18 Social Media Content Ideas Every Business Can Benefit Using

1. Blog, Blog, Blog

Blogging is arguably the most important way to utilize social media to connect with customers. It is a great way to give expert insight into what your company does and create the narrative around your company. Consistently posting blogs with engaging content is a great way to establish yourself as an industry leader in terms of your level of expertise in your field. This will ultimately build trust in your brand as you gain a reputation as being a valuable source of information in your field.

Most importantly, blogging is the best way to boost your search engine optimization. New content and some strategic keyword placement could do wonders to increase your ranking on search engine results pages. In short, blogging may have as many benefits as a booming social media presence, making it one of the most crucial social media content ideas.

2. Free Stuff!

There is nothing that consumers love more, nor is there any greater way to show them how much you appreciate them, than free stuff. Of course the goal of any business is to turn a profit, but social media provides the ideal platform for giveaways and rewards. Those who follow your company on social media will have an opportunity to win and see others win a complementary good or service, or even earn such prizes through customer loyalty.

3. A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

One of the positives of social media is that everyone who follows you sees what you do. Especially for those just starting out in business and those who craft their own products, pictures of your products and even happy customers are likely to generate great interest in your company. It is an inexpensive way to give people a visual concept of what they can expect from your company. In this way, a photo album can help engage customers in a way that not even blog posts or social media articles can.

4. Customer Feedback Page

One of the harsh realities of business is that everyone is a critic. However, the smartest business minds are able to capitalize on that criticism to improve their products and services. Social media provides the unique opportunity to learn what your customers think of what it is you offer as well as what they would like to see from your company in the future.

Feedback from your social media followers can be especially invaluable in the case of unveiling a new product or service. Another plus of this is that customers will take notice if you improve the quality of your products based on their complaints and give them more of what they love based upon the positive experiences they post on your social media page. This could increase brand loyalty as your customers begin to feel like they are a part of your growth and success. Of all social media content ideas, this one is the most interactive.

5. Inspirational Quotes

Everyone likes to be inspired. A simple good morning post with a motivational quote is a way to show your customers that your company is run by people who care about collective happiness. Public figures and businesses get tons of likes on a daily basis because of positive one-liners, quotes, and excerpts that they post. Utilize inspirational posts to increase your social media presence and generate positive feelings about your company.

6. Let Your Employees Shine

One of the greatest advantages of social media for a business is that it allows companies to connect with their customers on a deeper level. Social media is a great way to let your employees shine and show your customers the human side of your company. Simply wishing your employees happy birthday, recognizing exceptional work, and honoring employees’ anniversaries with the company can boost company morale; few things motivate like public recognition. This also gives customers a chance to see that they are being served by quality people when they choose your company.

7. Videos

Videos are a great way to engage an audience of potential customers. Studies show that there is greater information retention with videos than text. A how-to video that is related to your industry or uses a product that you sell provides an opportunity to show your company’s expertise without being too promotional. You could even use your social media profile to shoot and run a short and simple video marketing commercial.

8. Product Reviews

Consumers love having the ability to compare and contrast products before buying them. It gives the sense that they are armed with the information to make the best product choice for their situation. One of the benefits of social media for business is that with so much opinion based content, it is the perfect platform for comparing and contrasting goods and services. When comparing your product to that of a competitor, be fair in your analysis; customers will admire you for your objectivity. Point out how your product may be better for one consumer and your competitor’s for another consumer. For example, you may sell a piece of machinery that is better suited for the casual do-it-yourselfer while your competition may sell an incarnation of the same product that is more suitable for industrial purposes. Pointing this out will help and not diminish the trust that consumers have in your brand.

9. Throwback Posts

You know the saying about reinventing the wheel, right? That same logic can be applied to social media posts. Obviously it is important to put fresh content on your social media account, but don’t be afraid to dig into your archives and re-publish a post that got a large response the first time you posted it. Facebook does an excellent job of reminding you about that epic post from three years ago today that went viral or semi-viral. You should consistently and strategically throw in posts from the past along with your fresh content to give people a visual of how far your company has come over the years.

10. #RespectTheHashtag

As proof of the prominent role that social media has played in shaping today’s culture, that miniature tic tac toe board in the heading of this section is today more commonly known as a hashtag than a pound sign. The hashtag can be a powerful tool to increase the online visibility of your company. A creative hashtag is fun and is an awesome way to get others talking about your company and the goods or services that you provide. Remember, it is far from over kill to throw in a hashtag on every post, #RespectTheHashtag.

11. Community Service Posts

Does your company partner with charitable organizations, sponsor a little league baseball team, or engage in any community projects? Show those who follow you on social media that you are socially responsible. This is a chance to let the world see that your business is about more than just its bottom line; customers will embrace your brand if they feel like you are an active and productive participant in the community. Everyone loves a company that gives back to the community that it thrives in. The old cliché goes that all publicity is good publicity; nothing could be further from the truth, but one of the uses of social media is that you can somewhat control the publicity that your company gets.

12. Police Your Social Media Presence

It is important to handle your company’s image on social media with kid gloves. With all that can go right with a well thought out social media campaign, it can go equally as bad if you haphazardly post to your company’s social media account. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter make it easy to assign specific privileges to specific members of your social media team. Utilize these platforms and the tools that they offer to keep a tab on who is doing what with your company’s social media account. Accountability measures tend to cut down on erratic behavior.

13. Be Watchful

A disgruntled customer could wreak havoc on your company’s reputation on social media. The worst part is that their rant doesn’t even have to be true, it just has to be attention grabbing. This reality underlines the importance of keeping a close eye on what people are saying about your business on social media. When you see mentions of negative customer experiences associated with your company, address them immediately and rectify the issue with the customer as gracefully as possible. Furthermore, closely monitor negative posts to make sure that they are coming from real customers and not malware or some other cyber attack. One of the most important social media goals for business owners is to protect the reputation of the brand.

14. Polls

Polls are a great way to engage your customer base as polls are at heart all about enlisting the opinions of others. According to Easel.ly, polls are a fun way to give people a say in the direction of your company or a specific product. Moreover, polls give you an idea of what your customers expect from your company.

15. Make ’em Laugh

Humor is another way to engage social media followers. A funny post that is relevant to your company could generate conversation around your business as well as give your followers a reason to lol.

16. Customer Content

Word of mouth is still the best way to spread the word about your business. Word of mouth has certainly found its electronic equivalent in social media. You can take advantage of this development by sharing posts from your customers about your products. Encourage satisfied customers to write testimonials and post them to your company’s social media page.

17. Cross Promote

Promoting someone else’s business may be one of the more social media content ideas, but promoting someone else’s business on your social media account is a unique way to earn the trust of those who follow you on social media. It shows consumers that you care about more than your own bottom line when you advertise a good or service that your company does not provide, and it is likely that the business that you promote will in turn do the same for you and your company.

18. Get Help

Even with all that you can do on social media with little or no help, it would still be wise to invest in some form of social media monitoring software. Sifter, Sociamonials, and Marketing 360 are just a few of the social media marketing software packages that enable you to monitor the traffic that your social media account gets as well as safeguard against malicious content being linked to your company’s social media account.

Wrapping It Up

There is no doubt that social media can drive your business through leaps and bounds. As you segment your audience properly, your campaigns will surely reach your target customers. Commit on posting contents that would allow you to engage with your audience. After all, content is king, so you should brainstorm what to pitch within your social media accounts that will allow people to talk about your brand.

Content posts like creating polls and asking customers for feedback will allow you to fully engage with your audience. Announcing rewards and free stuff, from time to time, will drive potential customers into your social media page and if you take good care of them you’ll end up having people flocking right into your doorstep. It’s easier said than done, right!? I know! That is why you should bear in mind that major social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have business pages and analytics wherein you can utilize to better segment potential customers from keyboard warriors. You can also use their tools to make your content posts visible and reach your target audience.

Take note, the internet is evolving fast and so should you. You and your brand should adapt to these rapid changes to stay on top of your game.

Tell us what you feel or like most about these social media content ideas in the comments section below.