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Do you struggle to find fresh ideas for your social media channels? And do you start doubting if it’s worth your time and effort?
Truth is, engaging high-quality content that attracts users’ attention and keeps them informed is important: 86% of social media users want to and do follow brands on social. But when they do, they’re most often looking for relevant content, not another promotional post from an out of touch company.
That’s why we’ve gathered some solid social media content ideas to help you hop on popular social media trends. And don’t forget to be honest, open, and maintain your unique brand personality because 34% of people find a lack of personality to be just as bad as dull content. So, let’s start with the benefits that social media marketing can bring you.
Benefits of Social Media for Brands
1. Building brand
2020 calls for brand awareness and authenticity, and social media is a great place for genuine conversations, for telling your audience about your brand identity, values, and finding out what things you have in common.
2. Establishing connection and communicating
Social networks allow you to talk directly to your clients and give them a chance to interact with your brand. Make sure to be actively engaged and ready to address comments and questions on your social media posts.
3. Promoting content
Sharing your content on social media gives you an amazing opportunity to get it in front of new people, establish yourself as an expert, and grow your audience. Because of all the likes, shares, and comments, new people can learn about your brand and check you out. Followers’ recommendations work better than any random ads. This way, your content can even go viral.
4. Increasing traffic and generating leads
Posting content from your blog or website on your social media channels helps you get readers as soon as you publish a fresh article or create a new landing page. It increases your traffic and generates new leads. Also, you can use marketing software tools to optimize your social media strategy.
Are these the goals that you want to achieve in your social media marketing? If yes, let’s move on to the types of content that can help enhance your marketing this year.
Types of Content to Increase Engagement on Instagram and Gain More Followers
1. Videos
Video continues to be one of the most important trends of social media. In fact, video can make up 82 percent of all internet traffic in 2020. Posting videos on your social media channels is a perfect strategy to win the attention of your distracted audience.
As Hilary Bird, Marketing Manager at Render Pilots, says: “Brands that can leverage promo video to showcase their personalities or services/products will stay ahead of the social marketing curve in 2020 because video is bigger than ever.”
Just don’t forget the main tips and tricks for creating enticing social media videos: make them short and sweet, upload in-feed videos whenever you can, and don’t forget to have fun. Especially, when there are so many options to choose from:
- YouTube
- Stories (Facebook and Instagram)
- Snapchat
- IGTV
- Live video (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram)
- Tik Tok
- In-feed videos (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest)
Here’s an example of an in-feed video that is convenient to watch right in your news feed without going anywhere.
2. Interactive Publications
If you look for compelling ideas for your social media posts and aspire to keep consistency across all content channels, then interactive publications are exactly what you need.
First of all, digital publications look great on a news feed. They’re engaging, informative, and new to the eye, so they catch readers’ attention right away. That’s something, right?
To make such documents work to the fullest, you can add your company logo, custom background, and your own color palette to match your company style perfectly. This way, your digital content will always look professional on any device and will help you stand out from the crowd.
Check out how bright this flipbook looks on a news feed.
Here’s a short video on how to use FlippingBook to brand your content.
3. GIFs
GIFs are nothing new, but they are still one of the best media types to capture your followers’ attention. Because they are simple, but they stand out. And they’re designed to increase interactivity and enhance user engagement.
When you use GIFs on social media, it allows your clients to relate to your company on a more personal and human level. At the end of the day, we’re all people who love to have a good laugh and fun from time to time.
4. Conversations, Polls, and Surveys
If social media has taught us anything, it’s that people love to share their opinions. Facebook and Twitter polls, discussions, and client feedback are a fast way to get to know your audience. Social media is all about communication, so be ready to listen to your followers’ feedback. Don’t forget that brands should always be willing to talk back to their followers. Your audience’s time is incredibly valuable and taking a moment to respond shows that you care.
Daniel Foley, Director at Assertive Media, has a great experience in using polls: “Our vote goes to polls for the plan for social in 2020. People engage online much more than they used to and it is a two-way street. We talk about trending topics and give people the option to select which side of the fence they sit on, while also being encouraged to explain their decision.
This has helped us and our clients gain a lot more followers, but, more importantly, it gave us more exposure and put us to the top of our target market news feeds”.
5. Blog Posts and Articles
Sharing your articles to social media seems like a usual thing but it really works, so keep doing it! Because it gives you even more opportunities to reach a wider audience and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Plan a series of posts promoting your article and talking about various aspects that you cover in your blog post. It will give people more chances to stumble upon your articles on their news feed and read them. Plus, you can make special infographics for this kind of promotion.
Don’t be afraid to be fun and creative about sharing your articles on social channels. Just look at this post, isn’t it nice?
Here’s what Ben Culpin, Content and Social Media Marketer at WakeupData, says about working with social networks: “In 2020, our major focus is on creating content which builds industry education and awareness, without overly emphasizing our own brand. We often produce ‘problem-solving’ articles or videos which answer 6-7 common issues at once.
For social media, we’ve found success in building an engaged following by breaking these blog posts down into short, visually engaging flashcards that address each solution one at a time.”
6. Contests and Giveaways
Engage your followers and gain new ones by hosting a contest or giveaway on your social media channels. Boost engagement by making a post comment or share a condition for entry, and you might get new followers as people hear about the contest from family and friends.
Plus, these posts are a great way to promote your new products and services.
Many marketers use contests on social media. For example, Boni Satani, Digital Marketing Manager at Zestard Technologies: “Everyone wants an opportunity to get something for free. Social media is the best platform for running a giveaway as all the content posted will be opened to many people. They might gladly engage along with your brand if there’s an opportunity that they’ll get something beneficial out of it. Before running a contest or giveaway, be sure to familiarize yourself with the legal requirements.”
7. User-Generated Content
If you have clients or maybe even fans of your products and services who write about them on social media or use them to create their own social media content, you can reach out and ask to repost it (with credit) on your accounts. It’s a good way to expand your social media posts and show some appreciation for your clients at the same time.
As Remya Mohanan, Creative Director at Eight Petals Creative Solutions, states: “User-generated content is the best trust-building exercise and gives the reigns in the consumer and audience’s hand. This way, the videos, reviews, and reactions are organic and people would rather believe someone like them than some big influencer.”
Social media is all about connecting with your audience on a personal level, showing your brand’s human side, increasing transparency, and building trust. Focus on fun, simple engagement, be always ready to chat and answer your followers’ questions, and find meaningful ways to show that you care about them. Doing this will help you stay ahead of the curve on everything else on social media.
