Creating Killer Social Media Content

Content creation is a vital part of any strategic marketing plan. Whether you are using social media to attract new customers or build on existing relationships, you need to create content that is useful as well as visually appealing. While nearly 90% of all companies engage in content marketing on some level, few manage to produce “share-worthy” content. The reason is simple. Most people who post on social media do so without thinking or creating a plan.

Fortunately, there are many ways to create great social media content if you set your mind to it. The most effective is to include the "right" image. Studies show that 93% of all human communication is visual. This means that consumers decide whether to read a post based on the visual elements. 

How To Increase Engagements

According to research, there are several psychological factors to why people engage in online activities. Among them are: the desire for social approval; they want to show support, and they want to be entertained. While it is extremely challenging to achieve a high level of engagements on every post, the following 10 tips should help you gain social media followers and increase engagements.

1. Write Useful Content.
Internet users have a big appetite for news and are more likely to share a post if it offers new information or a fresh perspective. Creating this type of content may require research and extra time, but the dividends are worth it.

If you decide that writing your own social media content is too time consuming, I highly recommend that you  outsource it. 

2. Make Posts Easy To Read.
You have only a second or two to grab an internet user’s attention. Be sure to format your content in such a way that the information is easy to read quickly. Write succinctly. Use numbered lists or bullet points when appropriate, and bold type or color to highlight key points.

3. Know Your Audience
Before creating or sharing content, ask yourself if it's something that your audience would like to see and share with their friends. If you are not sure about the demographics of your audience, use your social media posts to gain that information simply survey your followers. When you ask people about themselves, this not only creates engagement but gives you special insight into what they want.

4. Pull at Heartstrings
Some of the most successful marketing campaigns went viral because they sparked strong emotional reactions among followers. If you can make someone feel happiness, anger, or sorrow, they are more likely to comment or share a post. 

5. Get Nostalgic
Depending on the age of your audience, everyone loves to recall old memories. If you know the average age of your audience, you can easily find images and subject matters to appeal to them. Similar to the emotional strategy, consumers generally comment on memories.

6. Share Your Blog
Social media is a great place to let your followers know when you have posted a new blog. Remember, internet users are looking for information, so if your blog is worth writing, it’s worth sharing on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

7. Offer Incentives
Everyone loves free stuff. Think about posting a drawing for a free gift. If you do this, make sure your prize is something that either brings someone to your business or they can easily associate with your brand.

8. Find Your Funny Bone
When it comes to social media, you don’t always have to take your business so seriously. Infact, funny posts, images, and videos attract attention and increase the shareability of posts.

9. Post Videos
Video marketing remains the best performing digital content type, driving more views, more engagement and more response than any other social posting option. That’s what social media channels like Twitter and LinkedIn have added the ability for users to post videos.

10. Use Hashtags
Hashtags (#) are specific and unique keywords that make your content more discoverable on social media platforms and help you to engage with other social media users based on a common theme or interest.
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Final Thought: The best way to create social media content is to build a complete campaign. Oftentimes, businesses struggle to keep up with their social posting schedule because they are being reactive versus proactive. This makes it difficult to reap the benefits of social media. Plus, it’s tough to always be writing posts on the fly without much thought ahead of time.
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