There are many different ways to establish a successful online presence. One of the most popular is through social media. Since so many people rely on social media to stay up-to-date with what’s going on in the world, it is vital that this platform is used properly.
Creating quality content for social media requires a great deal of work, but specific steps can be taken to ensure success. Read on for an exhaustive list of tips and tricks to help you create high-quality content for your social media channels.
Decide On a Topic
Luckily, social media are not picky when it comes to topics and niches. Almost any topic will find its way to its target audience. However, you want those readers engaged, so your content should be well-researched and highly relevant. The success of your post depends on its relevancy.
Your post has more chances of reaching a large number of people on social media if you are writing about ”trending” topics or posting how-to’s and guides. Generally, many people turn to social media to inform themselves and learn how to do something. Your post can become quite successful by offering one of those two via engaging content.
Consider Your Audience
You need to go deeper into the demographics and find out who exactly are the people you are writing for. Start with that information to learn more about their interests, obstacles, or challenges they are facing. Then, by writing and posting about their needs or how to solve a need, you can help them get closer to the solution, which at the same time pushes your post forward.
Use the Right Platform
Social Media are plenty and vary from platform to platform. The biggest difference is the demography of the people using one particular platform. Good content means nothing if you’re posting it on a platform the majority of your audience doesn’t use. So find the people you write for and find which particular platforms they prefer. That way, you can maximize the reach of your post.
Keep It Brief
Today more than ever, people put great value on time. Specifically, they put a value on things that don’t waste their time. That’s precisely what you need to show to your audience in order to gain their attention.
Some of the best ways of keeping your content concise are:
- Create content that is easy to read (eighth-grade reading level)
- Use headings, lists, and bullets wherever possible. This will make skimming your content more accessible.
- Keep your paragraphs under four sentences
- Be as concise as you can when writing
- Use infographics whenever possible. It will give your audience a graphic summary of your entire post and save their time.
Create Your Voice
One of the things your audience will pay attention to is the tone and style of your content. Those posts that are a bit more ”laid-back”, written in a conversational style, and give off a relaxed vibe tend to be more successful in attracting an audience. Still, the rule of social media is that your content should be written in your own voice. It will add to the personality of your content and help you interact and connect with the readers much more quickly.
The same goes for ”brand voice” when it comes to your company’s social media marketing. Your brand voice should also use the language of your customers. And by being consistent in using your ”voice”, your audience will come to trust you and consider both you and your posts authentic.
Add Visuals
Use an image or a video to tell a story whenever you can. You know what they say ”A picture is worth a thousand words”, so why waste time explaining when one image can do it so much better.
Videos are another great feature that will allow you to create a kind of content that makes your audience connect emotionally to you. Videos, especially live videos, show a certain vulnerability, especially if they are unscripted, and most people respond to that well.
Add Call To Action
CTA’s (Call to Action) sometimes go overlooked, but it gives a subconscious nudge to your reader’s mind. It is a very subtle, by-the-way tactic of making people on social media take action with just a few lines.
And because CTAs come in different forms and for different use, here are a few examples of how to prompt your audience to click, share, subscribe.
- CTA to share or like your social media post
- CTA to answer a question in the comments you just asked in your post
- CTA to direct them to another post
- CTA to lead them to a landing page
- CTA to visit your website
- CTA to subscribe to your newsletter
- CTA to connect with you on other social media channels
Stand Out From the Crowd
There are a lot of people, just like you, writing in the same niche and wanting attention from the same people as you do. The competition is fierce if you’re covering a trending niche or has a greater audience.
But the way to become successful in social media is by not competing at all. Instead, try to stand out from the crowd by posting content that is as unique as it is engaging. Give your audience something new but still relevant to the topic, and do it in your own style.
Always look for new ways to connect with your audience by researching their wants and needs by using, social media monitoring tools to further help determining it and create content according to what you learn. And if you manage to please their visual sensibilities with your content as well as their mind, you can bet your every CTA will work like a charm!