Content is a crucial part of your social media strategy, but it’s just one piece. You need to make sure you’re cultivating a social brand, and here’s how to do it.
Key takeaways:
- Social media is king: There are 4.55 billion social media users around the globe.
- Know what’s trending: Marketers often pivot based on changing algorithms and regulations.
- Which platforms should you be on? Find out where your audiences are hanging out.
- Customized content matters: Optimize content for each unique social channel.
- 8 tips for better social content:
- Write enticing headlines.
- Personalize content for your audience.
- Offer something of value.
- Create the right content strategy.
- Use social as a feedback tool.
- Leverage social media metrics.
- Use automation and scheduling features.
- Get creative with videos.
Consumers are on social media more than ever. They’re also interacting with their favorite brands on these platforms more than ever, so social brings important opportunities for digital marketers.
It’s no longer enough to post content on your website and hope people come. You need your content to work for you across channels. Social fits in nicely, helping you get leads back to your site and products with more meaningful engagements.
This is your guide to mastering social media with the right content, plus why it’s important to focus on creating real social interactions.
The role of social media today
Key takeaways:
- 58% of the world population uses social platforms.
- Algorithms are always changing, making it difficult to only focus on organic capabilities.
The world is social. There are now some 4.55 billion social media users around the globe, so nearly 58% of the total population uses social platforms. These channels have gone above and beyond personal interactions with friends and family, too. One in three consumers uses social media to find new products and brands, for example.
The big social platforms for brands are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok. The future of each is a bit unknown, especially since they’ve become more political over the last few years. That means governmental regulations and increasing censorships may come into play in the future.
Each platform has its own interface, content type, and set of algorithms. It can thus be challenging for marketers to create consistent, long-term strategies because these algorithms are always changing – especially Facebook’s. The social media giant regularly alters how it shows content to users, trying to provide what’s most relevant and engaging to them based on their preferences and behaviors.
It can sometimes feel like there are social media gatekeepers who dictate whether someone in your audience will see your messages. Truly interacting with audiences is becoming even more important to ensure you’re getting in front of your customers and prospects. That means you should be focusing on how you can be a social brand, because the content you create is just one part of your social strategy.
This requires you to move past posting alone. Instead, focus on features like:
- Mentions
- Comments
- Reposts
- Direct Replies
- Likes
- Shares
- Polls
- Questions
Rather than just posting something and hoping people react, inspire them to engage. The platforms will see that people actually want to see your content and hear what you have to say, and your messages will start to be prioritized without having to pay for an ad.
Choosing the right social platforms
Key takeaways:
- Facebook ads perform well and reach more people. Make sure there’s always a clear CTA.
- Be consistent with your Instagram design, and use stories and hashtags.
- Don’t underestimate LinkedIn content distribution.
Facebook is still the top platform used by today’s marketers, but Instagram has the second-highest marketing ROI, according to data from HubSpot. These two platforms are especially important when creating your strategy.
It’s not enough to pick these two outlets and go to town, however. You need to dig deep to understand where your audiences are hanging out online. Pay attention to where you get the most engagements, whether likes, shares, comments, or mentions.
Let’s walk through some key considerations for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, three of the top platforms for businesses.
Facebook is a massive outlet, so your posts and ads just won’t work without clearly outlined goals. Each of your posts needs to have a clear CTA, whether it’s to click to make a purchase, download something, or learn more about a topic.
Facebook ads are still extremely effective at engaging your audiences, and you can also interact for free. It’s possible that only 2% of your followers will see a post unless you give it a boost, though, so plan on spending at least some money on Facebook ads when focusing on this channel.
Also, take advantage of Facebook Stories with engaging videos, and make sure your content is always optimized for mobile. Statista has found 81.8% of Facebook users only use mobile devices to visit the platform.
Instagram is now much more than a simple photo-sharing app where users view beautiful images and hoard food and travel envy. It’s a successful business tool for brands with many ways to connect with your audiences. Here’s what to know:
- A great Instagram strategy is still all about visuals.
- You should create a brand style guide that outlines tone, design, font, color scheme, and content type.
- Your Instagram posts should be consistently styled.
Make sure you also use the very basic profile to your advantage. State what your brand does in a clear and succinct way, include your logo as the profile photo, and link to your website or a link hub like linktr.ee so people can easily find out more about you.
Two really important Instagram elements for businesses are stories and hashtags. Stories allow you to engage with followers every day in quick and fun ways. Hashtags help people find your content. Do plenty of research into which hashtags are trending and what your audiences are searching for.
What began as a professional networking site is now a great tool for social media marketing, with 94% of B2B marketers using LinkedIn as a primary content distribution channel. Why is it so effective? One reason is that business leaders and decision-makers are on this platform, so you’re more likely to reach them here. Additionally, LinkedIn reports 9 billion content impressions in feeds each week, so this opens up lots of opportunities for brands to engage people with their content.
LinkedIn is underutilized since marketers think they have to focus more on the other social platforms to reach people. But don’t underestimate the power that LinkedIn still holds for your brand.
Optimizing content for each platform
Key takeaways:
- Each platform has different best practices for content, so make sure you read the room.
It’s true that you can reuse the same content subject across your channels, but it has to be presented in the most appropriate way for the platform. Let’s walk through optimizing content for each platform:
- Twitter: Summarize, summarize, summarize. You have to be short and sweet with only 280 characters. Make your content pop.
- Facebook: Here’s where you start a conversation. Instead of sounding like an advertisement, you need to take on a more personal tone that promotes dialogue.
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn is all about “professional.” Relate your content to your brand’s industry to try to start meaningful discussions.
- Instagram: Hashtags are your friend on Instagram. Remember that your content needs to be based around a visual, whether an image, photo, or video.
- YouTube: Today’s consumers head to YouTube to learn something. Make sure you create video content that helps change a perspective or provide value to a follower.
It’s easy to think you can post the exact same thing across your channels, but that would be a mistake. Instead, take a little extra time to fit your message to each outlet! This will help you engage more people and bring them back to your site.
8 tips for better social content
Key takeaways:
- Write enticing headlines.
- Personalize content for your audience.
- Offer something of value.
- Create the right content strategy.
- Use social as a feedback tool.
- Leverage social media metrics.
- Use automation and scheduling features.
- Get creative with videos.
It’s important to remember that content on social channels will be a bit different than that in your emails, blog posts, and on your website. Length and information may depend on the platform, for example, but there are a few tips that apply across the board:
1. Write enticing headlines
Whether you’re posting an article or talking about a product or service, make sure you grab followers right away with a spicy and exciting headline. Ask a question or tell them they’ll learn how to do something. Make it very clear why they should care about what you’re saying.
2. Personalize content for your audience
People won’t care what you have to say unless you know what they want. Come up with detailed buyer personas that tell you what readers do online, what their demographics are, and their main pain points.
3. Offer something of value
Don’t be another face in the crowd on social media. Think about how your brand is different and how you provide something no one else can. Focus on the value proposition for each of your social posts.
4. Create the right content strategy
Your social content should be included in your editorial calendar and plan so it works with your other outlets. Users who see consistent content across channels from you will trust you, and you’ll establish a better brand reputation.
5. Use social as a feedback tool
You’re not being social unless you’re engaging with people, and that means gathering feedback from followers. Research shows 83% of consumers want brands to respond to mentions on social media. Make sure you’re always monitoring activity so you can participate and learn more about your audience.
6. Leverage social media metrics
Social platforms are rich resources for consumer data. Each allows businesses to track campaign metrics like engagements and clicks. Monitor this data so you can find out what kinds of posts get the most traction. You can also pay attention to busy versus quiet times of day to schedule posts more effectively.
7. Use automation and scheduling features
Another pro tip is to plan posts in advance and take advantage of scheduling automation. You can create all your Facebook posts for the week and schedule when you want them to go live, for example. Then, they’ll post automatically without your or your team having to do anything further.
8. Get creative with videos
Today’s audiences want video. Seventy-eight percent of people watch videos each week on the internet, and 55% watch online videos every single day. Using video is a great idea, but different platforms have varied best practices for it. Instagram videos should be about 30 seconds, for example, while YouTube’s can be several minutes. Make sure you focus on offering the same value proposition as any social post.
How to outsource content
Your approach to social has to go beyond content alone. To truly succeed on social media platforms, you have to be engaged constantly to follow up on interactions and feedback. That may mean you need a partner to take care of content generation for you so you can focus more on networking and engaging.
ContentBacon helps you get it done. We provide social, blog, and email content to keep your inbound marketing flywheel moving. Our experts know best practices for each social platform to help you boost performance and engage your followers with value.
Contact ContentBacon to learn more about our content subscription services.
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