Many business owners that don’t have the time or can’t stick to a routine often get the best results from outsourcing their content to a social media management agency. But for those who want to do their content themselves, here are some suggestions about the type of content you should be posting to your social accounts.
1. Engage the emotions
People often respond best to content that elicits an emotional response, that’s why cute dog photos and images of babies do so well. But there are other ways to stir up emotions in your followers, you could share posts that make them feel a connection with your staff for example, or share failed attempts at a project that garners sympathy from your audience.
Human emotions are complex, but with a bit of planning you can create social posts that provoke any number of different responses like:
- Empathy
- Humor
- Amusement
- Sympathy
- Understanding
- Nostalgia
- Surprise
- Hope
Posting content that stirs up any of these emotions can cause followers to feel a real connection with you and your company. This can be beneficial for businesses who’s followers will often assume that because your business understands them, it can also solve the challenges of problems they are experiencing.
2. Guides and How-to’s
Sharing inside information, knowledge, and tips can provide a wealth of valuable information to your audience. Even if no-one is buying your product or service, building a level of trust and goodwill can generate future business. Using ‘how to’ posts and share guides can speak directly to the pain points of your followers and help to show your expertise in your field or industry.
Instagrams carousel posts work especially well for this type of content, allowing you to serve up bite size and easily digestible content to your followers. Advice, tips, hacks, and other types of informational content can all be as useful as it is engaging. Providing real value to your audience in this way is an effective strategy to keep them coming back for more.
3. Embrace video posts
Even though creating stunning video content is time-consuming it can be amazingly effective at attracting and engaging users. If this is a media channel that you haven’t explored yet it can be extremely worthwhile to add it to your marketing strategy. Social media platforms like TikTok have risen rapidly in popularity and social accounts like Facebook and Instagram have added Reels as a way for their users to post video content.
Video is becoming the new way to consume content, especially among the younger generation. Short 15 or 30 second clips are gaining attention, and companies are increasingly investing in video content as part of their promotional efforts. In addition there is always the option to live stream and post interesting content or announce new news as it happens. The feeling of being ‘in the moment’ can be irresistible to many social media users, and video posts provide exactly that.
4. User Generated Content
Do you feel like you are seeing more posts from people like ‘Bob in Minnesota’ showing off his favorite toothbrush? That’s because you are. Posts of this kind are known as user generated content (UGC) and lots of businesses and brands are using it to their advantage. From Mrs Smith showing off her new bathroom tiling, to Jane in Florida being delighted with her new baby grower, posts featuring real people using actual products are a powerful marketing tactic.
People trust other people and that’s why companies and marketing agencies make their best efforts to get the public to share these types of posts. On a number of products you may now see written on the packaging something to the effect of ‘tag us and share your posts @xyzbusiness’, all to help amass user generated content and use it on social channels.
There is no reason that you can’t use this as part of your marketing strategy too, even if you are a plumber or a shop fitter you can request the customer take a photo and tag your business to share how happy they are with your service or product. It’s almost as good as a word of mouth referral which, as everyone knows, is one of the most effective forms of gaining more customers.
5. Statistics and Infographics
Data and numbers can go a long way to supporting your business. That’s why many businesses use slogans like ‘over 600 satisfied customers’ or ‘8000 parts delivered’. Using date to create social media content can be an effective way to attract followers, and putting statistics into an attractive infographic can work even better.
People can absorb information much faster and easier when it is broken down into small segments or graphical representations. As a bonus, statistics and infographics frequently get shared more than other types of content which can help your business to widen its scope, reach new markets, and find completely new audiences.
Creating attractive charts, graphs, and infographics doesn’t have to be difficult, there are a number of tools and free software that is available online to help you. Try websites like Canva or if you already use graphics packages like Adobe that can be a great place to start. If making your own infographic or charts is a bit beyond you then you can alway use someone else’s for an easy win long as you give credit.