Successful Social Media Content – 11 Practical Tips

Content creation is considered by many to be the most important part of today’s marketing strategies. It is estimated that 90% of all companies engage in content marketing yet few manage to create viral content on social media.

We all know that social media management is cumbersome and you need help to make the process easier. You may have invested a lot of effort in creating social media content but you haven’t gotten the engagement you had in mind from your viewers and followers.

You can create engaging social media content such as an online flipbook without expending energy, spending a fortune on a marketing budget, or abandoning your social media presence altogether.

In this blog post, we will outline many ways to create engaging content that is more likely to spread on social media, how to create a social media strategy, rate some of the most popular social media content ideas, and what social media sites to use.

What is social media content?

Content created by individuals or companies specifically to be shared on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is known as “social media content.” Social media is all about sharing information and passing it on – it can be photos, videos, or interesting text.

Social platforms like Facebook and Reddit are increasingly replacing traditional news sources such as television and newspapers. They are also an excellent way of marketing, as they allow more personal interaction with customers than traditional advertising methods. However, for maximum effectiveness, any social media content must also be carefully targeted to your audience. This is easily achieved with a well-designed social media strategy.

The reach of content shared on social media channels can be significant, and the proximity to the user can make it more effective than traditional advertising. A good social media score can even improve the search engine rankings of your main website. However, content for social media sites has its own peculiarities and requires a separate approach from any digital marketing specialist.

 

Enrich your social media posts with Publuu flipbooks

Your company needs to adapt to new ways of using social media to differentiate itself from the competition. Interactive flipbooks from Publuu may be the solution.

The concept behind flipbooks is simple but powerful: as a company, you can deliver information directly to your customers by placing an elegant flipbook with a realistic page-turning effect in front of them. Unlike a traditional, boring PDF, a flipbook can be viewed on any mobile device and is intuitive and fun to use.

Publuu’s online flipbook example

View more online flipbook examples

MAKE YOUR OWN

By making documents like catalogs, e-books or online production offers available as flipbooks, you can attract users who want to learn more about your products or content from your social platform. What’s more, you reduce printing and distribution costs by converting PDF files into digital flipbooks that can be shared for free on social networks with a single click – no login or download required!

Unlike eBooks hosted online, you can easily share flipbooks on social media with a direct link. Publuu will generate a preview of the cover and take your readers to the book they can open in their browser with a single click. The preview of the flipbook will look like below:

You can check the live example of it here.

What’s more, Publuu flipbooks are multimedia-enabled – you can embed videos, image galleries, and dynamic links – to your website, store, or other social media. In this way you can generate leads and thanks to robust analytics you can measure the performance of your e-Books.

 

How to create a successful social media content strategy – 11 tips

 

Think of your target audience

You can’t plan a social media strategy without analyzing your customer. Your social media posts should largely (but not exclusively) target members of your target demographic. If your product is meant to target young men, for example, posting on Pinterest is probably not the best idea.

However, don’t overlook neighboring social media followers or people who may influence your target market and thus serve as a gateway to that audience – female users of Pinterest may nonetheless repost your content if it’s interesting. Being present on various social media isn’t a drawback, but you should focus on the main social website. Any social media management platform offers a package of useful tools which can help you segment your posts by the group – and collect feedback data.

 

Choose the right social media marketing strategy

If you have developed a social media content marketing strategy you probably already have an idea of what social media sites you will use.

When it comes to distribution, some content will work better on other networks. For example, 500 million users view Instagram Stories every day, making video the most popular content type on Instagram – more often than photos. Similarly, most Facebook users prefer to watch videos rather than read long text posts. And tweets with GIFs receive 55% more interactions than those without them. The business-focused LinkedIn, on the other hand, prefers posts with a single multimedia element, like the photo or video content.

 

Pay attention to the customer

Many brands publish social media content and provide links that don’t engage audiences. A crucial part of any social media content strategy is realizing that you need to strengthen relationships with your target audience and customers, talk to them, and present your opinions. With social media, you can communicate with your target audience in a direct and personal way.

It is direct contact with customers that is the best source of information about your company’s position, services, products, etc. Social proof is always useful data that you can use to improve your business – and with well-considered comments, many conversations can go viral.

 

Tell stories

Stories, especially inspiring ones, have a huge impact on people. You can spend hours convincing a customer that your product or service is fantastic, but if you tell them an interesting story, they will put themselves in the protagonist’s shoes.

When writing on social media, create a character that readers can identify with, present a problem and describe how they went through it. While some social media platforms are more focused on graphics, all can benefit from adding narrative elements. Facebook and Instagram are better suited to in-depth narratives, often in episodes, while Twitter’s character count limits users to shorter texts.

 

Take care of corporate branding

Creating a memorable brand is often the goal of marketing – including online marketing. Consistent design, such as visual style and graphics, are crucial. A customer’s impression of your company can sometimes be more important than the words you use. A company may say “Hey my dudes, here’s a new offer” or be very formal saying “We invite you to peruse our offer.” – this is also an element of corporate branding.

It is branding that is the voice of your brand. It is the way you connect with the people you are trying to reach. Your social media and overall image must be consistent in this regard if you want to maintain the interest of your intended audience.

 

Determine the voice of your brand

It’s a good idea to establish the brand voice and all the nuances of style in advance. Start with social media content writing guidelines. Decide whether it’s worth adding emoji, for example, or whether it’s professional.

Determine the length of texts – sometimes long, exhaustive descriptions can be interesting, but in general, people prefer short social media content that’s to the point and witty. Consider what hashtags you want to use and how often – in the Facebook posts, they are less important, but on the other hand they make content easier to search. However, on different social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter, hashtags are crucial.

Also, set some rules for creating consistent visual material. Solve the following problems, think about acceptable logo variations and how to use them. Consider engaging logo animators to bring dynamic elements to your brand imagery. Also, determine how much of each color to use and whether it should dominate in your social media posts.

 

Add a graphic

On Twitter, posts with visual content receive three times as many likes and retweets. The average number of comments under a LinkedIn post containing an image is 98% higher. Many people respond to images first, then text, hence the simple conclusion – your posts should always include visuals.

Of course, this is easier on Instagram or Facebook – but even for professional content, it’s a good idea to add interesting topic-related illustrations. They can be stock, but remember that many people may have already seen the model, especially if it’s free stock art. It’s often better to use infographics, diagrams – or even memes, videos or animated gifs.

 

Be helpful

You may want to create viral content, but first and foremost you want your readers and customers to actually benefit from the information you publish. Really few people will benefit from “hey, what’s up!” style of posts.

You need to create social media content that really helps users by demonstrating solutions to their problems. Good solutions, interesting tutorials, tips, and discounts will win their trust and keep them coming back for more, which is great for your social media strategy. When the information you provide is truly useful, it will be widely shared.

 

Use a content calendar

It’s a good idea to prepare a content calendar that all your content creators can use to stay up to date. By committing to a specific publication schedule that you have arranged in your content calendar, you have effectively made a promise to your audience. You’re establishing a connection with them and the routine helps get viewers used to your posts.

If you are launching a new marketing campaign and need visuals for it, all members of the content and graphics teams can check the calendar and prepare a consistent design according to the deadline. Schedule posts when it’s convenient for your readers – usually after work or in the morning.

One of the most important factors for social media success is a commitment to consistent content creation. Stick to a schedule: post on multiple platforms depending on how often they’re used. You can five to seven times a week on Facebook, a few tweets a day, one photo or video on Instagram each day, or one story on Pinterest. Keep in mind, however, that what’s more important than having content appear regularly is that it be interesting.

 

Check the statistics

Feedback is an indispensable part of any strategy. After spending time and effort generating and distributing social media content, it’s important to check your stats to determine what’s working. You need to tailor relevant statistics to your strategy. If you want more people to visit your site, don’t focus on Instagram and views, for example, because you can’t post links there.

Consider what is the reach of your content, the CTR (percentage of viewers who perform the desired action), what is the engagement rate. Your engagement rate is calculated by dividing the sum of all your interactions (likes, comments, and shares) by the number of your followers.

If you use hashtags in your content or social media marketing efforts, it’s worth tracking their effectiveness to see how they affect your audience. You can analyze your most popular hashtags or the posts that gather the most likes and comments to see which are the most effective and have the most potential.

You can also check your social media content performance when you post it in the form of an online flipbook. Thanks to Publuu statistics you can check the number of views of your online publication, pages viewed, average time spent and much more. This data will help you to evaluate your work and improve your social media content in the future.

 

Choose and prepare the right social media tools

Your material should be well-written, the right length for the platforms you intend to use it on, and consistent with your brand as a whole. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare the right tool. Although there are literally thousands of tools for content creation, I recommend starting with the following.

For all your design needs, just use Canva, an excellent free program suitable for both individuals and small businesses. Another great tool is Grammarly, which checks for spelling errors – useful especially if you are not a native English speaker. Consider also using other social media tools, like Hootsuite, Mailchimp, or SEMrush.

Also keep in mind physical tools, like your mobile device. These days, the cameras and video recording/editing tools on our SMART phones are among the best available. Buy, for example, a light and a tripod, and you’ll have a complete studio for conducting live online videos.

 

The 15 most effective social media content ideas

So now you know how to prepare a strategy for social media – but to drive engagement, and gain new customers, you need more specific ideas. Here are a couple of examples of how to use your social channels and increase engagement.

 

Try a series

Regular social media updates with useful information can get your audience used to waiting for certain posts and other content from your company. Each week you can post themed content – on Monday you show ideas for the new week, on Tuesday you show interesting tools, and on the weekend, you provide observers with content they may have missed.

By sticking to a routine, you can set expectations for your community and provide them with a practical way to spend time with you each week.

 

Host quizzes and contests

One of the best ways to get more new followers on social media is to hold a contest once in a while. Many company photos on Instagram are tied to a quiz or contest – people love getting things for free!

The prize in the contest should be related to your brand in some way, such as a discount on future purchases or a free trial membership. Remember to follow the social media platform’s rules and regulations for holding contests.

 

Hold live events and AMAs

Simply put, sometimes it’s enough to perform in front of an audience and answer a few questions. You can hold a Facebook live show, or you can invite an expert on a specific topic, such as your latest collection or entrepreneurship. You can explain elements of your business yourself, or just fool around with your loyal fans.

 

Recycling ideas is always fun

When you upload a long description to a blog post, you can use its illustrations on Instagram. And after a few months, why not summarize that blog post and make a video based on it?

If you only publish content on one service, you lose potential new observers who are active on other platforms. Cast a wide net and use multiple social media accounts!

 

Make a guide that explains everything in detail

Create a video in which you teach others from your field. This educational content can help you gain more loyal observers and establish your authority in your niche. Think about what questions come to you most often and ask experts in the company to record an interesting FAQ video. This is not just valuable content for your viewers, but it can be quality content for various social media sites.

 

Show what’s going on in your company

Taking your audience on a tour of your company’s internal operations can do wonders for your credibility. It’s a treat for loyal fans!

Taking photos or videos in the workplace is also a snap. Your employees can poke around, and you can show people the faces behind the products they use – for example, show the designers.

 

Take advantage of current trends

Brands can take advantage of current news by following popular topics on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Even if a post gaining popularity is only relevant for a short time, it can still attract a lot of attention. Make references to memes, and interesting events the Internet is now talking about, to make your content fit the season.

 

Celebrate your achievements

Maybe an article was published about you, maybe you hired a new employee, or maybe you sold 10,000 copies of your book. Make sure your audience knows this. Social media is about more than just selling something.

To establish your company’s credibility with your target audience, it’s important to tell your brand’s story and highlight its achievements.

 

Introduce the reading or binging proposals

How do you get followers to identify with your company? Show them what you like! Post a meme with a superhero movie, suggest books for a long weekend, or a Christmas song for the holiday season. You can also present your favorite streaming series…. and explain how it connects to your merchandise.

 

Put your merchandise in an unexpected context

As everyone knows, you can hammer a nail with a wrench or use duct tape to decorate your desk. Try proposing unconventional uses for your program. The best technique to arouse your audience’s interest is to subject well-known items to unfamiliar processes – and display it in an unusual manner, to create compelling content.

 

Display user-generated content

Reusing user-generated content is an excellent way to fill your content calendar while also celebrating your community.

You can also solicit advice from your followers, engage in debate, and so on. But remember to give credit where credit is due.

 

Share your insider secrets or life hacks

What tips and tricks do you have to offer your audience? Give expert insights, establish yourself as an expert in your field and demonstrate what can be done to accelerate things, whether with your goods or on a daily basis.

 

Announce a new product release or upcoming launch

Do you have a fantastic trailer? With a teaser of a new product or a demonstration of a new feature, you can easily build suspense and keep your audience guessing.

It may even last several days! Schedule posts with different aspects of your offer every few days to keep them waiting!

 

Unusual days and festivals

Every social media expert is aware of National Windsurfing Day, as well as a slew of other holidays you may not have been aware of. Post content about this day’s products, such as how to create a windsurfer effect in your graphics program!

 

Make your own puzzles and riddles

When you post puzzles, riddles, and quizzes, your audience will be perplexed. Images can be posts in which the image has been scrambled or enlarged so that your audience must guess what it is. Or course, not everyone likes games – but combine it with other social posts to attract them to share this content!

 

Social media content templates

Vivid colors of this template will draw the attention of any one browsing image-heavy social media platform like Instagram.

This template is an example on how you can customize your social media ads and posts.

Important company events can be celebrated using a customized free template like this one.

The design of this cartoon graphic is inclusive and will help you create content for social media that is easy to spot.

Similar graphics can showcase the unique personality of your brand.

Visible characters resembling street signs can really draw attention to your social media materials.

 

Summary

Social media allows all Internet users to exchange materials instantly. Anyone with an Internet connection can communicate with other users, access a vast amount of information and publish material. This makes them a serious marketing platform for all of us.

If you want to do business, you need to learn how to develop great content on social media. The tips above will help you talk about your content and your business on social media.

Make sure you know your audience if you want your quality social media content to succeed.

When you start publishing content, research statistics and experiment with different types of social media content. Then, depending on the facts you have, develop a successful social media plan. Use PDFs and graphics that you convert to a flipbook or present as regular posts.

 

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