Explained: The Best Types of Content to post on Social Media

With the foundations of social media marketing covered, let’s get down to the
nitty-gritty of social media content. In this chapter, we’ll look at a variety of
proven posting strategies to help your social media strategy thrive. The
following content strategies are generalized in a way that applies to the
majority of social networks covered in this book, but you’ll find more specific
advice about how to maximize their impact for each platform within each
social network’s individual chapter.

1. Ask questions and start discussions !

Get to know your fans and give them a chance to get to know you by posing
questions and starting discussions. These questions can be about a product or
event related to your business, a quick trivia quiz, or just about the wider
world. Often the types of questions that garner the most engagement are those
that can be answered quickly, e.g. those about preference (“Do you prefer
product A or product B?”); Yes or No (Are you a fan of X?”); those that ask
for opinions (“What’s your favorite flavor of ice-cream we offer?”); or ones
that politely challenge (“Opening our second Canadian store this month –
guess where?”). Even just ending a status update with “do you agree?” or
“what do you think?” is enough to encourage people to get involved. There is
also a place for questions that trigger deeper discussion – especially in
community groups – but you’ll soon figure out what your customers respond
to best. Even the simplest question can be useful in achieving impressive
levels of engagement (and consumer insight!), provided that the subject
captures the attention of your audience. Interestingly, where you ask the
question in a status update also affects engagement rates. Posing a question at
the end of a post – compared to somewhere in the middle where it can easily
get ignored – can increase engagement by up to 15%, according to a study by
Buddy Media.

2. Tell your story and feature the stories of your customers

Tell your story and feature the stories of your customers
Every brand and individual has a story to tell, whether through text or (often
better) through visuals; humans are hard-wired to react and respond to a
compelling tale. Use social media as a destination where fans can get to know
you and your brand much better than they can through simply viewing the
products or services that you sell; make it a place where your voice,
personality, and authenticity can shine through. Interesting and engaging
topics of conversation to cover include why you launched your company,
your achievements and failures and what you learned from them, what
motivates you, highlighting issues that you are passionate about, and the
people and events that inspire you. In essence, show customers that you share
their thoughts and ideals, and become a brand that they want to invest in
emotionally, which will eventually lead to loyalty and, ultimately, sales.

3. Promote products and services (adopt the 80 / 20 rule)

Way too many brands are either all business or none when it comes to social
media, but you have to find a balance that works for your audience. Although
the majority of your social media marketing content should not be overtly
promotional, selling your product or service is ultimately what you’re there
for, and customers do realize that. Assuming that your brand-to-customer
relationship is good and the rest of the social media content you post is
valuable, they will tolerate the odd post to tell them about a new product or
service, or a sale or offer that you are running – heck, they might even
appreciate you letting them know! An easy way to balance out your social
media output in a way that will keep you on the good side of your customers,
and one a lot of brands already use, is the 80/20 rule. It states that you should
post non-promotional content 80% of the time (your own valuable, helpful or
personable stuff, or related content linking to another source, with the sole
aim of driving engagement) and reserve the other 20% for being more
promotional. Even within this 20%, there is a broad spectrum of approaches,
from subtle to more overt selling, depending on how you believe your
audience will react.