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March 4, 2022

Last update

3.4.2022

06 MIN.

Tips to Create Impactful Content for Social Media

Creating impactful content for social media channels has become a priority for many marketers. Yet it seems it’s still a bit of a challenge for the majority.

Polina Shakhova

Polina Shakhova

Tips to Create Impactful Content for Social Media
Summary

Creating impactful content for social media channels has become a priority for many marketers. Yet it seems it’s still a bit of a challenge for the majority.

How do you create it?

How often do you need to post?

How long does your content need to be?

What’s it supposed to look like?, and so on, are only some of the questions running in marketers’ heads all day long.

Lucky for you, we have all the answers you need, so read on.

Before we dive into all the tips regarding social media content, let’s first brush up on some basics. Let’s see why your social media content matters in the first place.

Why Does Social Media Content Matter?

After all, you can’t come up with high-quality content if you don’t understand its implications and the power it holds for your target audience and your brand.

Plus, social media content is usually a big part of a company’s content marketing strategy, so the better the content, the higher the engagement.

According to Godot Media:

The primary purpose of content marketing is to establish a connection between the audience and a brand, and not just any connection, but one where the audience has sympathy and empathy for the brand. Content has the power to make people feel passionate about the brand. Mainly because a successful content marketing campaign helps them see that they share the same values.

Overall, the main purpose behind such social media content is to:

  • increase brand awareness;
  • generate leads;
  • help you go viral;
  • help you learn more about your customers (based on their feedback);
  • potentially drive traffic to your website;
  • assist you in collaborations with influencers;
  • give a human touch to your digital company;
  • boost sales;
  • establish more informal communication with potential clients;
  • stay on top of all industry-related news;
  • place you ahead of your competitors.

Social Media Stats and Facts

Not convinced about the importance of posting on social media yet?

Well, let’s briefly focus on several key statistics and facts regarding several of the leading social media channels out there.

Enjoy!

Facebook

  • Facebook is used daily by 1.82 billion people.
  • Less than 2% of Facebook users browse on desktop.
  • The fastest growing age group is the silent generation (born before 1945), followed by baby boomers.
  • 75% of adult Facebook users have higher incomes (US$75K+)

Instagram

  • 75% of people between 18 and 24 use Instagram
  • Most Instagram users hail from the US, followed by Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and Japan.
  • 83% of Instagram users discover new products and services on the platform. (according to Facebook IQ)
  • 87% of people took action after seeing a brand’s post on Instagram (from following, visiting the website or purchasing the product on the platform).

Twitter

  • According to Omnicore, Twitter has 540 million users, and 186 million of these use the platform daily.
  • 500 million tweets are sent every day.
  • Ad revenue from Twitter is estimated at US$1.62 billion in the US alone.
  • 89% of Twitter users are affluent millennials

Create High-Quality, Versatile Content

This may look obvious, but it’s frequently overlooked.

It really is self-explanatory: you need to produce high-quality content. You need to make it shareable too (that way it reaches a wider audience).

Make sure your content’s on brand and reflects your company’s values. Remember: most people will judge your company by the content you produce. So if your social media content sucks, then it’s very likely your audience are going to think the same about your brand.

Also, don’t forget to include versatile content. What do we mean by this?

Well, while there’s nothing wrong with plain text content, don’t forget the power of visual content too. In fact, visuals are oftentimes even more powerful than plain words.

Show, don’t always tell!

Here are some ideas of what you can include:

Combine your visuals with some interesting captions and voila – you’ve got a winning combo!

Find Your *Authentic* Voice and Style

On social media (and the internet overall) content is king and authenticity is queen.

Developing a unique, memorable voice and style is crucial, especially when you take into account the insane amount of posts your audience scrolls through – and consumes – on a daily basis.

Your voice and style should directly reflect your brand and mission.

If you’re running a professional website, then make your social media content look professional too (careful: “professional” doesn’t mean boring!).

If you’re running a travel blog, then post recognizable photos (photos that your followers can associate with you), stick to similar patterns, design, colors, and so on.

In other words, do whatever you can to make yourself stand out and create an authentic, scroll-stopping presence online.

Use the Right Hashtags

Use the Right Hashtags

Using the right hashtags can make or break your social media strategy and content reach. Hashtags can help you get your content in front of the right people at the right time.

And while it may not be easy to always find them (it could take quite a bit of research), once you do, you’ll be amazed at the audience you’ll be able to attract.

Keep your hashtags short and memorable (unless there’s an important one that doesn’t comply with these “rules”).

That said, it’s important to note that when it comes to using hashtags, the same things don’t apply across all social media channels. For example, Facebook is not so much of a hashtag platform as opposed to Instagram.

Plus, on Instagram users are more willing to tolerate the number of hashtags (the optimal being between 9 or 11). The sweet spot for Linkedin, on the other hand, is 2-3 hashtags.

best number of hashtags
Source: CoSchedule

So, after choosing your preferred social media channel(s), do some research and take such details into account.

Check Out Latest Trends

Keep up with what other people/companies post across various social media channels and then try to incorporate similar content on your own channels too.

For instance, if there’s a viral TikTok challenge about cooking, and you’re running a cooking website and are using TikTok, then go ahead and join the challenge. It doesn’t mean it will work 100% (nothing’s 100% certain on social), but you won’t know for sure until you’ve tested it.

Check out your competitors too.

No we’re not saying you should steal/copy their content, but you should keep a close eye on what they’re posting and monitoring engagement to see how their content resonates with their followers.

If you see them posting memes and getting good engagement – maybe it’s time to try something similar.. Or maybe they’ve been testing out choppy copy and it doesn’t seem to work well… Great, now you know what not to do.

Checking out your competitors every now and then can give you a better understanding about where you are business-wise and where you should (not) head.

Share Customer Testimonials and Reviews

Share Customer Testimonials and Reviews

Share the praise!

What do people trust the most? Other people’s testimonials!

Sharing customer testimonials and reviews isn’t only great for days where you have nothing else to post – it’s useful for attracting potential clients too.

Pick your best reviews so far, redesign them so they match your social media look and feel, and include some fun captions along.

Engage Users

Make your content interactive.

Ask questions, include clear CTAs and create a welcoming social media profile by posting content that draws attention.

The more engaged your audience is and the more they comment and like your posts, take part in discussions, and so on, the higher your brand’s perceived value and trust.

The important thing here is to understand that you should adopt a customer-first approach to content creation. Post stuff that your audience wants to see and makes them not only follow your profile, but frequently come back to it and engage with your brand.

Final Thoughts

To wrap things up, it goes without saying that social media content is more impactful than ever when it comes to purchasing decisions, brand awareness, and building authority.

And while it may not be always easy to stand out, or keep up with the competition, when you put effort into it you’ll definitely see astonishing results. The important thing is to stay consistent – good results don’t happen overnight.

Finally, don’t forget you don’t need to do everything all by yourself.
There are many tools you can benefit from, including articles such as this one to help you, consulting other marketers, and/or simply using various social media analytics tools to see where you stand and track your metrics.

About
the writer
Polina Shakhova

Polina Shakhova

Contributor @iconosquare

Accredited Transformation Coach & Content Creator | I help people get to know their true self and their desires, and build a life of freedom.

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