Let us break it down for you: Here are 5 ways to make successful content on social media. Although we could come up with a handful more, we think these will help your company get on track -- fast.
1. Create reasonable social goals. Goals are important for any marketing strategy to be able to measure success -- and discover areas for improvement. Coming up with goals that are attainable is a totally different story, so make sure yours are possible to reach!
We suggest coming up with goals (regarding analytical data) for each piece of content created. Start with X number of Likes on Facebook, increase number of RTs on Twitter by X amount, have X number of people share your piece of content per day/week, increase engagement on social platforms by X amount over the next month, etc.
2. Get to know your audience. Fully knowing who you're talking to is key to creating the best content to promote your brand. Start by completing research on your target audience and determining what they find interesting and sharable.
As we've mentioned in previous posts, enter the conversation that your fan base is already having. Track hashtags, search keywords and truly practice "social listening." With this data, you can more appropriately create content that will inherently fall into place with what your audience is currently interested in. Therefore, your brand will be pushing creative that feels natural and approachable.
3. Make valuable content. After you determine what makes your audience passionate, come up with content that is useful and/or taps into people's emotions. By providing content that adds to a fans life, such as helpful tip or funny joke, your fan will not only share it, but they will most likely come back for more. Don't forget to switch it up! Try images, videos, true or false questions, fill in the blank, etc. to keep your audience engaged.
Manage a restaurant? Try sharing an easy, delicious recipe that your fans will want to try. Run a cleaning business? Try giving your fans a useful, unique tip for picking up around the house. Own a baby clothing company? Tap into the funny moments when raising a child to evoke emotions that most parents may feel.
4. Be consistent. You'll hear us talking about consistency a lot. Why? Because creating consistent content better defines who you are as a brand within the social space and keeps your fans loyal and interested (versus disloyal and confused).
If you use Instagram to create your imagery, make sure that you stick with similar filters for each post or tweet. Do you speak to your fans with a specific tone of voice? Make sure that you define it completely and continue to use it across all platforms.
5. Keep your content easy to share. We all want our content to go "viral," but the first step is making sure that content is easily sharable. Make sure social buttons are visible on your website, blog, etc. -- especially above the page break on a website. If posting or tweeting, your copy should be short and concise so people are more inclined to share on their wall or with a friend.
Lastly, remember to brand your images. When your logo is on your creative, your brand will be shared when your content is shared. Note: keep your logo/branding small, so people are more inclined to share the piece of content and don't feel as if they're simply promoting your brand.
Got more tips? Share them with us below!
-- Samantha