You have all of your social media accounts set up and you’re ready to share yourself with the world. So what makes effective social media content?
There’s an awful lot of information out there, and it can be absolutely paralysing to sift through it wondering what direction your messaging should take. Can we let you in on a little secret? It doesn’t have to be that hard.
People want two basic things out of life. They want their needs to be filled and to be entertained. The Romans had a formula based on these two truths that they used to keep their people happy and conquer the world – Panem et Circenses – or Bread and Circuses.
Let’s show you what we mean.
Bread = Usefulness
You know stuff, right? Stuff about your industry, stuff about your city, stuff about why people need your services. People want to know that stuff!
Giving people practical and useful knowledge through your regular social media content is priceless because it improves the overall quality of their life and decision making capabilities in general. It doesn’t even have to be industry related – just humanity related!
People will read your posts more often because they are relevant to their overall interests and they find you useful and low pressure where sales are concerned. When they need what you offer, you’ll be top of mind already.
Here are some ways to do that:
- If you have a local business that depends on local buyers, include local news in your posts – traffic, weather, festivals.
- Subscribe yourself to your city’s news, weather, and entertainment pages, rewrite anything exciting in your own words, and link to a reputable original source for more information. This is the easiest kind of social media content you can post, and it will reach far and wide, probably proving to be your most shared.
- Provide your audience with any news that’s relevant to your industry.
- Are you a marketer? Let people know when Google changes its algorithm and how to use that new Facebook profile, and make sure it’s in laymen’s terms.
- Are you a bakery? What’s the newest flour in gluten-free baking and does it measure up? If you’ve just learned something new and interesting, it’s probably social media content gold to your reader
- Tips tips and more tips about how things work and how to do them better.
- Are you a travel agency? Post little known travel tips and when the travel dips happen for best pricing.
- Give them access to things they think your industry typically tries to hide from them, and you’ll seem like the magical unicorn of sales people.
- Affordable and timely product and service offers. Once a week, offer a great deal on whatever it is that you do OR offer something at full price that’s in high demand.
- Are you a shoe store? Issue a weather warning and an offer of $10 off all your designer boots the day before and/or of a big cold snap.
Circuses = Entertainment
Now for the fun stuff.
This method involves getting to the heart of the people and giving them their guiltiest pleasure, their latest fad obsession, or a fun distraction.
To do this, you have to be aware of what people are looking at, taken by, and wrapped up in RIGHT NOW, and you have to be tapped into a few different sources.
Allow us to introduce you to the word trending. If it’s something you haven’t incorporated into your regular marketing routine yet, get ready for a revelation.
Combining your business interests with the trendiest topics to drive traffic to your site by referring to subjects people are searching for RIGHT NOW says “I am on TOP of my game, and I care about what YOU care about. Let’s care together.”
Here’s how to make this part work.
- Search trending topics on Google here, Facebook here, and optimize your Twitter trends here. It’s fun. It’s related. It’s in the moment. It appeals to the whole damn world.
- Are you a dentist following the 2014 World Cup? Posting “Five out of five dentists recommend not pulling a Suarez with your precious pearly whites” will fill an empty social media content slot nicely!
- If you want a viral-worthy picture that refers to any topic, search the title of your topic and add the word ‘meme’ to the end of your search string, and click over to Google images for instant funny picture heaven!
- Do you sell outerwear? Is winter coming? Search ‘Game of thrones meme’ or ‘winter is here meme’, and you’re set for reposting an appealing soft sell:
- “Don’t forget your coat!”
And that, folks is the simplest way to creating the best and most shareable social media content you can possibly create for your business.
Just remember not to lose your professionalism in all the fun, and your pages are bound to bring a steady stream of leads right through your virtual doors.
Feeling a lack of lead generation in your life? Ask an expert what you want to know!
What to read next: The 5 Questions That Will Determine Your Social Media Success
Success always
Deborah x
