Be genuine. Submit Reels. Goal your excellent viewers. Sacrifice a goat. Perhaps these issues bought you observed final yr however not anymore.
With nearly half (46%) of Gen Z “consistently on-line” — and Millennial oldies like me not far off, I’d argue — social media is extra crowded than ever.
It’s not sufficient to submit commonly, grasp Reels transitions, be part of TikTok, or comply with what everybody else is doing. To develop this yr, manufacturers have to be unique, likable, and helpful.
When you’re not any of these issues, listed here are 17 social media content material concepts to do as a substitute. (Kidding! You’re already nice, and these concepts will make you even higher.)
Bonus: Obtain our free, customizable social media calendar template to simply plan and schedule all of your content material prematurely.
1. Use unique audio in Reels
It’s been a basic Instagram progress technique for some time: Discover a trending Reels audio clip, make a Reel, get 1000’s of recent followers, and repeat.
These days are gone. Sure, you may nonetheless use a voiceover of Michael from The Workplace and sure, it might develop your Instagram a bit. However 2023 is all about unique audio.
Brainstorm your personal humorous skits as a substitute, or for the best Reel of all? You + digicam = answering your prospects’ questions.
Utilizing unique audio in your Reels can:
- Preserve folks watching longer, not realizing the way it will finish (as they do with trending audio after seeing a couple of).
- Showcase your creativity and, probably, make you — gasp — go viral.
2. Create “learn how to” content material on YouTube Shorts
How-to YouTube Shorts hook folks instantly with fast visuals and a particular finish outcome. When you promote a product, present your audience learn how to use it — both the “common manner” or one thing inventive.
Service suppliers, share your course of or steps to attain a fast win, like your finest gross sales electronic mail script or a software program tutorial.
How-to YouTube Shorts may help you:
- Entice new subscribers.
- Quickly check to seek out out what your viewers desires to see or study most.
3. Begin a sequence
You’ve heard of #ThrowbackThursday and #SundayFunday however as a substitute of regurgitating these drained tendencies, create your personal every day or weekly sequence. It’s extra unique, and it’ll make your content material planning course of simpler.
As a substitute of getting to consider three new submit concepts for the upcoming week, you’ll already know the format and theme of your sequence and may get into creating it instantly. For max effectivity, maintain a operating listing of all of your concepts then choose one to movie for the week, or movie and schedule all of them in bulk a month or extra forward of time.
In-depth instructional sequence work particularly properly on YouTube. To maintain folks watching, create a YouTube playlist and hyperlink to it from every video’s description.
Supply: YouTube
A content material sequence may help you:
- Construct momentum towards a product launch or occasion.
- Display your experience and earn belief.
- Preserve a constant publishing schedule.
4. Spend money on UGC content material
UGC, or “user-generated content material,” isn’t new however it’s undoubtedly time to hop on board if you happen to haven’t already. Like influencer advertising, UGC content material is created by folks as a substitute of the model, however — historically — UGC content material comes from unpaid, actual prospects.
Why hassle? Your prospects are 2.4 instances extra possible to work together with UGC vs. brand-created content material. Authenticity sells.
Create a hashtag to your prospects to make use of and have their pictures or movies in your feed.
Don’t have an enormous viewers but? No worries: You should buy authenticity, too. UGC creators are huge in 2023: Individuals paid to create content material that appears to be like like natural buyer content material.
UGC content material may help you:
- Promote your merchandise with out seeming too sales-y.
- Collect various property to repost throughout your social accounts or use in different content material. For instance, pictures of individuals of many alternative ethnicities utilizing your merchandise, or a number of residence decor kinds, like Wayfair’s instance above.
5. Preserve it easy
Spicy take: Some companies are luckier than others in the case of social media content material concepts.
Exhibit A: What sort of content material is universally adored by everybody, no matter language, location, tradition, demographics, or pursuits?
Cute animal movies.
The San Diego Zoo doesn’t overthink their social content material technique. Individuals like cute animal movies, so they offer them cute animal movies. It’s actually that straightforward typically.
@sandiegozoo Most boopable moments of 2022 ✨ #boop #cuteanimals #animalsoftiktok #bestmoments #SanDiegoZoo
Consider what “easy content material” appears to be like like for your corporation. What are you able to make in 5 minutes or much less? Then, make a bunch abruptly and bulk schedule as much as 350 items of content material at a time to robotically publish with Hootsuite. Ahh, the straightforward life.
Easy content material can:
- Enable for batched manufacturing and scheduling, slicing down content material creation time.
- Attraction to a number of buyer sorts and audiences.
6. Curate content material from others
Nice information: Content material curation remains to be scorching. Your unique content material is what retains folks sticking round, however curated content material can beef up your posting frequency and entice new peeps.
Put aside time every week for strategic content material curation and your publishing queue won’t ever run out.
What you share must be related to your corporation and according to your normal model voice and tone, in fact. Attempt sharing business information, or media options out of your workers, like this text by Adobe’s Chief Product Officer.
Content material curation can:
- Replenish your content material calendar while not having to create visible property.
- Develop cross-promotional relationships with different manufacturers and/or business leaders.
7. Embrace memes
Humor is all the time in fashion as a result of there’s all the time one thing to be unhappy about. So give your viewers a lil’ giggle, eh?
Perhaps run tremendous spicy stuff by authorized compliance first. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
SO BASICALLY IT’S LIKE CHAPTERS AND AUDIBLE AND NETFLIX AND SPOTIFY HAD A BABY BUT YOU CAN BORROW ALL THE STUFF FOR FREE. pic.twitter.com/tpWVSOnR8N
— ReginaPublicLibrary (@OfficialRPL) August 18, 2022
Memes may help you:
- Acquire new followers by cashing in on new, trending memes.
- Seem cooler than you’re. (That’s a joke. You’re very cool. Memes will assist your viewers see that.)
8. Launch a problem
Challenges are a enjoyable solution to increase engagement, probably get some juicy UGC (user-generated content material), and subtly promote your self on the similar time.
Some companies have extra apparent problem concepts than others. Nikon hosts month-to-month images and videography challenges which inserts their enterprise completely. You might have to hunt for an thought if you happen to, say, manufacture paper cups.
@nikonusa For this month’s problem, right here’s Nikon Ambassador Kristi Odom’s tackle movement with stunning wildlife cinematography 🎥 Ideas and methods on NikonUSA.com
Challenges may help:
- Educate or encourage your viewers, and encourage them to take motion on a purpose or use your product extra.
- Replenish your content material calendar. Share your viewers’s work as a part of your content material curation course of.
5 Social media content material concepts for small companies
1. Leverage AI for social content material concepts
I’m only a author standing in entrance of ChatGPT asking it to not take my job. Simply kidding. AI can’t substitute this sort of—
Supply: OpenAI
Crap. Okay, however critically: AI is our buddy (at the very least till it tries to reprogram our microwaves to kill us all).
I didn’t use ChatGPT once I outlined this text, however it got here up with a number of of the identical social media submit concepts. None of them are rocket science, however that’s precisely the purpose: Let AI do your straightforward duties so you might have extra time to create the unique components of your content material that may make you stand out.
As a small enterprise proprietor, you’re most likely both nonetheless doing all your personal social media or counting on a small crew. If arising with concepts is stopping you from posting as a lot as you’d like, AI content material instruments get the ball rolling.
Simply don’t put all of your eggs in a single synthetic basket. Use your human mind for content material concepts, too.
AI content material instruments may help you:
- Replenish an inventory of content material concepts so you may get creating quicker.
- Overcome author’s block.
- Save time on thought era so you may deal with the actual work that strikes your corporation ahead. (Spoiler alert: It’s content material.)
2. Run a contest
Social media contests are all the time a good suggestion as a result of folks love free stuff.
Give away a present card to your corporation or one thing you promote. You are able to do something from the super-simple “like, comply with, and remark” format, to extra concerned contests like asking your followers to share a photograph, or fill out a survey.
A superb rule of thumb is to maintain the trouble of coming into the competition according to the prize worth. Smaller worth prize = much less effort to enter, greater worth prize = extra effort.
For brick and mortar companies, goal native folks with a enjoyable scavenger hunt contest:
@cookcountysaloon Thirsty anybody? 🤠 #yegscavengerhunt #yegbar #cookcountysaloon #edmontonfun #yeg #edmontontiktok #yegfun #edmonton #countrymusicalberta
Social media contests may help you:
- Quickly develop your follower counts and viewers.
- Generate potential leads.
- Discover out beneficial details about your prospects by surveys to tell your advertising technique.
- Collect content material property you should use for future campaigns (for picture or video submission contests).
3. Characteristic your prospects
What’s one of the simplest ways to promote your services or products on social media? Exhibiting not telling.
Share a testimonial or transformation story from a buyer. It goes a lot additional to realize belief than speaking about your self.
This may be as straightforward as whipping up a testimonial quote graphic, or higher but: Movie a brief video interviewing your buyer. Edit it into a number of variations and share them throughout TikTok, Reels, Instagram Tales, YouTube movies, and extra.
Preserve social media movies underneath 60 seconds for finest outcomes.
Buyer tales (particularly video ones!) are:
- Extra impactful and versatile than a written testimonial.
- Nice promoting instruments: Individuals with the identical downside as your featured buyer see you as the answer.
4. Associate with content material creators
Creators, a.okay.a. influencers (or KOLs), are sometimes pictured working with enormous manufacturers solely, however 2023 is the yr small companies take over.
Our Social Tendencies report discovered solely 28% of small companies at present work with creators whereas 42% of companies with over 1,000 workers do. Including influencer advertising to your technique this yr will aid you stand out out of your friends, and ship cost-effective campaigns in these unsure monetary instances.
You don’t want an enormous announcement to begin partnering with creators. New analysis exhibits influencer campaigns have as much as 30.5% greater ROI once they’re not for brand new product launches.
You additionally don’t have to dish out one million {dollars} to rent an influencer. Micro and nanoinfluencers are a way more budget-friendly possibility — and may truly be more practical than very huge creators in getting their audiences to take motion (e.g. click on by to your web site or purchase a product).
@gracewellsphoto Replying to @drinkpoppi the gamification of soda 🎮 👀 #epiccommercial #videography #videographer #filmtok #popcultured #poppipartner
Creator partnerships may help you:
- Attain beneficial audiences who belief the creator introducing you, usually for a lot lower than paying for adverts.
- Collect high-quality pictures or movies you should use in future campaigns, in your web site, and extra.
5. Get suggestions out of your prospects
Dying to know what your prospects need? Simply ask them.
This doesn’t imply that as a result of one individual suggests one thing, it’s a good suggestion or that it’s good to do it instantly. However permitting prospects to decide on new flavors or the following occasion matter brings them nearer to your corporation and builds a way of neighborhood.
Asking for suggestions on social media can:
- Encourage engagement. Be sure to answer to feedback, even simply to say thanks.
- Deepen present buyer relationships and develop new ones.
You possibly can undoubtedly use the guidelines above, however these social media concepts are particularly efficient for B2B manufacturers:
1. Share your finest case research
Testimonials, success tales, earlier than and afters, yada yada — same-ish, totally different phrases for one factor: Demonstrating your capabilities.
B2B consumers are on the lookout for a outcome, not the hope of a outcome.
By how a lot % did your buyer’s electronic mail open price enhance after utilizing your A/B testing software program? Precisely how a lot cash did your resolution save your buyer?
Pull some key stats out of an present case examine and make a couple of graphics to submit on social, or edit them right into a video for a TikTok or Reel (relying which platforms you’re on).
Can’t point out your huge consumer successes by title? Pull collectively basic statistics into averages, like how Heyday’s AI chatbot saved shoppers a median of $3,000 USD per day throughout Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
Case research may help:
- Construct belief. Testimonials are nice, however numbers and statistics persuade.
- Your prospects perceive your product’s key options in motion.
2. Assist your neighborhood
Do you commonly give cash or volunteer time to native non-profits? Do you provide workers a paid day to volunteer at a company vital to them? Not too long ago sponsored a fundraiser or occasion?
Present how concerned you’re with native and business communities. Faucet into the Instagram Reels algorithm by asking your workers to document a brief clip of their volunteer day to share.
When you assist an occasion, sew a couple of clips collectively into a fast Reel, TikTok, or YouTube Quick and let your prospects know the affect of their contributions to the trigger.
Group involvement may help you:
- Construct belief inside your native space and make folks be ok with procuring at your corporation vs. a competitor.
- Community with different native companies and not directly, although successfully, promote your self to draw new shoppers.
3. Submit your analysis
Have a brand new white paper or examine? Seize a couple of key stats and create social content material linking again to the complete report.
Make graphics for carousel posts and brief movies for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. Or, provide a couple of pages of your report as a PDF on LinkedIn with a hyperlink to obtain the remainder.
Use on-line graphic design instruments to show your statistics into animations you may submit as Reels for greater visibility within the Instagram algorithm.
Sharing your analysis may help you:
- Goal and entice your excellent viewers.
- Construct credibility inside your business, particularly for brand new corporations.
4. Share your organization tradition
Moreover promoting, recruiting prime expertise must also be a fundamental purpose in your B2B social media advertising plan. Sharing open jobs is a part of that, however so is sharing why somebody ought to think about you within the first place.
When you can, weigh in on a well-liked hashtag to additional enhance your attain.
In fact, this implies you even have to supply nice advantages to your crew members. When you don’t already, begin now.
Exhibiting your organization tradition can:
- Preserve you prime of thoughts when a competitor’s star worker is on the lookout for a change.
- Assist advance vital advantages and protections for workers throughout your sector or nation. (Social progress is cool.)
Plan, schedule, and analyze all of your social media content material from one organized workspace with Hootsuite. Go additional than the essential options you’d anticipate with Finest Time to Publish, social listening instruments, automated submit boosting, and extra. Do all of it throughout all of your platforms with Hootsuite.
Do it higher with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media device. Keep up to the mark, develop, and beat the competitors.
