7 ways to create content for social media
Hands up who wants a way to encourage your audience to engage with your content?
Yes?
Me too!
As a savvy business owner, I am sure you aware that creating interesting and relevant content is the fundamental key of getting your followers (and hopefully new followers) to engage with you.
If you are not sure what I mean check out this excellent bit of information here (it’ll catch you up to speed really quick!).
And I am sure you have read my little blog post about how to increase organic reach on Facebook here.
And probably done your own research about what can help your engagement.
What may not have occurred to you however is varying the content type of your posts. I say this because to be honest, it did not occur to me until late last year, when I started to seek out new ways to encourage my audience to interact with my business.
Inspired by the research on video (check out some of said research here and here), I started to search and then experiment with the different types of content categories that are out there on my Facebook and Instagram.
What I found is that the social media giants definitely have a preference on content type and I saw a rise in my engagement from my audience when I used them correctly. Of course, my business is design and photography based and therefore this information may differ for you slightly, so I strongly encourage you to have a go yourself with the different content types and record what works for you.
Another important note about this information is that I make content specifically for the platform I intend to post on and try hard not to post the same content on both Facebook and Instagram. I have a strong feeling that Facebook responds to content posted through pushing it from Instagram as a ‘share’ (see below) and therefore does not give it a lot of exposure AND by doing the post to Instagram and Facebook thing together, it ignores all the valuable content types that are available on each platform, but not available on both.
CONTENT TYPE #1:
30 to 60 second videos
Platform: Facebook or Instagram
At this very second, video is having a moment. Both Facebook and Instagram see this type of content as highly engaging and therefore gives video quite a bit of exposure.
I have been testing out a variety of video lately and I have found that out of all the content I post, it most definitely receives the highest amount of views on Instagram. I am unsure if this is because Instagram counts who has seen the video rather than those who have taken the time to like the content or whether audiences do prefer this type of content and are more likely to engage with it (if you know this answer, feel free to contact me and let me know here!).
Facebook has a slightly different way to count the engagement compared to Instagram, but the stats on video and audience engagement are still good! Facebook lets you see both the likes and the views, which gives you a better indication of engagement. It also still counts the exposure and how many users have seen the content in their feed, which allows you to compare how many people have watched the video to how many people have had the opportunity to watch the video.
This content can be utilised in a variety of ways. You can film on your phone and place it directly onto your account, you can create promo videos that incorporate words and images, or you can create tutorials for your audience.
Try this content out by:
Creating behind the scenes footage
Giving insight into the process of your work
Creating a tutorial based around your business
Creating a video that promotes an upcoming launch
Creating a video that introduces people in the business
CONTENT TYPE #2:
15 to 45 second videos made from images
Platform: Facebook or Instagram
The reasons as to why this content works for engagement is very similar to the previous content type (video) however I wanted to put it on the list by itself as I think a lot of people don’t realise that this counts as a type of video.
There are many programs available to help you create short videos from images, my favourite at the moment is the online Adobe Spark. This program breaks your video up into 'frames' so you can manipulate how long each image stays on the screen for.
Bonus Tip: You can also add in snippets of video into your creation so this content type can be perfect for creating tutorial videos.
Once created and downloaded, you can upload this video onto Facebook or Instagram and the data and engagement you receive will be the same as any other video.
Try this content out by:
Creating an introduction clip to your business
Creating a promo video for a service, product or event
Collating previous work to make a promo video about your business
Creating a tutorial
Creating a stop-motion animation
CONTENT TYPE #3:
Sharing Links
Platform: Facebook
Earlier I explained that content should be created with a platform in mind (when possible) and this is the type of example that supports doing this. As many would know, links do not work on Instagram so sharing a site is useless (unless it is in your profile or you have many, many followers). However, on Facebook you can share as many links as you want!
Sharing a link is an excellent way to drive visitors to your site or to offer further information on you post topic.
When you paste a link into your post, Facebook automatically generates a graphic with the website and images from it. Sometimes it will create an image ‘carousel’ if the link has a variety of photos on it. I have found from experience, that it is better to shun the automatically generated link graphic in favour of uploading my own image or images. Original content posts seem to perform better with engagement and have a higher link click than when I allowed Facebook to create it for me.
Try this content out by:
Sharing a link to your website
Sharing a link to your blog
Sharing a link that is relevant to your work
Sharing a link with new information to your field
Please note, this content idea is not to be confused with simply hitting the ‘share’ button on Facebook and reposting. From my experience on both my personal and business account (but particularly on my page!!), 90% of the time shares do not receive the same amount of exposure and engagement as it does when you save the image or video and then upload and post the same image or video.
CONTENT TYPE #4:
Stories
Platform: Instagram (Facebook is trying to get on the bandwagon)
It couldn’t be easier to access a story on Instagram! Hanging at the top of the feed in clear view of everyone who opens the app are a number of posts that disappear after 24 hours. With optimum app position, Instagram research shows that this type of content engagement is high!
These posts can be videos, images and/or text and can have polls, questions and stickers applied to them to help create entertaining content. Once one is clicked, the app just continues to roll through the rest that are available to the viewer, with a few adverts chucked in for good measure.
Many businesses use them to talk to their audience and catch them up on what is happening in their business. Stories are often used for behind-the-scenes action and to get a business owners’ faces up on their socials to help create the connection between work and creator (and apparently that is what potential customers want to see these days!).
Hashtags are also a thing on stories on Instagram. To help get your story found by new possible followers you can add up to 10 hashtags on your post.
Instagram shows you how many people have seen your story and a few other insights if you have a business account with them.
A side note is that Facebook has now implemented a more basic version of this on their app however from what I have trialled, it does not yet have the same reach Instagram does.
Try this content out by:
Announcing something in person on your story
Creating a behind-the-scenes experience of your business
Filming a short video of you creating client work (just make sure no-one will be upset if it is seen before launch)
Getting more personal about who you are (the face behind the business!)
Sharing any cool work events (hello, photoshoots!)
CONTENT TYPE #5:
Multiple Image Posts
Platform: Instagram and Facebook
Lately I have found that I get a good response to sharing multiple images on both Instagram and Facebook. I am unsure if perhaps showing the audience a little bit more of that project suggests more effort on our end therefore encourages the audience to go to the extra effort when engaging with the content, or whether there is some other explanation for the increase in likes and comments on these posts, but from my experience I am finding this content type works!
The trick here is to avoid the ‘carousel’ option on Facebook. When uploading multiple photos on Instagram you are not given the choice so the post will always have this look however on Facebook you can choose to upload them as just a normal post and this is what I recommend you do. So far, I have found that although viewers look through the ‘carousel’ on Facebook, they do not engage with it. I have now mostly cut out this content type as I have found it is rarely engaged with and have instead been uploading photos as a normal post.
Try this content out by:
Posting anything related to your business! (Come on, this is an easy one!)
CONTENT TYPE #6:
Polls
Platform: Facebook (and Instagram Story)
I have only really started using this feature, but I find it works really well on Facebook. The audience seem to love sharing their opinion and it can be a really useful tool for gathering feedback from your potential customers.
When on a normal post in Facebook, you can click the drop-down menu and choose ‘poll’. You then have two options to add in (through a limited amount of words). You can also add in a picture for each option, which I recommend you do.
Once you have posted you will be shown the likes, comments and the responses to your poll. Remember to check the responses as these count as engagement and not everyone who engages will like the post as well (one time I had over 100 responses on the poll and only 5 likes).
On a side note, you are able to create a poll on Instagram stories by using the ‘add-ons’ that can be accessed in the buttons at the top of the page. This can work well and be a fun way to engage people on your stories.
Try this content out by:
Asking what service your audience prefers
Asking a date that your audience prefers
Creating a fun question for your poll that still has relevance to your work
CONTENT TYPE #7:
Events
Platform: Facebook
This content type is another that is restricted to Facebook (this is due to Facebook offering many more content types due to the nature of the platform currently).
As a page you are able to create events and share them with your audience. When your audience members respond with being interested or going Facebook often shows friends of that person the event (which is great for business but can also be a little creepy – thanks Facebook!).
If you are a business that holds regular events, this can be a great way to let audience members know all the details as you are able to put in a date, a time, a location and a variety of other details that they may need to know.
Try this content out by:
Creating an event for a sale
Creating an event for a workshop
Creating an event well, for an event
If you have found a particularly valuable content type that you think should be added to this list, please contact me here – I would love your feedback ☺