Sahail AshrafBeing involved in social media is great fun and very rewarding, and it is one of the best ways to market your business. But sometimes you can feel a little stuck when it comes to new ideas for posts and content on the various platforms.
We help you to combat this issue with this article, in which we look at 35 different post ideas for social media. If you do one every day, that’s over a month of great content that should allow you to stand out from the other businesses in your industry. Do one of these every other day, and you’ve got over two months of your social media content calendar worked out.
So here are the ideas for your social media platforms. Enjoy.
1. Behind the scenes photos. These are used a lot by companies that want to show that they are a trustworthy and accessible brand. It’s best to keep it as natural as possible, and we suggest putting a twist on things, like ‘a week in the life’ for example.
2. Post up a funny or inspirational image. Make sure it fits in with the lifestyle and/or aspirations of your audience. Be sure to include your logo on the image somewhere as well. A picture can be better than a thousand words, so choose wisely and it could be a real engagement tool.
3. Use an infographic. You don’t need to make your own by the way. Find one that your followers would really like to see and which provides value, and then put it out there.
4. Grab a great product photo and use this on social media. Many companies find this is a way to gain great exposure for your product (it’s in the picture) as well as gain some real social proof as the customer or client uses the product or service. Make it as natural as you can, otherwise it will look like a staged effort.
5. You could also include photos or videos that literally have nothing to do with your product directly, but instead have resonance with your audience. This means showing an image of a pair of interlocked hands to link to that romantic break you’re offering customers, for example. It creates a little bit of intrigue and it also makes your company appear less like a pushy sales organisation.
6. Going back to those product shots again. If you manufacture stuff, show people how it is done. Many a company has benefitted from showing images or videos of their production line or other parts of the manufacturing process. If you provide a service, show how it is created and delivered.
7. Case studies are excellent ways to bring variety and also a little extra marketing potential to your posts. Case studies need to be done right though, so spend time finding great customers to interview who have lots to say.
8. If you have people on your social media profile who are obviously fans of your product, share a photo of them on your channel. This allows you to make a connection with the audience you are reaching and also gain extra marketing potential.
9. If you want to give a little more to your audience and to ensure that you don’t come across as some desperate marketer, share a great book you have read recently. This allows you to show your mindset, and also that you and your company are human.
10. You could become even more creative with your post ideas and link to a ‘day in the life’ post that you have created. You could focus on one member of your team and get them to write a short post that details their working day. It works a treat for making your company more approachable, and it also allows you to bring even more engaging content to your audience.
11. You could ask questions. If you have a burning question that needs answering and your customers may be able to answer it, pose it. Ask a question and if it is interesting enough people will respond and therefore your community will build. It doesn’t take a lot of work and it allows you to keep that update flow going.
12. Take a look at some social media profiles in your industry that you like and recommend them to your following. This shows expertise and a sense of connectedness to your industry, and will also allow you to get some reading of your own done as you peruse these other profiles.
13. If you have a particular audience (as in female) then you will probably do well if you share a Pinterest board that the followers would like to learn more about. There are many opportunities here, and it shows that you are sharing for the value you can offer, rather than just sharing for sharing’s sake.
14. Find a customer who has stayed loyal for a long time and arrange for a full, professional video testimonial to be recorded. This is very effective because it has social proof and it is easy to take in.
15. Hold a contest. Some of the best contests involve customers taking photos of themselves using your product in unusual places for example. This means you get some real engagement, and if you have a prize you will get a great response. It builds up a sense of community and allows you to have an exciting post on your social media as more and more photos come in.
16. Have a debate. Post a question and then get people to answer and offer their own opinions. This can be a little tricky to manage, especially if the debate becomes a popular one. Monitor it as closely as possible and ensure that you stay on top of it and it could even provide you with content ideas for weeks to come.
17. Find a video that inspires you and your company and share it on your own social media channels. Pick one that will resonate with your audience and then just make a small, simple comment. It works wonders for reconnecting with your audience and it is of course easy to do.
18. As always, one of the best things you can do is to share industry news that is up to date and relevant to your audience. This makes for a much more engaged audience, and they will start to listen to you on the big topics of the day and latest news.
19. Create a simple but honest profile on an employee. Interview them perhaps, and put that interview out on social media. People like to see the human side of a company and this is a great way to do it.
20. Go deeper and find some research in your industry that you know will be of interest to your followers. This shows expertise. Then back it all up with plenty of data.
21. If your company has received an award or quality mark, share the news in a post. Make it a clear and factual post and this shows you are not bragging, but are instead just informing your audience of the quality you produce.
22. Share company news that is important not just to your employees but also the audience you communicate with regularly.
23. Create a series of posts and run them over a week. This is a great way to keep readership up, and it also shows that you are developing thought leader status.
24. Host a hangout on Google+. This is a great way to talk to your customers, and a transcript of the Hangout can be produced and given away as part of your social media management. Make it a fun one that is important to your audience and you’re flying.
25. Give away product. If you get your fans to comment or post an entry, give them something free in return. This is a great way to build up engagement, and also to populate your social media.
26. Interview an industry expert and link to it or post it on social media. This is a great way to build up that expertise level.
27. Tease your audience with a snippet for an upcoming blog post that you’ve been working hard on. This builds anticipation in your social media following.
28. Check out your FAQs and think of a new question that you get asked a lot but is not included in your FAQs. Answer the question or series of questions and then use this for your posts.
29. If you know some great groups on LinkedIn, and the group is sharing valuable content with some excellent conversations, then link to the group. This makes for an excellent resource for your followers.
30. Check out what your competitors are doing and share some of the same stuff they are. It shows that you are looking at your industry and showing respect to your competitors. You can even credit them as well. It also shows that you are confident in what you do, confident enough to share your competitor’s best stuff.
31. Take a look at your social media analytics and work out what is being engaged with the most and share more stuff that is in a similar vein. This is a classic way to build up even more engagement.
32. Find a blog post that you have read recently that was really successful and take the best snippet you can from it. Then share that snippet as part of your social media with a link to the post.
33. Share tips and tricks that will make the lives of your customers better. This is value-sharing at its best.
34. For even more fun, take a photo of your desk (tidy, of course) and show what you can’t be without on a typical working day. This brings more engagement and a sense of fun and personality to your company.
35. Create a tutorial on a particularly tricky part of your product offering or industry. Make it using video if you can, or an excellent quality infographic. This is where social media first started, in offering value. So go offer value.
Those are just some ideas on how you can create new and exciting content regularly for your social media platforms. The best thing is they are all easy to do, and you should be able to put something together quickly in most of these cases.
Creating rich and varied content regularly is important in social media. Use the above to stay one step ahead of that game.
To stay even further ahead of that game, you need high quality data and metrics at the push of a button. Try LocoWise for a free trial to get the most out of your social. Find data quickly on all aspects of your social media within seconds (and look at some very beautiful charts at the same time).
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