10 Top Tips for Producing Creative Content on Your Social Networks

Social media is just that – it’s social. And while “social” means informal, entertaining, and even inspirational text, today’s content consumer is just not that much “into” reading stuff. He prefers relevant content that employs lots of visuals and other audio-visual media – seeing rather than reading. And, content marketers know this.

There are more than 1.5 billion pieces of content “out there,” and producing pieces that capture an audience is a huge challenge.  Further, because billions of people access social media every day, creating content for those platforms has become a major part of any content marketing strategy. Add to this the fact that humans process visual content 60,000 times faster than text, and it becomes obvious what today’s content must include.

It’s not that content should not include any text. It’s that text must be reinforced and replaced by visuals when possible, in order to engage your audience. Given this new “demand” from content consumers, here are 10 tips for creating social media content.

1. Consider an AMA Session

‘Ask me Anything” (AMA) is a newer and increasingly popular live video strategy that allows marketers/business owners to engage with their audiences in real time and present themselves as real people, willing to directly connect with their audiences. Obviously, this cannot be pre-planned, but that is part of the beauty of it- people see company representatives as real people.

If you decide to use this strategy, be certain that you publicize it all over the place.

• Invite current and potential customers and send reminders several hours before showtime. This should be done both on the social media platform as well as through email.
• Contact influencers in your niche, along with any brand ambassadors you have accumulated
• Encourage those who cannot attend to send questions in advance

Prepare an opening script that speaks to the value of your product or service, and then let your participants ask away. Prepare for pauses in questions too. Again, speak to the value you offer, not to “selling.”

2. Give Sneak Peeks

If you have a new product or service soon to be offered, create some intrigue and interest by providing a partial look via photos or videos. While you encourage your audience to stay tuned, also offer early access or discounts if they order now or like and share your content with their tribes.

This is also a great way to encourage people to subscribe to your email outreach. They can receive updates and roll-out information in advance. Psychologically, this is a great tactic, as humans like the idea of having info upfront before the general public gets it.

3. Share Reviews

There are two ways to engage your audience through reviews.

First, you can solicit photos and videos from satisfied customers and post them on social media. Many companies already do this, and they are able to stimulate conversation/discussion by doing so. (check out ModCloth clothier).

Second, you can become a reviewer yourself, providing photos and videos of complementary products/services and making recommendations.  You can become a thought leader in related niches and broaden your audience by doing so. It’s okay to have opinions – that’s what thought leaders do.

4. Engage with Contests, Quizzes, and Giveaways

Before you craft any of the above, decide on your goal. What do you want your audience to do when they participate in these interactive activities? Do you want them to share it? Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter? Do you want them to take advantage of a special offer or discount?

Determine the prize(s) and make it worthwhile. You want it to be appealing enough for them to participate and to do what you want them to do.

You may have some difficulty crafting those quizzes, surveys, etc. Think about using a professional writing service, like BuyProfEssays.com, a company that has a great creative copywriting department with a successful history in such products.

Use great hashtags to promote your content, especially if you are on Instagram. People do search by hashtags, and you would be surprised how many social media users search for surveys, contests, etc. on that platform. Just be certain to create an association between that offer and your brand.

5. Profile a Team Member of Influencer

One of the keys to social media is personal connections and relationships. These are established when audience members get to know others on a personal level. You can do this by featuring yourself, your team members, some customers, or even influencers in your niche. Consider some of the following:

• Have a regularly scheduled post in which you feature a member of your team. Create a video of them at work and at play.
• Feature yourself, not just as a business owner but as a person as well. Do you have outside hobbies, a pet, kids, or something unique in your life? It’s important for consumers to be able to relate to you as a “regular” person, just like them.
• Have a video Q & A session with an influencer in your niche. Promote it and post it more than once on your channels.
• B2B companies can do this by featuring a customer/client each month. You flatter them by doing this, and they will probably be motivated to share the “publicity” with their business networks.

6. Pass the Mic to a Brand Ambassador

Most websites that sell products or services have testimonials on their websites. But consumers re savvy enough to know that many of these are fabricated.

Instead of just posting a photo with a comment, identify your most satisfied customers and ask if they will do a video chat with you that you can then post on social media. Most will be happy to do this. Prepare your script with questions, but do not prepare their responses. You want them to be natural.

Customers can also provide tips and tricks related to your products or services. WD-40 does this a lot. Their customers have come up with all sorts of unique and creative uses for this lubricant product, and the company features their contributions on its site but also on all of its social media channels. This keeps its target audience coming back for more.

7. Get a Cause

Millennials and Gen Z’ers have abiding concerns about the environment, about societal issues, and about companies that serve more than their profits. They want to patronize businesses that care too. And they see right through disingenuous attempts to be socially responsible. You want anything you present about social responsibility to be authentic, and you want to present it in compelling ways, even in the text you produce. If you struggle with crafting that text, consider using a professional writing service – EssaysDeluxe.com is a good one – to craft the text that can accompany the visuals you intend to present to your audience. whether you need compelling headlines, captions, or short snippets of text, get a creative t do it for you.

You can demonstrate your commitment in a genuine way by posting photos and videos of your business engaged in charitable causes; you can demonstrate that commitment by providing data on your contribution to sustainability; you can demonstrate that commitment by asking them to participate with you in promoting a cause.

8. Re-constitute Old Content

You may have a lot of old content on your blog or on previous social media posts – content that was primarily textual. If that content presents value to consumers, then it’s time to re-constitute and make that information visual. Can you craft an infographic? Can you use it in a podcast or webinar? Can you break it up into a series of memes or Gifs?

9. Get Local

If you are a business with a local brick and mortar presence, then you have a lot of opportunities to appeal to your local audience. here’s how:

• Share live video from local events n which you have participated
• Share photos and/or videos or participation in local charitable events
• Feature other local businesses on your social media channels.
• Use local references and keywords in your content. Consumers often search for local businesses by keywords and the name of a town/city. And when they find you, be sure that you have plenty of visual content to share on your social media accounts. Point them to those accounts on your website.

10. Get a Theme

One of the most compelling reasons for consumers to return to your social media platforms is that they know they are going to get something new – either humorous, inspirational, or educational. Nathan Chan of Foundr Magazine began his social media outreach with Instagram, posting inspirational quotes imposed on amazing photos, several times a day. He grew his following to 10,000 in just a few months. You can do the same:

• Create something “day-brightening” – a joke of the day; a meme Monday; a quote/thought that provides some inspiration
• Make the content short and snackable -a visual that can be absorbed in just several seconds. They’ll “tune in” when the know you have something great to share with them.

The Wrap Up

Attention spans are very short – some say shorter than that of a goldfish. And because they have such short attention spans (and because they are busy and in a hurry), you have to capture attention immediately, within a few seconds. To do that you have to have amazing visual content on your social media channels. Using these 10 tips should help you do just that.

Author’s bio:

Linda is a professional writer and she loves to help students. She has spent the majority of her career in the writing industry, gaining experiences in areas such as editing and writing. Currently, Linda is a blogger at Studyton.com and Head of CD at WOWGrade.com. Linda also enjoys reading books and traveling.