What Kind of Content Should We Post On Our Social Media Business Pages?
3 Things To Do To Prepare Before Posting To Social Media:
1. Before we dive into WHAT you should post, we first need to find out WHEN you should post. Every industry is different, so be sure to use your Facebook analytical data – they have this information already for you in your page’s Insights tab. First click on “Insights”, and then click on “Posts” on the left side of the page. The big graph at the top tells you what time of day the majority of your fans are online – if you post during this time, you take advantage of the most possible eyes on your content at the most optimal time.
Also, a good general rule of thumb is to post once a day. Any more than that, and you could start to annoy your loyal followers if they start to see your content too frequently. Any less, and you’ll be out of sight, out of mind. So post once a day, every day at the optimal time for best results.
2. Next, we need to get you organized. Google “social media content calendars” and do some research about which content calendar works best for you. Most companies offer their content calendars for free download if you provide your email address. Or you can make your own in an Excel worksheet. Don’t worry about what other people tell you to use, or which one is better – you find one that works best for your workflow style. This way you’ll stick with it, rather than abandoning it in a couple of weeks.
3. The final step in preparation is to write down who your ideal target customer is – be really specific here. Not everyone is your ideal customer, nor should they be; you shouldn’t be trying to sell your products/services to everyone. Think about your most awesome customer – why did you like them so much? Use that to start outlining who your ideal customers are.
So some additional questions to ask are: How old are they? Where do they live? Are they male/female/both? What interests do they have? Have they had a recent life event like marriage/divorce/new baby/kids going away to college, etc. that will help you better understand who your target customer is? And most importantly, what problems do they have that you can solve with your products/services?
Important Reminders About Planning Your Content Strategy:
You can start using the general content ideas below when getting started, but please be aware you will need to adjust your content based on the engagement you receive – maybe something doesn’t get any engagement after a month of trying, it’s ok to change things up. But also be careful not to change things so often that you don’t give them a chance to work. If you only post one type of content once and it doesn’t get any engagement, perhaps people just didn’t see it. Try it a few times as an experiment to know for sure.
One other thing – If you only post about your business, people will start to leave. Think of your page as a cocktail party. If you only talk about yourself, and don’t give others a chance to talk about their lives, you will quickly find yourself alone at the party. People want to talk about what’s important to them, not you. So a good rule of thumb is to post 80% helpful/informative/educational/valuable info and only 20% about your business.
15 Engagement Generating Content Ideas For Social Media Business Pages:
Engagement is key right now, so use an engagement-first marketing strategy, not a selling-first strategy! So here are 15 content ideas to use as posts on your social media business pages:
1. Your company blog posts – will drive people to your website.
2. Pictures & videos that show your company culture – post about your company events, parties, new employees, employees retiring, awards or certifications your company receives, any fundraising your company does, post pics/vids of your company giving back to the community, or anything that shows people a peek behind the scenes – dazzle them with a little magic of what goes on. All this gives people a better idea of who your company is & why they should work with you or do business with your company.
3. Industry news – keep your customers updated on what’s going on in your industry. This will show them you keep current on topics that matter to them.
4. User generated content – get permission to share your customer’s photos & videos. This shows the authenticity of your company by someone who isn’t you – it’s so powerful but you need permission!!!
5. Relevant articles from other companies – remember, you want to provide value to your customers in any form. If you demonstrate you care more about your customer’s needs than promoting yourself, you’ll win in the end.
6. Ask Questions. Find out what’s important to your customers – create polls, ask them to vote on products you want to carry or services you offer. What you think will work might not be what they want or need.
7. Post customer reviews & testimonials. 85% of people will trust a stranger’s online review over what your website says.
8. Quick tips via video that show “how to” or other advice – keep it short!
9. Post images/videos for the various holidays. No matter where you are, holidays are important to people – this is an easy way to show your holiday spirit.
10. Post answers to FAQ – if you can solve a customer’s problem before they ask, you’ll earn their trust!
11. Provide links to free resources that are valuable to your customer – who doesn’t love free stuff?
12. If you’re hiring, post new job postings. Social media is more than just what people ate for dinner. Your followers might know someone perfect and share your post.
13. Post “on this day” history posts – if you can be specific to your company, you’ll generate more interest.
14. Tell your audience about your company accomplishments – people love to be happy for others. Remember, it’s not bragging, it’s marketing! It’s giving people a reason to work with you.
15. Don’t forget to do Live videos every week! They get 6x the engagement over other types of content!
16. BONUS: Occasionally add posts that take advantage of popular hashtags: Motivation Monday, Tuesday Tips, Fun Fact Fridays, etc.
