So why do millions of people use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter?
Is it mainly to stay in contact with family and friends because it’s simply easy to use?
Is it used so people can communicate with others in tiny, bite sized moments – to get on with their day, and communicate in intervals?
Or maybe it’s to sell and promote a product?
Whatever the reason, people are posting and sharing on social media 24/7, seven days a week.
The New York Times Insight Group conducted and published a survey to find results on the motivation behind why people post on social media, and their results were the following:
- To bring valuable and entertaining content to others
- To grow and nourish relationships
- To get the word out about causes and brands we care about
- To define ourselves to others
When it comes to writing a post on social media, sometimes it can be a challenge.
It’s easy to post the usual “stuck in traffic” or “visit my product website for the third time this week” posts on social media.
But what if you want to say something profound or important, and just don’t have the words coming to mind to get your message across? Or what if you’re simply having a writer’s block, and can’t think of anything to post on your social profiles for the day?
Luckily, there are certain techniques you can use to create eye catching, interesting posts consistently – that people will enjoy, engage with, and share.
To get your content noticed and shared, you need to make your post appeal to positive emotion.
What are these emotions?
Amusement, inspiration and illumination.
Tell a story.
Appeal to your viewers to connect on a personal level, by making your communication a two-way street, and not entirely focused on your own brand.
Choosing the proper tools is vital for the successful marketing strategy. You can find tons of helpful information on Socialmarketing90 regarding the latest digital marketing tools.
Also, embed a sense of urgency and try your best to keep it simple.
“Fill in the Blank” Posts
When at a loss for content, try using a “fill in the blank” post.
This type of post generates feedback, and gets your readers thinking.
Often, positive feedback is generated from these types of posts, and also helps to give you a good idea of how engaged your followers are, and how long it takes for them to view and respond to your posts on various social channels.
Polls and surveys are also other similar post types to generate similar responses and engagement.
It’s also always a good practice to pair your “fill in the blank” and survey posts with images that are so eye-catching, they could stand on their own if needed.
This helps to create a more powerful, potent post.
Photos, Photos, Photos
Everybody likes a picture to go with a post to add a visual element to the content package.
Photos can add to the humor of the post if called for, it can bring out empathy, sadness, anger and more.
The power of an image with a post should not be overlooked.
Photos can also include graphic elements, which include statistics, quotes, tips, contest announcements, and more – to help drive home the understanding of your post content even further.
Create An Editorial Calendar
Editorial calendars are a way to organize the process of creating content.
An editorial calendar can be as complicated or simple as you’d like, but most important, is that it serves you.
For some, a social media editorial calendar might include planned posts for every day in an upcoming month, specifying key information for each post including graphics to attach, topic, which social site the content will be published on, and more.
For others, an editorial calendar will simply be a list of potential hashtag topics for each day of the week, giving “idea” ammunition when posting on the fly.
Some favorites include #MondayMotivation, #TastyTuesday, #WednesdayWisdom, #WomenWednesday, #ThrowbackThursday, and #FlashbackFriday.
The purpose of your editorial calendar is to help get into the mindset of social media being planned, calculated and controlled, just like any other marketing campaign on another medium – instead of being a shotgun approach in the dark, with less chance of a good return on invested time and money.
Focus the Spotlight on Others
Although it may seem you should protect your audience from losing focus on your brand, it’s extremely beneficial to be aware of the key players within your industry – and focus your post’s content to these individuals from time to time.
For example, if you were a real estate agent, it would add value to your social media to highlight local eateries, interesting facts, exciting places to visit, and more.
Not only does this reinforce your perception as a knowledgeable professional in your specific industry and community, but helps to serve the true purpose of social media, which is connecting and engagement.
Tag those businesses, brands, people and places you spotlight – and you’ll be surprised by how much activity it can generate.
Don’t Just Publish & Forget
If you want your posts to get noticed, don’t just click send – and forget about it.
Make sure you’re diversifying your content by publishing to a net of multiple social channels, and make note of how your posts are received. Do you consistently get no likes or engagement when posting at a certain time? Try another time!
The worst thing you can do is sit idle, not test, and continually repeat what isn’t working.
Unique, original and inspiring content is a psychological science, so plan your posts thoroughly, and put yourself in the shoes of your audience and ask yourself what they might want to see vs. your own agenda. By putting your reader or customer first, you’ll never find yourself in the wrong.
We hope you make us of the tips mentioned above, and more than all, be yourself!