In a digital age where people are spending hours per day on social media, creating compelling and engaging content for your business’s page is a must. But with constant algorithm changes and meme trends that live and die within a day, navigating the landscape of social media can be a challenge, to say the least.
The good news is that we’re all in the same boat striving to create great content! At Federated Digital Solutions we’ve put together a guide of simple tips that you can implement right now to start creating more successful social media content. Let’s dive into the strategies and savvy techniques to put your content on the path to social media success.
START USING VIDEO
If you’re not already using video as part of your social media strategy, now is a great time to start. Video posts (such as Reels on Instagram) are the most engaging forms of content on social media, and you don’t need to be a videographer to start creating them.
Videos taken with your smartphone are the easiest way to get started. You don’t need fancy editing software, either! You can use the editing app that comes with your phone, or download a free app, like CapCut, if you want access to additional features.
Keep in mind when shooting video that you should film vertically. A majority of social media users are engaging with content using their smartphone, so when you post a vertical video, it takes up more space on their screen which encourages them to stop scrolling and watch your video. That’s especially true if you hook them in with something interesting within the first 3 seconds.
Most people consume video content with the sound off, so it’s a good idea to create subtitles to go along with your video. Keep this in mind when shooting your video, too, and leave white space at the top or bottom of your video for the captions so they’re easily viewable. For that reason, it’s a good idea to avoid adding stickers and/or graphics in the lower third of your videos if you plan to add captions.
Short videos perform great on social media, so don’t worry about creating an epic, 10-minute-long saga as a post. If you only need 15 seconds to get your point across, make your video 15 seconds! If you need a minute, take a minute — every video is different and there’s no cut-and-dry length that works best.
CREATE MORE CAROUSEL POSTS
In general, the more relevant pictures or graphics you can put on your post, the better! People like to browse through carousel posts — or posts that have multiple images — which makes them a great way to increase engagement.
If you have a bunch of great photos from an event, post all the best ones — you don’t need to choose just one. If you’re creating an educational post, put your tips on individual slides in a graphic rather than in the caption of your post. Your audience will be more likely to stop scrolling, read through your content, and engage with it.
REPURPOSE YOUR CONTENT
If you’re struggling to come up with ideas on what to post for your page, take a look back at posts that have worked well for you before.
Did you have a blog post that got a lot of good engagement? Pick out one point from the blog to expand upon for its own post. If you have a lot of good tips in the blog you can turn them into a carousel post and link back to the blog in the comments so people can learn more about the topic.
If an image-based post performed well, try recording a short video of you going into greater detail about the post topic and expanding on it.
Look at the other content you’re creating beyond social media too. Do you have a blog or email newsletter? Find nuggets of information that can be repurposed into a social media post. If you publish a podcast, you can use an app like Headliner to create audiograms of clips of your podcast to share.
ASK MORE QUESTIONS
Sometimes, something as simple as asking a low-stakes question can spark a major conversation on a post. You can use question posts to learn more information about the likes and habits of your audience, which can help you create other, more relatable posts for them in the future. Be thoughtful with your questions and avoid cliches or questions that are too simplistic (like yes or no questions).
Fun questions that are relatable but may not be directly related to your business can also be effective. The HVAC company from our first example could share a post in the middle of winter asking: “Would you rather spend a snowy day outside building a snowman or inside curled up on the couch watching a movie?” The more people comment on that company’s post, the more that post will be shown to other people, encouraging more comments. Growing engagement is a great way to keep your brand top of mind on social media.
Struggling to find the time to come up with content that resonates with your audience? Federated Digital Solutions offers social media management for businesses. Contact us today to find out how we can help you create engaging, relatable content that puts your business top of mind with your audience.
Written by Angela Todd
Angela Todd is a Digital Marketing Consultant for Federated Digital Solutions. She has over 20 years in both sales and marketing. With experience in both the newspaper and radio industry, Angela found her passion working in digital marketing for the past few years. It was digital marketing where Angela finally felt like she wasn’t just a consultant to her clients, but a true partner and extension of their marketing team. Bringing her clients, a return on their marketing is what gets her out of bed every day.
