5 Best Practices for Creating Social Media Content
People of all ages are on social media these days. These social channels are a great place for business to reach their audience on the channels they’re already using. To get noticed and stand out from other brands, it takes careful articulation. With the right mix of engaging content, social media can be a great tool for boosting your brand’s visibility. Here’s what you need to know to create a great social media strategy that gets you seen.
Choose the Right Networks for Your Audience
One thing that many companies fail to realize is that not every social media channel is right for their brand. For example, a local food hall should be using visual platforms like Instagram and even Facebook to show off the delicious food they’re serving and draw interest. On the other hand, a paper distributor should use more professional B2B channels like LinkedIn to reach potential buyers. Don’t waste your time and precious resources on creating content for channels that won’t serve your business well.
Post Consistently
Getting the right post consistency is just as important as getting the right content. You want to make sure you’re posting enough to get seen by users without overwhelming them with content. Platforms like Facebook are constantly updating their algorithms, and business posts show up less frequently than individual’s posts. The frequency varies depending on platform and your line of business. Follow these guidelines as a general rule of thumb:
- Facebook: 1-2 times per day
- Instagram: 1-2 times per day
- Twitter: 2-3 times per day
- LinkedIn: 3-5 times per week
Every business is different, so try mixing up your frequency to see which amounts give you the most engagements and the cheapest Instagram likes.
Share Images and Videos
Research shows that posts with an image perform far better than a text post, and those with video tend to do even better. So whenever you can, add an engaging image or short clip to your post. Keep in mind that videos should be around 30 seconds long because users tend to lose interest after the 30 second mark. As far as pictures go, images of employees, customers, and workplace celebrations tend to perform well. If your organization participates in an event or fundraiser, be sure to post pictures from that as well.
Get Creative With Your Content
Creating engaging content for users is crucal to you strategy. If your brand is creating blogs or whitepapers, try sharing these as a link to your website. Polls, tips and tricks related to your industry, social media holidays pertaining to your brand, asking your audience questions, and lighthearted content are good to have in your mix to keep things interesting. When possible, try capitalizing on relevant industry trends. Be sure to vary the content you’re posting across channels as well, because something that may work on LinkedIn may not work on Instagram.
Use Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to help new users discover your business, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to include them in your posts. Hashtags don’t work on platforms like Facebook, but on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn they should be added. The etiquette is a little different for each platform.
On Twitter, adding up to 3 hashtags is best. Those searching for your hashtag or looking up relevant terms can then find your post more easily.
On LinkedIn, add between 3 and 5. LinkedIn gives users the ability to follow hashtags, so posts tagged with these terms will come up in their newsfeed. Be sure to keep it professional on this platform.
For Instagram, use as many hashtags as you can. Like LinkedIn, users can follow hashtags that make it possible for you to show up in their feed.
For all platforms, be sure to do research on what hashtags are trending for your industry and include hashtags at the end of your posts instead of in the body.
Get Seen on Social
Next time you’re curating your social media calendar, be sure to keep these tips in mind. When used correctly, social media can be a great tool to increase your brand’s visibility and gain you new customers. Remember to get creative and be engaging with your content. Happy posting!
