Nine Creative Ideas for Better Social Media Posts
Using social media proactively is essential for creating connections with your customers and prospects. Yet while many small businesses worry it will be daunting and time-consuming to come up with a steady stream of great posts, it doesn’t have to be. The goal is to tap into ways to educate, entertain and/or inspire your audience.
In the spirit of getting those thoughts flowing, we’ve compiled the following list of ideas to get you started. Of course, some of these posts will be more appropriate for different types of businesses and platforms—a LinkedIn post should be more “business buttoned-up” than Instagram, for example—but consider this your go-to list for making your social media more engaging in just a few minutes a day
1. Share industry news or an interesting article.
Build credibility by establishing yourself as an in-the-know industry expert who shares useful information with your followers. Follow trade publications or journalists who are influential in your field to find relevant content.
2. Invite interaction by asking followers to snap a picture, share a positive brand association, etc.
Social media is all about engagement, and one of the best ways to build bridges with your fans is by encouraging “user-generated content.” It helps you understand your followers better, allows them to share their voices as a part of your conversation and adds a layer of authenticity that is particularly important to today’s younger generations.
3. Post behind-the-scenes pictures.
This one also helps support authenticity as you share a “day in the life” moment. Show your employees packaging up items to ship if you’re an eCommerce site or share a fun impromptu moment of your team’s “funny hat day” on your video morning meeting.
4. Introduce your team.
People do business with people, not companies, which is why building personal relationships is important. Think about employees with customer-facing roles and let your followers get to know more about Elliott in shipping or Zoe in customer service.
5. Ask a question to get people talking.
If it fits with your brand voice, ask people what they did over the long weekend or how they feel about an upcoming current event. Creating camaraderie among your followers can be a fun way to engage.
6. Post a customer review (with their permission).
Social proof is everything, which is why sharing testimonials is important for your brand. But it’s also great to acknowledge the customer who took the time to share their glowing experience with a shout out and thanks.
7. Run a flash sale.
Help your followers feel valued by offering a sale or promotional code only to them. You can help boost your feed by regularly providing these bonuses to your most loyal fans.
8. Share a funny (tasteful) meme.
Again, if it fits your brand persona, join the conversation with a meme that everyone is talking about. Just make sure it’s organic to the conversation and you don’t miss the window. (Cue “Bernie Sanders mittens” pictures that were a few days too late.)
9. Comment on your followers’ posts.
As much as you want your customers to talk with you, so should you engage with them. Anyone who takes the time to make a comment deserves a response. It can as simple as a quick “thank you!” for a compliment or suggesting someone with a gripe reach out on other private channels so you can resolve their issues. Not only do these responses satisfy that particular poster, but it underscores to all your readers that you care.
As you can see, social media can take all different forms; the key is to experiment until you find something that works for you. Want more ideas on how to improve your marketing? Subscribe here to keep them coming.
