8 Content Ideas for Social Media

August 26, 2021

We've known for a long time that social media can be challenging for small businesses, but we were shocked to learn how big the problem actually is. According to the 2021 Small Business Survey by Visual Objects, 93% of small business owners have experienced a major social media challenge – and one of the top five challenges is creating content for social media.

If that sounds familiar to you, you'll undoubtedly find this post helpful. We've shared some content ideas for social media that can help you keep your followers engaged.

1. Create Surveys and Polls

Social media users love to share opinions about topics they follow. That's why surveys and polls are a winning strategy for social media. You can create polls for seeking feedback on your brand, for market research, or just to engage with your followers.

Our first choice is Instagram Stories because it offers an interesting array of tools that make your polls and quizzes more interactive and fun. Vibrant colors, eye-catching templates – it's all there.

You can do it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a few other social media platforms as well.

2. Share User-Generated Content

On days when you’re dry on new content ideas for social media, sharing user-generated content (UGC) can save you. An added bonus: You’ll get more eyes on your content and talking about your brand.

UGC puts your customers at the forefront and works as social proof. To collect this content and keep the flow going, let your followers know that they can tag you in their posts. Remember to mention other information like your campaign name, conditions, or hashtags they should use.

When talking about UGC, we rarely find a brand that does as well as Fashion Nova. If you look at the company's Instagram posts, you'll notice a series of user-created content that's been collected through the #NovaBabe branded hashtag campaign. And the best part is, there's no shortage of content.

3. AMA Sessions

AMA (ask me anything) is an interactive messaging where people usually answer questions in real-time. The concept of AMA originated on Reddit, but now AMA is starting to appear in other social contexts such as webinars, Facebook Live, LinkedIn, and even Instagram Stories.

4. Repurpose Old Content

Repurposing and reusing content gives you a new opportunity to bring your old content back and use it on social media. It is a smart and time-saving trick.

You can restructure and recreate old captions, descriptions, or tips; and feel free to clip videos to make your content more attractive and interesting. By reusing content, you eliminate the need to always create content from scratch, and you'll continuously have something to work on.

5. Live Streaming

Want to sell more on social media or create an engaged community? Live streaming may be the answer.

Social media live streaming turns videos into conversations. Hosts can organize webinars, AMA sessions, short courses, or live tutorials.

If going live is something new for you, start with a solid plan. Create a list of things you'll discuss and if possible, spend time rehearsing.

If done right, what live streaming can get you (beyond likes and comments) is more views, follows ... and money!

If you don't know this yet, Instagram recently introduced Instagram Live Badges for creators. Soon there will be store links and affiliate links too.

6. Special Offers and Giveaways

"Buy 1, Get 1 FREE!"

"Start Your Free Trial!"

"Sign Up for a Free Mini-Course!"

"It's Giveaway Time!"

There are hundreds of ways to host giveaways and announce special offers in a post on social media. But this type of post is not something you should do on a regular basis. Instead, save the idea for seasonal celebrations or holidays like Christmas.

As a best practice, clearly write down the conditions that will apply, as well as rules and instructions. Here's an example from Birchbox.

7. Create Tutorial-Style Content

Social media posts can be a great way to educate people, spread awareness, and generate interest. Gather your creative ideas to develop step-by-step instructions, write them down, and/or create videos to share on social media.

Do some research on topics you know about; explore similar brands and influencers doing similar work and create engaging posts.

Here's how @lisafiittworkouts nails it through Instagram posts.

  1. She creates short fitness video tutorials and guides.

  1. And the captions contain the necessary instructions and calls-to-action.

Image-based captions work well too. You can use Canva or any other image editing tools to create visually appealing images with small but engaging tutorials that you can share on social media. Take a look at this one from Sephora.

8. Re-share Content from Other Social Media Platforms

Do you have posts that did remarkably well on Twitter or elsewhere on social media? Let’s make them even more popular by re-sharing on other platforms. If your audience groups share similar interests, you can create content featuring the other post. This way you’ll save time and find valuable content to share.

In this picture we see Adam Grant sharing one of his tweets on LinkedIn and generating continuous value out of it.

Continuously coming up with new ideas for social media content is not easy. Next time you're stuck on what to share, give these tactics a try. Remember to add hashtags so your posts get more views and engagement.

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