Social media, targeted towards the right audience, can be very powerful; But what type of content should you make? This question has been tormenting business owners for years. There are many platforms available and depending on your company’s needs, goals and target audience, you could choose to invest in blogs, eBooks, social media posts, infographics, videos or a combination of these strategies.

Why Should You Invest in Content Marketing?  

The answer is simple. Investing in content that’s organic and brand-enriching is a powerful way to get noticed and show your audience your brand genuinely cares about helping. Content marketing coupled with sound SEO tactics can also help you get a slice of over 5 billion daily Google searches.

People hate ads — around 70 per cent of them. According to this study, 400 million mobile users use ad blockers to avoid seeing ads on their phones. With millions of brands competing for attention at once, making your business stand out is getting harder.  

But it’s still possible.  

People’s Buying Habits Have Evolved

Compared to the last decades, the way people shop and choose brands have changed. We are no longer interested in hard-selling, inflated claims, or sugar-coated pitches. We now value stories we can relate to, connect with, and most importantly, trust.  

When done right, content marketing can help you build trust with your target audience. The time and effort it takes you to create informative, exciting, and relevant content will ultimately be rewarded by a band of loyal followers who will do anything for your brand.

7 Types of Social Media Content that You Should Invest in Today

1. Personalised Content

Write in the first person. Write social media posts that pull your readers closer. Address them directly, answer their questions, avoid jazz, and prevent yourself from sounding too complicated or robotic.

Add a dash of your personality into your content. Be genuine. Your personality helps you stand out from all the noise.

 2. Create Content that Inspires

We are emotional buyers. That’s why the most effective marketing appeals to the emotions instead of reason. Ideally, 50% of your marketing budget should be spent on creating an experience. Just take notice of the top brands today and how creating an experience inside their stores draws you in as opposed to a stale environment that is built to sell, sell, sell.

So, how do you bond with your customers on an emotional level? Here are three tips:

  • Make them laugh – Humour is a powerful marketing tool. It enhances brand recall and sends out a positive vibe about your brand. Plus, everyone appreciates a giggle. To pull this off, make sure you know the preferences of your target audience and hire the right comic talent or creative team.
  • Put on a show – Most consumers, including you, have little time for leisure or are stressed out. Entertaining instead of selling is one of the best ways to get ahead of other businesses vying for your customers’ attention.
  • Inspire – Inspirational messages (image quotes, videos, etc.) are contagious and engage very well on social media. When marketing inspirational content, make sure to use your own images as much as possible. Avoid being “too much.” And use quotes that support your brand’s purpose.  

3. Publish Your Content in Story Form

What makes stories drive engagement in social media? Well, for starters, we all love stories. Narratives make your brand personable. It can spruce up even the most boring data sets and case studies. And if you use the stories of your real-life customers, it can serve as social-proof for your products and services.

Keep in mind these four story elements when crafting your own:

  • What makes you special? – this should serve as the foundation of your story
  • Be creative – avoid clichés
  • Make your story personable – use your audience as your characters or even better, get them to share their stories.
  • Be consistent – your campaigns should fit the same narrative or theme to avoid confusing your audience.  

4. Post Informational Content

Do you know that millions of people use social media to learn? And a good portion of them are probably your target audience. Brands that enjoy a lot of social media engagement are not just present — they are useful.

There are many ways to approach informational content. You can use blogs, guides, insights, trends, misconceptions, or podcasts. Again, the main goal here is to provide value to your followers and be perceived as an authority in your industry.  Experiment with various formats to keep your content fresh and fun.

5. Use Visuals

Visuals makes your content look better and increases its chances of getting noticed by your target audience. You have many options when it comes to creating visual content for social media. You can use:

  • Infographics – according to HubSpot these are shared 3x as much as any other type of social media content.
  • Graphs – these are useful for studies as graphs help readers grasp and retain concepts easier.
  • Screenshots – perfect for illustrating examples. There’s no general rule about screenshots. Feel free to use them anywhere.

6. Live-Stream

Thanks to Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Instagram TV, you can now use live video content to engage with your social media followers. Invest in a good camera and microphones to capture your audience’s attention.  

Creating great and engaging social media content is not easy. You need to devote enough time, effort, and creative juices to stand out from other brands or businesses.

Need help creating a powerful marketing strategy for your company? Get in touch with us today.