You’re on social media. Now, what do you post?
Before I started as a social media coordinator at Revel, I was an English Professor. For five years, I taught Composition, which means I taught the “art and process of writing.” I would tell my students early in the semester, “At its most basic, writing is communicating ideas. So, my job is to help you figure out what you think and then how to communicate that to other people in ways that are clear and compelling.”
In my class, through every paper, my students were learning to present information. My job as a Content Specialist is much the same – presenting information. In social media marketing, we call the information content.
What is Content?
Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi explains that content is “compelling information that informs, engages, or amuses.”
When we talk about content with our clients at Revel, this is what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the information that makes their company, organization, product, or service unique. We’re talking about the information that their customers need or want to know about who they are, what they do, and why they do it. We’re talking about the information that is both educational and helpful to build trust and engage their customers. We’re talking about the information that’s compelling.
What Makes Good Content?
As a B2B brand, one of the best ways to put your content in front of the eyes of your target audience is to figure out where your customers are hanging out online. Once you’ve determined which platform (or two) you’re going to extend your resources toward, you can figure out the kind of content you should produce to be successful online.
Here are five content ideas that will help you on whichever social media platform you choose:
1. Images
By a large margin, posts that include visual imagery perform much better than posts that are just words. Humans are visual creatures, processing visual information 60,000 times faster than words. So, social media content with pictures gets 2.3 times more engagement than those without.
Tip: Stock photography is great for a lot of reasons, but you don’t want your customers to see you using the same photos as your competitors. Set yourself apart with real images of your company, your team, your products, or your services in use whenever you can. The financial investment in professional photography will be worth it.
2. Videos
Video content accounts for 82% of all consumer internet traffic as of 2022, and on social media, it’s 40% more likely to get shared. Online video-making platform Biteable recommends these 11 types of video content:
- Interview Q&A
- Behind-the-Scenes
- Feature/Product videos
- Live videos
- Promos and deals
- User-generated content
- Giveaways and contests
- Announcements and reveals
- Events
- Breaking news
- Tutorials
Tip: Because nearly every brand utilizes video content these days, you need to be strategic about how you make yourself stand out. One thing to consider is the length of your videos. Showcase your brand while keeping in mind that you have someone’s attention for eight seconds. When it comes to video, short and sweet is the name of the game.
3. Blogs
Right now, 79% of B2B companies keep a blog on their website. It’s a great way to set yourself up as a thought leader in your industry, demonstrating yourself to be an expert who can be trusted and increasing sales leads. B2B companies with blogs generate 67% more leads than those that do not have one. Once you have a well-curated blog to which you post regularly, each blog post then makes for great social media content.
Tip: There are all kinds of ways to make social media content out of your blog content. Turning your written content into pull quotes, infographics, GIFs and other visually catching images will ensure that your social post gets engagement while also driving traffic back to your website.
4. Article shares
When I’m working on a social strategy with clients, I almost always make sure their calendar includes what we call “curated content.” That is to say, articles that are relevant to their industry and specially curated to be shared on their social media pages. Not only is it a way to vary content on your page, but it demonstrates that you are engaged in your industry and on top of key news, advancements, and changes that are happening on a monthly basis.
Tip: Interestingly, people will believe your company to be knowledgeable in your industry even if they only see a headline. You want to select your curated content based on what visitors to your social pages will find most interesting. As you share, pay attention to what’s getting engagement and adjust your content selections accordingly.
5. Events and announcements
People like knowing what’s going on with a brand they love. It’s why Apple Events are such a successful part of their marketing strategy. You may not create Apple-level hype, but you can certainly create a good buzz around your brand and your products or services by promoting any events or announcements like product launches or new hires on social media. Doing so will get your customers energized about your brand and, hopefully, get them to want to share and post about you on their own social pages.
Tip: Consider sharing team events (lunches, outings, conferences, parties, etc.) when your employees and staff are socializing together, and be sure to take photos of your team together. Again, people like seeing what’s happening with a brand they love. Anything you share about the internal happenings of your company and your team is sure to get people to hit that “like” button.
Choosing what content to share on your social media pages should, at the end of the day, be done with a clear vision in mind, following a strategy that aims toward your company’s goals. Want to direct traffic back to your website? Create and share blog posts. Want to set yourself up as a thought leader in your industry? Start sharing relevant articles of key industry news. Want to attract new employees? Highlight your company culture through photos and graphics.
When you have a clear vision of what you’re trying to communicate to your audience, you can develop your content accordingly. Kind of like writing a killer Composition paper.
