What to Post on Social Media

Determining what to post will, of course, vary depending on your type of business. Whether your business is service-oriented, product-centric, or a combination thereof, posting to your business page(s) on social media will still follow some basic points to be engaging.

Your social media business page(s) will generate sales, but you should use social media to only try to sale. You can advertise on social media, but your business page should not be used to only advertise, as your followers will stop following you if this is all that you give them. What I mean by this is that using your social media business page is a brand-building exercise to show your uniqueness, expertise, experience, and your “why me” instead of my competitor. When someone wants to purchase a product or service, they can and often do search for what they need at the time they need it. By building your brand, you are planting in their mind that you are the one they are looking for when that want or need comes up.

Your followers are there because they know you, have purchased from you, or enjoy what you have to say. Remember to be customer-centric with your posts on your social media. It is not a captive audience that you are speaking to. It is very easy for your audience to ignore your posts, so your posts must grab your audience’s attention.

Now that I scared you about ‘what NOT to post’, let’s look at what to post and show you that it does not have to be scary to find good content to post.

Finding content to post is not too difficult as there is a lot of content already out there that relates to your product(s), service(s), and even your target audience. RSS feeds and Hashtag (#) searches can help you to find relevant and interesting content to share. However, do not fall into the trap of posting only content from other sources. While it can be valuable, it should not be the only content you provide. Make sure that your posts include some personality of your business, as this will highlight why you are different from your competitors and worth following.

Ok, so what should you post on your social media page(s)?

• Curate good content form other sources. If you do share content from another source, then tell your audience why you are sharing it or why you found it of interest.
• Use visuals: Pictures, charts, infographics, and videos. It is a fact that a strong visual will grab the attention of someone scrolling his or her feed.
• Use a variety of content: Informative, Promotional, Inspirational, and Humorous (mix it up so that the audience does not know what is coming next).
• Be brief and to the point. If you have a lot to say, then say it somewhere else, like a blog. Then link to that content and add a brief note to tell them why they should click on the link to read more.
• Limit the use of abbreviations and aim for concise ideas instead.
• Use Hashtags, but use them when they add value. There is nothing more irritating to a reader than to see  a lot of Hashtags with no relation to the brand or content.
• Ask probing questions to get your audience engaged with the post.
• Be customer-centric. Ask “What’s in it for me” from the perspective of your audience. You need to post what they want to read, not always what you want them to read.
• Most important of all is in posting content to a business page is to “Just Do IT.” The longer you wait to get started, the more time you give your competition to take the branding lead.

Always monitor your business pages for two reasons. First and foremost is to respond to your audience if they comment or share. They want to know that you’re listening and that you are engaged with them as well. Second, is to see what works best. Learn which posts have the most engagement; likes, shares, and comments, then you will have a better idea of what your audience wants from you. Comments and shares are more valuable than likes.

Remember, if you are sending posts on multiple social media channels, the audiences may react differently to any given posts on the different social media channels. For example, what works great on Facebook may not work the same on LinkedIn or Instagram. Listen to your audience and they will guide you to more engaging posts.