How To Create Engaging Content For Social Media [With Examples]

Social media is big. So big that over half(4.48 billion or 58.4%) of the world's population is on social media. And you know what this means, right?

Your content has a potentially huge audience and your brand a wide pool of potential customers. That’s why every guide on content marketing will tell you to include social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest, and similar platforms.

And since you’ve read enough of those already, let's get into what very few tell you; how to create engaging social media content.  

See, it's not just enough to copy some words promoting your business, paste, and hit the post button on a social media platform. Social media is a very competitive place. To grab your audience’s attention, you need to rise above posts from your competitors, their friends, and hardest of all, photos of their crushes. How do you beat that? It's certainly not easy, but here is how we do it.

Plan

You didn’t think we’d get to posting right away, did you? Well, we didn’t; and neither should you. This is because before you do anything else, you need to create a social media presence and plan.

Identify your audience

But no matter how big your brand is, you’ll never be able to target that entire user base. In fact, trying to do so is essentially killing your social media marketing efforts.  

So, every campaign should start with identifying your target audience. It also goes without saying that for content to be engaging and meaningful, it has to be aimed at the right audience. For example, what people into tech find interesting isn’t what those into fashion find interesting and vice versa.

Identify the social platforms

Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms are quite different in their form and manner.  

So, what works on one may not work on another- at least not in its exact format. The audiences’ tastes also vary by platform. For instance, the Twitter mob is always on the lookout for something informative, like a quick, cool fact or a thread with an interesting conversation. On Instagram, they generally enjoy photos, Facebook is a bit of both, while Linkedin will have you wearing your professional pants.

The posts

Now that you know your audience and where to get them, let's get to crafting the posts.

Keep it short Unless you’re posting on Linkedin, it's always best to keep your posts short and sweet.  

This is because most of your audience is scrolling Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter leisurely. And long posts don’t exactly scream leisure, especially if they are business-related. If you’re posting a success story, then fine; you can stretch the word count slightly. But if it's something else (unless you’re a gossip channel), keep your posts as short as possible.  

Images tell the story better.

The last thing you want is your timeline to look something like a Reddit forum. Not that I have anything against Reddit, but the scant presence of images on the platform can make forums look boring and uninspiring.  

And looking like that is the last thing you want when trying to appeal to the social media crowd. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and (especially) Instagram need you to post photos.

Even your long posts on Linkedin can also use a picture or two.  

This is because images act like the visual cue that draws people to your post. They help your post rise above the noise and distractions caused by other posts. It works even better if you post an image that reflects your brand and speaks to your audience. But how do you get such images?

Start by taking images yourself, i.e., get your own photos taken.  

This is because while stock photos look somewhat impressive and high-quality, they don’t engage as much as real photos on social media.  

For instance, take this situation; you run a small, charming restaurant in a quiet corner of town. What do you think will bring your social media audience closer to your brand:

• Stock photos of servings and chefs’ cooking in world-class kitchens or,
• Photos of your culinary creations and those of the inside of your restaurant.
  

Definitely the latter. In fact, research shows that social media users who see real photos are 35% more likely to turn into useful leads than those who see stock photos-even top-performing ones.

So:

Hire a professional photographer to take photos that best represent your brand If that's not possible, you can always use a smartphone.  

However, make sure that the pictures are clear, preferably from a high-specs device.

On blending images with text

You want the photos you post to match the text around them. They should complement each other, i.e., the text briefly introduces whatever concept you are communicating, and the photo drives it home. That way, your post won’t look confusing and misleading to readers.

Use graphics

Things like posters, charts, infographics, and graphs combine the best of both images and text to create a powerful social media tool.  

This has been proven by research multiple times. One such study found that, on average, people remember information presented in visual form 65% longer than that shown in the text. So, if you have a blog post with some facts and numbers, the most engaging format to share it is an infographic. Even quotes are most memorable when delivered as a poster on social media.  

However, you can’t sum everything up in a graphic. So, make sure that your posters, charts, graphs, and infographics showcase the main points to make them worth sharing.  

You should also use high-quality resources. If you are familiar with graphics design, the tools like Canva and Pikochart should give you quality graphics. But if you’re not or don’t have the time, there are hundreds of talented graphic designers waiting to sell you their services of Legiit. You should check them out and hire one that best suits your needs and budget.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are an essential part of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms.  

They help put your brand in front of a much wider audience, including those not following you. However, you need to use your hashtags wisely to keep you within the right crowd.  

Let's take September and October, for instance. These months are synonymous with tech and new smartphone releases in the mainstream. So hashtags like #Apple, # Samsung, #OnePlus, etc., get pushed around a lot. If your brand sells phone accessories, it makes a lot of sense to use these hashtags in your posts.  

They will put you in front of the right audience and drive your engagements. But if you’re in any business not remotely related to tech, using the hashtags exposes your posts to people least interested in your product or service. This, in turn, ensures that you get minimal and sometimes zero engagements. It's also important to note that hashtags on Facebook aren’t as effective as those on Twitter and Instagram.

Host contests  

It’s always good to introduce some fun when running a social media campaign. One of the best ways to do this is by running social media contests- a tested and proven way to grow your audience and increase engagements with your brands. The most common ways to host contests are:

• Ask your audience to generate content according to a theme. This can be in text form (joke, pun, caption, etc.), a picture, or a video. The best one wins.  
•  You can also tell them to tag their friends. The more friends one tags, the more entries they get, and the higher their chances of winning.  
•  Follow, like, comment, and share to enter the contest. This is the most common way to host social media contests and the best one to grow your engagements. You can also host contests on the platform, i.e., your website, and share the links on social media.
  

For instance, Facebook requires you to acknowledge that the platform does not sponsor the contest you’re running. You should also not ask users to tag photos they don’t appear in, and you are fully responsible for the official rules, eligibility rules, and regulations regarding prizes.  

On the other hand, Twitter prevents you from posting other users' private information, requires you to stay away from spam, and not to ask participants to post the same tweet multiple times. Furthermore, your content shouldn’t include adult or violent content, abuse, hateful comments, or any other content that jeopardizes users' safety.

Use puzzles, riddles, and quizzes

Using puzzles, riddles, and quizzes is another way to sprinkle some fun into your campaigns. Most people enjoy solving puzzles and riddles and will often share if they cannot find a solution. So, if your quizzes are challenging enough, you are in for a ton of engagements. You can even combine your puzzles with contests and giveaways to raise the stakes.

Share customer reviews and testimonials

Did you know that 97% of buyers scour online review sites before making a purchase?  

And if it's a brand they are not familiar with, the average buyer would have read seven reviews before finally deciding to buy. This is why if you’re trying to leverage on social media, you need to post customer reviews and testimonials. Positive reviews are one of the most powerful lead magnet tools at your disposal.

People generally like reading success stories, will easily be convinced by one, and even go out of their way to share with friends and family.  

So, why not give them one from your customers? Another reason why reviews are important lies in the very nature of social media itself.  

Of the billions of people on there, many are consumers, some are entrepreneurs, and others are scammers.  

Social proof through reviews is one-way consumers tell who is real and who is not. And if you can come across as authentic, you’re in for a lot of engagements. But how do you make these reviews social media-worthy?  

Well, some of them are probably already on your website. Yours is to pick the best testimonials and post them alongside catchy captions. On the other hand, you can ask your happy customers to record a short video explaining their experience with your brand. This is an even more engaging form of testimonials and reviews, and your audience will interact with such more once you post on social media.

Use stories

Did you know that 62% of consumers admitted to discovering new brands through Facebook and Instagram stories?

Stories are a fun way to interact with your audience on social media. And with over 500 million people using Stories every day, you are bound to get a lot of engagements if you’re consistent enough.

Add social media buttons to your email newsletters

Email and social media are powerful marketing tools on their own. And when you combine these two, you get an even more powerful and effective method to engage with your audience.  

One way you can do this is by adding social media buttons to your email newsletters: something like ‘To know what we are up to, follow us on (proceed to add the respective platform’s icons),’ should work well enough.

In conclusion

Gaining engagements on social media can be daunting. But when done correctly through relevant and engaging social media content, it sure is rewarding.  

By following the tips outlined above, you‘ll be able to create enticing content that will keep your audience coming back for more. However, you have to be patient. Unless you are a whistleblower of some sort, the results of your social media strategy will take some time to become evident.