Most businesses know that a solid social media presence is absolutely essential in the modern world. Not only does social media allow you to connect with your consumers and gain their trust, but it also helps you market your products and services.
It’s not enough to simply have social media accounts, though—you’ll need to create fresh, relevant content across multiple channels on a daily basis. According to a panel of Forbes Agency Council members, here are the best ways to keep coming up with new social content your audience will love.
Members of Forbes Agency Council share tips for keeping your business’ social media channels regularly updated with fresh, compelling content.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Ask Yourself If Your Post Is Valuable
Focus on sharing content that your audience would find most valuable. What posts will help them and catch their attention? An industry statistic? A behind-the-scenes look at your company so they can better connect with you? You want to have a mix. Remember: Do not be overly promotional every time. Before you hit “Post,” ask yourself, “Is this valuable?” and “Does this matter?” – Bernard May, National Positions
2. Monitor Trends
Being a social media professional also means being in tune with everything happening online and in your industry. Trend-monitoring platforms like Sprout Social, Hootsuite and Google Alerts can be used to keep you up-to-date! Each day you should tailor your social content to what’s happening in the world around you. Keep in mind that different social platforms might have different popular trends. – Lisa Arledge Powell, MediaSource
3. Blend Original Content With A Curated Stream of Industry News
Researching a calendar of social media posts is the first step. Have your editor blend sources onto an editorial calendar document. The sources could be news outlets and articles your staff read, such as industry trends (don’t include competitors). Blend your press release and blog post content with the curated news to provide the most value to your audience and avoid just talking about yourself. – Jim Caruso, MediaFirst PR – Atlanta
4. Create Posts Separately And Understand Each Platform’s Best Practices
The key to creating daily posts on multiple social media channels is to do them separately. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn have different audiences, and the platforms are built differently. On Instagram you can’t post a link, Facebook doesn’t like hashtags and LinkedIn is focused on business-to-business (B2B) content. Understanding that different platforms require different communication will be your key to success. – T. Maxwell, eMaximize
5. Create A Content Calendar
Content calendars are an absolute must when juggling daily social media content across multiple platforms. It keeps you organized, allows content to seamlessly flow from post to post and prevents important dates and cultural moments from slipping through the cracks. – Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR
6. Stay On Brand
The social media platform will dictate how you release your content. It may be in the form of a video, a tweet or a blog post. But what matters is that although each post may be different, they all need to stay on brand. Day after day, you want your customers to never be confused about who you are and what you do. Ensure that your posts reflect what you are after. – Zachary Binder, Bell + Ivy
7. Brainstorm, Outline And Write
Think back to your days of writing essays in school. Great essays start with a brainstorming session and an outline. Bring stakeholders and team members into a brainstorming session. Create a strong outline. Now you are armed with an outline that will drive the creation of “umbrella” content. Distill it down and you have a message you can customize by the audience and media channel. – Katina Kenyon, Applaudo Studios
8. Adapt And Repurpose
What matters in social media is consistency in both your message and online presence. But you have to understand that your Twitter audience and your Instagram audience are not necessarily the same people. You don’t have to come up with unique posts for each platform every day. To stay on top of the game, create one compelling post per day, adapt it to each social media channel and repurpose it. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
9. Stay True To Your Story
The best social media content has a consistency to it. What story are you telling across your social channels? Great storytellers start with an outline. Build your story ahead of time with an editorial calendar. From there you can step into the flow and create fresh social content that drives engagement by knowing your audience, sharing your personality and asking questions that drive engagement. – Benjamin Collins, Laughing Samurai
10. Tag Industry Experts
With social media, it’s important to understand your channels (e.g., Instagram versus Twitter). They each draw in a different audience who is looking for a different conversation. It’s equally important to understand your followers and influencers. In order to gain greater reach, tag the industry experts you want to build relationships with. It shouldn’t all be self-serving on social media. – Lori Paikin, NaviStone®
11. Find Ways To Stand Out While Still Serving Your Audience
Personally, I like sharing articles from people in the industries that I follow that help me better myself as an individual. At each of my companies, I like to blend our strategy with educational/informational posts, along with branded content, including hilarious pictures and anything newsworthy. Of course, it’s important to keep your audience in mind on each of these platforms. – Kristopher Jones, LSEO
12. Boost Your Posts
Unfortunately, even the most engaging business posts don’t get the visibility they deserve without paid dollars. Don’t forget that these platforms are also publicly traded companies with shareholders. Even small budget boosts with proper targeting can have a huge impact on social engagement. Test it. – Gyi Tsakalakis, AttorneySync
13. Aim For Quality Over Quantity
Marketers feel the need for constant social posting, but I suggest you should avoid this, as it’s a trap for quantity over quality. The daily post focus can lead you to put anything in front of your audience instead of something of value. Audiences will stay with you if you don’t post daily, but they will not tolerate inconsistency. Find the right cadence for your audience and be consistent. – Todd Earwood, MoneyPath
