5 Tips for Creating Social Media Content

So you have a Facebook page or an Instagram account for your business, now what? When it comes to starting the conversation, creating the connection and building relationships, publishing content should be at the top of your to-do list. Publishing the right content on your feed(s) as well as in your groups will attract potential customers and increase your credibility and expertise.

To assist you in the planning of your content, an editorial calendar is helpful. (For a free content planner template and training, click here.)

As you plan out your editorial calendar, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Know your audience and your industry.

Publish information they can use. Are there big changes coming to your industry or new laws affecting your industry? Explain those changes in lay terms in a short article. Do you know what problems plague them? Offer daily action steps to help solve those problems.

2. Include photos for more engagement and interest.

Photos used in articles should relate directly back to the main topic. Photos also help break up a large page of text, which can be intimidating for even the best readers to tackle online. Purchase photos legally from stock photos houses or use Unsplash.com for completely free photos. For list of free photo sites, click here. Never copy/paste from Google Images; that’s copyright infringement.

3. Ask questions and provide insight.

Are there misconceptions about your industry or what you do? Clear these up in a simple Q&A article. Create a whole Q&A series with the questions you receive online as well as via email or your help desk. When you ask questions you may also discover a new pain point which you can then discuss or create a new product to address it.

4. Give people a behind-the-scenes look into your business and what it’s like to work with you.

This topic lends itself to a fun video series where you can address exactly what you do and who your ideal clients are. Don’t be afraid to clearly identify your ideal clients and let them qualify themselves to work with you. The worst thing is to sign on with someone who can’t afford your prices or who won’t do the work necessary.

5. Include a call to action on all your posts.

What should your reader do next: Join your email list? Call you for a consult? Meet you at a local networking event? Gently guide your reader to the next step in your sales funnel. Relate the Call to Action to the topic of the post.

When in doubt about what to publish, consider outsourcing the content creation to an experienced freelancer. They will brainstorm ideas and help fill in your editorial calendar rather quickly as well as prepare your content so all you need to do is approve it and publish.

Extend your knowledge and expertise to your audience with your content. You just never know how your content will affect someone or to whom they will pass along your articles.

17 Social Media Post Ideas to Grow Your Business

Your goal is to convert social media followers into customers, but it’s easier said than done, right?  The first step is to post engaging content to capture your followers’ attention.

My own rules of social media posts are pretty simple:

Rule #1: Never be boring.

Rule #2: Post regularly and make it interesting.

Rule #3: Try not to stress about Rules #1 and #2 and just enjoy the process. Because if you’re having fun, then odds are your followers are having fun, too.

Here are 17 ideas for your upcoming social media posts:

1: Share your latest blog post. They should be the first to know, because they can help you spread the word.

2: Poll your followers. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook all provide options for you to engage your followers with a poll. Or simply ask thought-provoking or humorous questions, and remember to check back in and respond to the answers, too.

3: Show off your photos. We’re not talking about stock photos, but YOUR photos of yourself doing relevant or interesting things, the view from the coffee shop where you’re working on your next product, etc.

4: Tease followers with enticing details about your new product. Build hype for your next launch by letting your followers be the first to know what you’re offering next.

5: Use emojis. According to one survey, Facebook headlines with emojis generate 241% more clicks than those without.

6: Customer case studies. Show how your product or service is helping people on an individual basis.

7: Videos. Social media videos generate more than 1,200% more shares than images and text combined. Whoa.

8: Share old blog posts. You can bring new life to old content if it’s still relevant.

9: User-generated content. Find posts of people using your products and share them to build trust.

10: Infographics. These visual aids can help cement your stories, products and services into the memory of your prospects, as well as helping to persuade them to buy.

11: Inspirational quotes. Don’t just grab any quote. Find something relevant to what’s happening now, or a quote that uses humor to get the message across.

12: Giveaways and contests. Use a contest to encourage user-generated content. This content will be exposed to many people, which is always a good thing for you.

13: “How to” posts. Share a demo video on how to do something in your niche, such as sharing a step-by-step process to get a specific result.

14: Review and testimonials. These add credibility to you and your products.

15: Curated content. Share the content of others in your niche.

16: Industry news. News articles get more shares than any other type of article, so why not have it come from you?

17: Tips and advice. A quick tip or tidbit can be highly valuable and it makes you look generous for sharing the advice.

This list is by no means comprehensive, yet it should keep you quite busy building and engaging your audience on social media.

Looking for a little extra help, every month we send free images for you to use on your social platforms. Click here to get on our list: Social Media Free Images.