3-Step Framework to Stop the Scroll on Social Media

Gone are the days of the guy standing on the corner with the daily paper held over his head yelling, “Extra, extra, read all about it!” hoping that a passerby will be intrigued by the large headline. Now are the days of infinite social media feeds with posts one after the other, each of them silently screaming for you to be intrigued by their content. 

Social media feeds have similarities to the newspaper in what they provide: to offer the latest breaking news, give the updates on what the community is doing to make sure everyone in the area is in the loop, gain sales through the paid advertisements, and have people letting out chuckles through the entertaining comic section that week.  

Thumbing through the newspaper now looks like scrolling on a glass screen. In fact, Hubspot reports that there are a growing 5.17 billion users worldwide on social media, with many of them using 6.7 different social networks per month. With an average screen time of 143 minutes per day, people are consuming tons of content, and we want to make ours resonates with them.  

Try the 3-Step AMP Method the next time you’re planning and writing your social media content!  

A – Action for Audience 
M – Motivations of Audience 
P – Presentation of Content  

Step 1: Action for Audience 

You have to decide what you want your audience to do. Take time to consider your business goals and objectives for the next 6-12 months and the outcomes of them. Then, put your creative hat on to consider how to garner those results by using social media as a channel. Some examples of actions include:  

• Getting a good laugh through entertaining content  

• Feeling seen and heard to not feel so alone in their experiences  

• Reflecting on and pondering the information you provide  

• Finding fact-backed information that you provide aligns with what they’ve been researching lately  

• Buying a product or service that would benefit them to solve a problem they have been experiencing  

Step 2: Motivations of Audience 

What does your audience really care about? This means you need to be crystal clear on who you’re talking to so that your message resonates with them! You can begin creating an audience persona by gathering insights like:  

• What is their annual income? 

• Do they have a partner and/or kids? 

• What is their career field? 

• What activities and hobbies do they engage in? 

• What are top brands they’re typically interested in? 

• What are their typical behaviors?  

A great site to start your data gathering for personas is Claritas PRIZM.  

Breathing Life Into Our Audience: 

Envision you are writing for a children’s museum and you want to target white collar moms who work over 50 hours a week and make a household income of $175,0000 a year. These women have three kids aged 2, 4, and 7 and a spouse. When they’re not working their job, they want to be home with their family, while deeply caring that their kids experience enriching activities both at school and in their everyday activities. Because they don’t see their family much during the week, they get slight “parent guilt” and want to engage with their children on the weekend, while still providing enriching activities. This makes the children’s museum a great family friendly activity that is both educational and engaging for the children. Let’s let them know that!  

Step 3: Presentation of Content  

Finally, you have to show and tell your audience what they care about. How does your target audience best receive their information? Research it! 

After reading through this article by the Pew Research Center, you can scroll down to the graph titled “How use of online platforms – such as Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok – differs among some U.S. demographic groups” and see that the example audience of white collar moms will find their content on the platforms of Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.  

Now, make the post! Consider adding these elements into your post: 

1. Attention Grabber (also called a ‘hook’) 

2. What the audience needs to know – tell the most important information in a succinct way (emojis can be valuable if you’re purposeful with them) 

3. Line breaks – don't clump all of your information into one paragraph  

4. Any mentions where appropriate – tag your favorites and friends!  

5. Hashtags 

6. Visuals – photos, videos, reels, infographics, graphics and more  

Stopping the scroll is rooted in the story you tell through understanding the actions and motivations of your audience and how you can present information that best speaks to them. An understanding of how our audience thinks and acts is powerful knowledge when facilitating conversations and connections on social media.

Feeling lost on how to tell your story in a way that stops your target audience in its tracks? Schedule a free discovery call today to discover how to find the storyteller in you with my 6-week Discovering the Strategic Storyteller in You Coaching Program.