One of the biggest social media frustrations is putting out content and not getting any engagement.
The reason you’re starting social media is to grow your brand whether that’s a business or personal brand.
And if you’re putting in the effort and not getting new followers or any type of engagement it can wear you down. And I think that’s why a number of people stop sharing on social media after a while.
Now, it certainly can take time to build an audience. So you have to go into your social effort knowing that it could take months to start to build some momentum.
But even with that in mind it comes down to the type of content you share. If you’re sharing good content that people want to see you’ll see positive engagement in the long run.
So here are some of the main types of content your customers will find interesting on social media.
1. Quick Tips & How To’s
You’ll notice in a few of these that when you can help someone to live a better life you’re generally going to win their favor. That can start as a basic trusting relationship where they follow you on social media.
Why wouldn’t someone follow you if you continually provide things that make their lives better?
It seems simple, but the best answers often are just that…simple.
Quick tips and how to’s might be the simplest and best form of social media.
Updates that begin with “Here is how you…” and “Try this the next time you…” are great social updates that people love. Start your updates and fill in the blanks with your knowledge of your industry and do it regularly and you’ll see an increase in followers and engagement.
Don’t worry if some might know your tips. That’s okay. Some won’t and those are the people that will follow you.
2. Trivia
Many people like to know trivia. It’s our inner Cliff Clavin coming out where we find pleasure in knowing interesting things.
I know that I like knowing what others think is “useless” trivia, but it’s part of the pleasure I get in life. You probably fall on the arc somewhere of liking trivia and not caring hardly at all. Your potentially followers probably fall on that arc too as it relates to your industry, but if you share trivia you can capture the attention of those Cliff Clavins out there.
I read a local newspaper and something I always love is the little trivia section about Wisconsin history. It’s a section on “This day in Wisconsin history…” It’s interesting and I always look for it.
Find a source of interesting trivia in your industry. You could be that source. Your company archives could the source. Or follow a few sources that share info like this and share and re-share it every day.
3. Insider Info
Adam Schefter is one of the most popular people on social media in the football industry. The main reason for his popularity seems to be that he always has insider info that others in the football industry don’t have.
Adam is first with it and he seems to know the type of insider info that his followers love the most. It’s not an easy game. In the football world you know that Adam is always working to get that info.
But you don’t need to take it to that level for success.
When you attend conferences and things like that you’ll get some good info on what’s coming in the future. You don’t need to spill all the beans, but give a little sneak peek. People in the industry that aren’t as connected as you will love it.
When I worked in the footwear industry we did this a little bit. Merchandisers were working with manufacturers and seeing what was coming on the market in the future. So we would share little snippets like upcoming popular colors and trends in shoes.
4. News “What Does It Mean For Me?”
Building on the last one – it’s one thing to report the news. It’s perhaps even more valuable to tell a person what that news means for them. That’s what people are really interested in.
Yes, a lot of people can figure it out for themselves, but for others it’s helpful to get some insight. And even the people that think they know what it means for them will want to see it from another perspective.
Let’s take the football example. Let Adam report the news. Let’s say it’s about a player on the Packers. The news is big, but what it means for Packer fans is perhaps even more valuable information.
Or on the shoe side of things. You don’t need to have insider info on the new trends. But you can comment on what those trends mean for shoe lovers.
Find the big news items in your industry and provide insight and perspective for your target audience.
5. Quotes
Quotes always seem to do well. You can find ones that you find interesting that others have said. Or you could even come up with your own. The second method could be the better one. Take a crack at sharing one of your own new quotes each day. Not every one will be a hit, but over time you’ll see what people connect to and you’ll get better and better.
Bonus: Answers To Common Questions
I wanted to add a bonus one in here. I thought of it just now.
Anytime you answer common questions you’re helping people out and it’s really a valuable form of content in any setting including social media.
You can identify common questions that you hear from your target audience in person. You could follow your target customers on social media and see what they’re asking. You can look on forums. You can look in the comment sections on industry blogs, Facebook pages, etc.
Find the questions and answer them. Over time you’ll probably start getting questions right on your social accounts and you can answer those.
That’s real engagement.
Conclusion
Hopefully these ideas have sparked some inspiration for your social media efforts. I know it can be frustrating to publish content and not get any engagement. But these ideas here are really timeless and they’re not just for social media. You can take these approaches to any content you create and you should have success.