Ernest ThompsonHaving brand new content ideas for your social media fans and followers is the most important aspect of any social media marketing venture. This means new tweets, new pictures, new blogs, new status updates, new videos, new new new.
To help keep you moving forward with your social media, here are 10 ideas that will work for nearly any platform. All you have to do is figure out how they directly apply to your business by adding your own branding.
10 Content Ideas For Your Brand’s Social Media Success
Take a Look in Your Sent Folder
You already have content in your sent folder which you thought was worth sharing. Going in there to see if any written content is worth morphing into a video, or an image that could be tweeted, can save you time.
The concept I’m proposing is called content repurposing, and its goal is to help you expose your content to as wide an audience as possible. Not everyone who is interested in your brand will receive your email blast. Sharing the content from emails with your YouTube subscribers will get that information to them in a format they are most interested in seeing.
Let Fans Tell You What They Want – Read Replies and Comments
If you have an active Twitter following, or a YouTube comment section full of opinions, that’s where you can find your fans openly sharing with you a bunch of ideas for good content. Some ideas may lead to blog posts which clarify issues. Other ideas may lead to video demonstrations. Every idea should relate directly to questions, issues, or complaints that your fans are sharing with you.
Send Your Best Reviews Out
Your social media accounts shouldn’t be all about you and things you have written. The focus should focus on your fans often, and sharing their reviews of your brand is the perfect way to do this.
Giving them a shoutout in a video with their review, tweeting out an image of it with an MT on Twitter, and a Facebook status update they’re tagged in are ways to share fresh content that isn’t all about you…but is still about you. Here’s a review that deserves a share from the Transformer accounts:
Have a Discussion That Isn’t Too Serious
Flame wars are never good for business. Friendly and playful discussion and debates can really help as both a piece of content you spread, and as a way to get ideas for future content.
The absolute online king of this is Charmin because they were smart enough to discuss the contentious “over or under” debate about toilet paper. Which one are you? I bet you have an opinion, as do most of us.
How do you roll? #tweetfromtheseat pic.twitter.com/CCHmHui9WM
— Charmin (@Charmin) September 16, 2014
Other companies can do this too, they just have to look at what relates to their brand. A shoe manufacturer can talk about the proper way to tie your shoes. A garbage bag company might ask for people to send shaming pictures of overfilled garbage cans. The possibilities are limitless.
Lists That Are Relevant to Your Industry
I work in social media, so this ‘10 Content Ideas’ article is right up my alley. Your brand will always have a new list it can make and share as a blog post, or social status update. Just be sure to put enough reasoned arguments behind your choices to start one of those discussions or debates from above!
Stay Current on News and Pop Culture
Social media is all about what’s happening now (except on Throwback Thursday, of course), and Twitter especially thrives on current events. The concept of newsjacking has long fueled some social marketers strategy, but there is another way to do this.
Having images prepared in advance for major world events is a key aspect of any social sharing plan. We know you can’t predict everything, but you know that someone will win the SuperBowl, a President will be elected every four years, someone will win American Idol, etc. Planning for events like this and creating branded content that’s relevant can help increase your shares, and will help you always have new content ready for future sharing.
My favorite one related to the Super Bowl and a current event:
After #DeflateGate, I no longer trust balls that aren’t mine. pic.twitter.com/s50vOCKMfd
— BarkBox (@barkbox) February 1, 2015
There’s Always Room for Contests and Giveaways
When you’re really stuck on what to give your followers and subscribers, literally give them something! These contests on social media are even better than any contest you might see at a store or in a newspaper. This is due to the sharing nature of social media. Contests in store only appeal to those in store, and newspaper ads only go to those who read that newspaper. Social media contests can go ANYWHERE with one share.
Just be sure to read the rules for contests on the social platform you’re going to use. Each one is different and you don’t want to wind up with a ban or suspension of your account.
Here’s a great cross-brand contest with PewDiePie and Mountain Dew that was mega-fun for all involved:
Always Try to Stay Positive
One of the biggest bummers is when a troll shows up and rains on everyone’s parade. Worse can be when a competitor shows up and starts throwing shade your way. It can be hard to stay positive at these times, but when it’s over you have a whole new set of content ideas to share.
Someone who comes by to bring negativity is always giving you a chance to be positive. Try being prepared in advanced, or react instantly, with an appropriately funny meme. Everyone loves a LOLCAT, but the number of identifiable memes out there are endless. When someone tries to bring you down, be prepared to make everyone smile.
Go Behind the Scenes
You may think your work place, factory, or office is boring, but that’s only because you’re there every day. Even the most pointless of office functions can provide a chance to create content that is shareable, personal, and engaging for you followers.
The brand that does this the best on a consistent basis is HootSuite. There isn’t much to share as far as images go, they’re an online social aggregator planner, so they show their human side to always have content to share:
Show Some Emotion and Have a Rant
The key to your social media success is showing a more human side than traditional marketing ever has. The hallmark of the old marketing tactics in print and TV media has always been about presenting the best, most polished of brand images.
Social media, however, is better when it’s personal and real. How do you get that realness out? By having an opinion and sharing it wildly. You need to be cautious about which topics you choose, certainly. But having a good rant about something going on within your industry can be great content that is shared, commented on, and talked about for some time.
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