Why Your Social Media Strategy Feels Like a Bad Date (And How to Fix It)
August 28, 2024
In our last article, we talked about making sure your content doesn’t scare off potential clients. If you missed it, check it out here.
Now that your content looks approachable, let’s make sure it’s easy to read and keeps your audience engaged. Once you’ve drawn them in, it’s your job to keep them reading.
So, how do we do that?
It’s simple.
We use the BAR test.
Here’s a sentence I came across recently:
“As a business owner your job is to solve problems. Someone having electrical issues? It’s a good thing you’re a certified electrician with your own business to solve that customer’s problem.”
Sounds like an AI wrote it, right? Now, let me introduce you to the BAR test.
The BAR test is undefeated and has been working for centuries. It’ll continue to work for centuries more because it’s based on one simple principle: Would you say this to a human in a bar?
Look at that sentence again:
“As a business owner your job is to solve problems…”
In a conversation, you’d probably say something like:
“Most business owners know they solve problems for a living. But that’s hard to do if people don’t even know you exist, right?”
The difference is clear. The first sentence is stiff and unnatural. The second sounds like something you’d actually say to another person. This is the core of the BAR test—writing like you talk.
Here’s a trick that will change the way you write forever: read your copy out loud.
If it sounds awkward, confusing, or too formal when you say it out loud, it’s going to feel that way to your readers too. Think about how you’d explain something to a friend.
Here’s another example I came across recently:
“Most business owners barely even think about what problem their product solves, let alone who their likely buyer is, what their age range is, what their interests are…”
This sentence has 47 words! If you try reading it out loud, you’ll probably need to catch your breath. In conversation, no one talks like that. We use shorter sentences to keep the flow going. Some sentences are long, others are short.
Like this one. Only three words.
Get in the habit of writing like this, and I guarantee your content will improve. It’s a simple habit, but it works wonders.
Start using this advice in your writing, and you’ll see more engagement and better responses from your audience. Once your content reads like an actual conversation, it becomes much more effective at pulling in customers and keeping their attention.
Talk soon,
Szymon
P.S. Want me to check, rewrite, and improve your marketing materials using the BAR test and other writing principles? Here’s how to get started:
Get in touch with my agency today. If we’re a good fit, I’ll personally look at your marketing, create a strategy for what I’d do differently, and discuss it with you on a call.
No cost, no obligation.
If you want to work together, great. If not, no pressure—no hard sell.
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