they’re interested in, and even build products to solve problems they face.
What we generally don’t do is call them out in our headlines.
Try this technique on social media, especially on social media platforms where your target audience is active.
Here are some examples:
- 5 tips to help new homeowners…
- 10 Ways Pro BMX Riders…
- How College Students Can Save…
Let your audience know that you will cover the topic from start to finish
Blog posts are a fantastic way to create long-form content for your audience that covers everything they need to know about a particular topic.
It’s certainly true that attention spans are waning, but some internet users still like to learn everything they need to know about a topic from one source. and on one page.
If you have created such an article, let your followers know in the title.
Use a phrase like “everything you need to know” in the title.
Create a sense of urgency or FOMO in your title
FOMO stands for “fear of missing out.” It is an emotion created by social media that someone feels compelled to buy something or join something after seeing many other social media users enjoying it.
You can use this social media phenomenon in the blog post title you use to promote your post on social media.
Use phrases like “everything you need to know” and “things every college student should do before graduation.”
Let your reader know you’re going to solve a particular problem forever
Some textbooks can be used over and over again. Some are designed to teach your readers new techniques they will use again and again.
Others are designed to be a one-and-done tip that solves a problem the reader has been facing forever.
Describe it by using the word “forever” in your title, or with a phrase like “never suffer (problem) again.”
Advertise your comparison in your headline
If you’ve written a comparison post on purpose, you’ve probably used the abbreviation “vs” in your title.
However, if the review or guide you’re writing is for something that isn’t relevant to the product or technique chosen among your audience, phrase your title as a comparison on social media.
For example, polyurethane (plastic) wheels are more popular among skateboarders today, but rubber wheels there is still around.
If you write about rubber tires, consider using the phrase “rubber and plastic skateboard tires” in the title.
Use a headline analyzer or generative AI
Headline analyzers are tools you can use to help you create better headlines.
They give you a score to let you know how click-worthy your headlines are and share tips to improve your score.
We recommend the headline analyzers from Sharethrough and AIOSEO.
Just don’t worry about word count suggestions from these tools. They’re designed to help you create better SEO titles, so their word count suggestions are based on what appears on Google, not social media.
Don’t be shy about using generative AI tools like ChatGPT and others AI writing tools creating headlines. Generating ideas is currently the best way to use AI.
Now I say all this with a few caveats. First, header analyzers make mistakes. They will give you a rough idea of which title will perform best.
And generative artificial intelligence cannot create anything new. It can make some great headlines, no doubt. Just remember your best headlines that real people will relate to? Chances are, you’ll be the one thinking of them. But you can use AI to help you get there.
Try different titles
One of the easiest ways to see which blog headlines really work is to test them on social media. there a planning tool comes in handy. At Blogging Wizard, we use They went viral planning and organizing our content across multiple platforms.
Now, most people plan their content and don’t think much about how the posts are performing. Or when they do, they look at overall performance trends.
But you can use it to improve your headlines. Here it is:
Viraly allows you to schedule posts in advance from a draft, and you can organize your content by categories such as “Product News”, “New Posts”, “List Posts” or “Opinions”. Each category gets its own turn, so you control exactly when each post goes live.
The smart part is using this to test your headers. Create multiple social media posts for one blog post. Each has a slightly different title. You can do this by scheduling multiple posts, or you can use their content recycling feature and assign different content to each post.
Then track which one gets the most engagement. Not only does this help you learn what your audience responds to, it also gets more exposure for your content without any extra effort.
Final thoughts
As Google’s algorithm updates make SEO traffic more volatile, it makes sense to focus more on social media.
There are a lot of people who want to read your content. They just don’t know it exists (yet).
So now is the time to make them available.
Just make sure you balance your social media calendar with other types of content. Don’t forget to move your social media followers to your email list.
(If you don’t have an email list yet, you can get started with MailerLite for free. Click here to get started.)
This will be the best way to limit your reliance on both search engine and social media algorithms.
Be sure to read Adam’s article if you haven’t already how the blogging landscape is changing and what it takes to win.
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