14 content ideas for social media
Planning social media content can be a challenge. You want to make sure your content is engaging and familiar but at the same time fresh and different. That can be a tall order.
Social media is a competitive landscape as you’re not just trying to beat your regular competition, you’re trying to make your followers or customers pay more attention to you than they do their friends and family.
But, with a little creativity you can ensure your content is new, exciting, and fun to engage with across any social media network.
If you’re finding yourself staring desperately at your social media content calendar month after month or are tired of sharing the same types of content over and over again, get inspired by these 14 awesome content ideas for social media!
1. Pictures, videos, and Stories
Keep it classic by sharing the essentials: photos, videos, and Stories, even though Stories are relatively new to social media. These basic content types are easily consumed, engaged with, and shared across social media. There’s nothing wrong with going back to the basics to find good social media content.
You may also want to do some live videos, during a product announcement or release, during an industry event, or just to say hi to your brand’s followers.
2. GIFs and memes
Show off your playful side by sharing relatable GIFs and memes that will make your audience laugh. I love Netflix and Betabrand as they use GIFs to reply to their customers’ comments and it’s a lot more fun than the standard “Thanks!” messaging.
Memes can also drum up some good engagement through likes, comments, and shares but make sure it suits your branding and makes sense for your audience. Use a site like Make a Meme to find a good template and use a meme that’s recognizable and popular. Be sure you understand the context of the meme’s history and how it’s used before making one for your brand.
3. Your brand’s blogs
Share your amazing blog content with your social media following by sharing links to new and evergreen blog posts! Don’t let that content just sit there. Invite questions, comments, or encourage social shares. Social media is one of the best ways to share your blog content, and it’s free promotion!
4. Share behind-the-scenes stuff
Remember when we were all really excited for DVD copies of movies? Besides dating myself, I remember a lot of that joy was from seeing behind the scenes and seeing how the movie came to life. Give your brand the same treatment!
Restaurants can do this by demonstrating how the classic dishes are prepared or chatting with a bartender, or a wedding photographer could show how they would professionally edit a photo. Give your audience a peek behind the curtain at something unpolished or something they wouldn’t see every day.
Put a face, or several, to your brand by going introducing your followers to employees and hosting employee interviews. This doesn’t just have to be the figureheads or your C-Suite team either.
5. Press mentions and business news
Have a new product coming out? Have company news to share? Share it on social media! You could also celebrate the anniversaries of product launches, events, or press-worthy business news.
Just be sure to add some context around the news and its own social-style copy instead of just copying and pasting the headline of the press release and a link.
6. Industry news and articles
I always follow the 80/20 rule for social media posts, meaning 80% of my content is engaging or educational and the other 20% can be promotional. So fill up that 80% with quality third-party content! I hate seeing brands that only share their own content.
As a content manager, I get it, you want to use your own content, but my god can it be boring to see brands only share their own stuff. Show me that you’re paying attention to what’s going on in the industry or don’t mind linking to other sites to point me in the direction of quality content.
7. Motivational or inspirational stories
Similar to the point above but with a more emotional aspect. Share inspiring stories about the causes your brand cares about or the people it cares about. These can even be case studies, but the human part of the story needs to be the focus while your brand or another brand needs to get out of the spotlight.
Move your audience, make them feel something, make them feel an emotional connection with the content and that connection will extend to your brand.
8. Quotes or stats
If your brand compiles industry research or shares it, tease the audience about the content with a cool quote or fun statistic. These quick hits of market data or quotes can be a lot more compelling than a brand just telling me that a new report is available.
I’m much more likely to click something that says, “Did you know that social media ad spend is more than $84 billion a year? Learn other interesting social media stats in our latest report!”
You can make your quote or stat more eye-catching by making a custom graphic, GIF, or animation for it.
9. Events
Share upcoming events your brand is going to be represented at or presenting at, do countdowns, do Q&As about the event, and tell people why they should visit your booth at an upcoming event.
During the event, share posts about what you’re learning about, who you’re talking to, or fun facts about the event.
After the event, share key takeaways or reach out to the presenters with further questions about their speaking topic for an exclusive interview.
Events are great for posting on social media as you can hype them up before the actual event, get great content during, and extend the life of the event with post-event posts and content.
10. Contests
Want a boost of engagement or want to gain new followers? Host a contest or a giveaway! If you’re new to social media contests, make it easy on yourself and your followers by making the barrier to entry low. That could be visiting your site to fill out an entry form or simply having followers comment on the post and that counts as entry where a winner is picked at random.
11. Influencer content
Influencer content is a great way to get quality content that has your brand’s message or product in it, but it’s coming from a trusted source. Make sure the influencer is the right fit for your brand.
For example, if you have a makeup brand, a travel blogger might not be the right fit, but a lifestyle and fashion blogger sure would. Or a food delivery service might look at partnering with a food or fitness blogger.
Working with an influencer can help you create new content, reach new audiences that are primed for your content, and grow your backlink profile – great for your brand’s SEO!
12. User-generated content
A step below influencer content is user-generated content (UGC), but more often than not UGC is free! UGC can come in the form of customer reviews, photos, videos, or any other content about your brand that you did not make or work with a third-party to create.
UGC can help show that your brand is appreciative of your customers, as well as the fact that you’re listening online and aware of what your customers are saying.
Always be sure to credit the source of where you got the content and thank the customer if applicable.
13. Polls
Drive up engagement as well as learn more about your followers by hosting a poll! Keep them easy to participate in by having no more than four answer options.
14. Quick tips
Have some tips and tricks for getting the most out of your brand’s products or services? Share short videos, blogs, or step-by-step photos to help your customers! You may also want to share FAQs that customer service gets to help customers troubleshoot their own problems or frequently share links to tutorials, help docs, and online classes.
What’s your best-performing content type on social media? Share your insight and content advice in the comments below!
