It can be daunting to try to come up with new content that's engaging, informative or fun on a daily basis, but there are many different topics you can post about, and we're going to take a look at a number of examples to give you some inspiration for your future posts. Share content from your website, like a blog post, an article, or a podcast. It's useful information your audience would be interested in. So share it, write a summary and include the link or instead of a summary, take a quote from the post you're linking to. Here's an example from the Harvard Business Review. They published an article focused on applying for jobs in which they highlight that you don't need to meet all the qualifications asked for, before you apply for a job. They posted this highlight on LinkedIn. Great advice by the way. Here's another example from Microsoft Teams. They wrote a blog post on how you can use background effects in online team meetings, and they tweeted about it in this post. Create a behind the scenes post of your workplace so your audience can get a peek behind the curtain, give a tour of your stock room or your kitchen, for instance. Or show behind the scenes of how you're putting together an upcoming event. Or show a day in a life of an employee, so that your audience can get a feel for the other side of your business. Feeling adventurous? Do your behind the scenes video on live. SpaceX, for instance, will often give you a glimpse behind the scenes on their Instagram account. Here's an example from City Winery Boston on Facebook about what is going on during harvest time. Speaking of employees, show them in your post at work, have them showcase a product or service to your audience or have one of them do social media takeover for the day. Again, it's a way to humanize your business and build trust between your team and your audience. Here's an Instagram post from Casper, the mattress company in which they feature Caroline, one of their employees. Or here's another post from Porter Square Books featuring their employees. Use social media to promote upcoming events you may be hosting. In fact, create your event on Facebook as many businesses are using Facebook events like an events calendar. Whether they're very active on Facebook or not, build excitement by dripping out posts about your event across your social media channels, like interviews with participants, link to articles or information about participants or a giveaway or promo if there are tickets involved. Here is an example of an event page on Facebook for a book signing. Here's a post on Instagram announcing a live ask-me-anything with Brian Armstrong that will take place on YouTube. Create pieces of content around upcoming holidays or special events like the Super Bowl or Election day. Be sure to keep up on special days in your industry like National Ice Cream Day or Independent Bookstore Day. Take a note of these days and add them to your content calendar to make sure you don't miss out. Here are two examples, an Instagram posts from Target around the winter holidays or Sesame Street's tweet for Bert's birthday. If you have a product or service you offer, make a tutorial video showing how it's used or how it works. Like using an app to order a rideshare, making a food box recipe or showing what workouts are like at the new gym. You never know who's been reluctant to use your product because they just didn't know how it worked. Let's look at these examples. Uber posted this tutorial on Facebook on how you can request a ride for a guest, and here's a post from HelloFresh, where they explain how you can prepare one of the recipes in their mealbox. Here's a tutorial on TikTok showing how to use TikTok. Ask your audience a question to get them engaged, prompt them to reply in the comments, take a poll or do some trivia. This builds audience interaction and can start some fun conversation, but make sure that you're around to respond to the comments. You can also go live and do an AMA or ask-me-anything and your audience can post their thoughts in real-time. Here's a tweet from the NHL in which they asked users to put in their guesses for an upcoming game. Or, this Instagram example from In-N-Out, the fast food burger restaurant in which they ask users to find menu items, or this question from Runner's World Magazine asking people simply why they run. Hold a giveaway or contest through your social media channels. Encourage your audience not just to submit their entry, but to submit some original content, like a photo with your product that you might be able to use for future promotions. Create a hashtag around to contest, or create a promo code just for a specific channels audience. Here's an example from JetBlue on Instagram where you could win unlimited flights. Or this example on YouTube from GoPro, who gives away cash prizes for the best raw GoPro shot. Create content around a popular hashtag like Throwback Thursday or Motivational Monday, which are hashtags and content people look for and expect. Having a Throwback Thursday post can also provide your audience a fun look into the past of your business or your organization. Want to really show some personality behind your brand and have some fun? Participate in a hashtag challenge on TikTok, for example, or create your own. Here's an example of Lush, the soap company participating in the hashtag challenge, Don't be suspicious on TikTok, and this is a post from the MBTA the public transportation in Massachusetts. They posted an old photograph of the Boston station on their Instagram account for Throwback Thursday or #TBT. Does your business have a report or whitepaper with industry information that maybe interesting to your audience? Share it. Post some charts or infographics to catch their attention. Share quotes from the report or encourage people to check it out with a, "did you know?" question. Here's an example from Consumer Reports. They tweeted about a coffee maker study they did. This is an example on Instagram from Column Five, a creative agency about an employer branding study they conducted. Keeping up on social media is just as important as posting to social media. Be aware of any trends in the social media space, which could be as small as a popular hashtag or as big as responding to a major societal event. Join the conversation with questions, educational materials, or affirmations. Providing resources and comments on industry can also position you as a leader in the space. As we are recording this video, elections are coming up in the US. Here's an Instagram post from Ben & Jerry's encouraging people to vote. This is a Starbucks post related to the Black Lives Matter movement and protests. One way to catch your audience's eye as you're scrolling, is to pose some inspirational quotes for your audience. You can do it simply through text or use an app like Canva, for instance, to create a text image which will stand out even more on image-heavy platforms. Here's an example from Grubwriters and one from SoulCycle. Note that both of these posts are from Instagram, typically an image rich platform, but by creating a text-based image, you can stand out. Showcase your customers, feature a customer of the week or month and share their story with your audience. Or have a customer give a testimonial about your product or service that you can share as well. Here's an example from Southwest Airlines, a post featuring two of their younger customers. Here's an example from the Gap, an Instagram post featuring a picture of a customer in one of their dresses. Because of the organic nature of social media, businesses are finding success in promoting their products or services by partnering with an influencer, create some sponsored content with them or have them do a social media takeover of your accounts for the day so their audience can get exposed to your business. Here's an example from Instagram where a food influencer, Chicago Food Authority, plugs a sandwich from Butterfly Kitchen. Note, the hashtag "sponsored" at the bottom of the post indicating that Butterfly Kitchen paid the influencer for this post. Here's an example of a takeover by influencer Hannah Bronfman of the Sephora Snapchat account, in which Hannah is marketing clinic make-up products. If you're releasing a new product, tell the world through your social media channels. Be sure to showcase it with storytelling. Tell your audience about the problem you were looking to solve and how this new product solved that problem. Here's an example from Skullcandy introducing new wireless headphones, or this example from Volkswagen, introducing a concept for a new electric car. Use some humor and levity in your posts to engage your audience and get them smiling. Employ some witty banter with other businesses as well to show that your brand knows how to have a little fun and take a joke. Here's a post of Princess Anne showing the Queen of England how to use Zoom shared on Facebook by The Independent, and here's an example from Dunkin' Donuts, having a little bit of fun with people like me who stick to their hot coffee, even in hot weather. Throw in some pop culture to your social media posts. It may seem odd to post about the new album, TV show, or video game when your business doesn't relate to any of those. But it shows that you as a brand are up-to-date on the things that your audience is interested in. Plus, it gives you some human credibility. Here's an example of a Facebook post from GrubHub with reference to a popular Netflix show, Orange Is the New Black, and here's a Facebook post from Purple, the mattress company, referencing the popular TV show, The Office. Share curated content like articles, blog posts, and other valuable content that other businesses, organizations, and thought leaders in your industry have shared. This not only shows you're paying attention to your industry, but by being a source of information, it positions you as an authority, can also expand your audience and you can build relationships with the businesses whose content you shared. Here's an example, a tweet from Raven Book Store referencing an article from audio books company, libro.fm, about Audible from Amazon. Another example on LinkedIn a post from OpenX, an advertising technology company referencing research from the IAB. Similarly, be sure to share customer generated content as well. It not only shows that you're paying attention to your audience, but resharing can show everyday use of your product or service. It also tells the story of your brand through your customers or users, not just from you alone. Hamilton, the musical, shared this tweet from a fan or this post from Tasty Burger, where they reposted a picture taken by a customer. Who's to say that you can't share older content you may have on your site. Point people back to still relevant content to repurpose it, or take older content and chunk it up into new Top 10 list posts or other tips, tricks, and tidbits that you can use. Have an archive, dig some interesting content out for your audience. Like in this example from WGBH, point your audience to a favorite cause or charity your business cares about. Post their story or partner with them to create some original content. It not only shows that your business likes to give back, but it also creates a new audience for the cause or charity. In this example, Wendy's tweeted about their initiative to support the black college community. Thank your audience when you hit a followers milestone or after a campaign. A little gratitude goes along, especially in showing your audience that your brand is made up of people who are grateful for the audience. Throw in an impromptu promo code as a thank you gift. Here's an example from Zinneken's Waffles, thanking the colleges that hosted their food truck. Finally, just sell something. Post a product or service you offer with a link to purchase it. Social media platforms are beginning to add purchase buttons to their posts so that followers can be taken directly to a purchase page to buy. Of course, you shouldn't sell in every post, but it's perfectly fine to do so on a regular basis in combination with other posts that are more focused on engaging your audience. Here's an example from Lovepop showing some of their popup cards, and another example from Boston General Story showcasing their Mother's Day bookcase. As you can see, there are a lot of different kinds of creative pieces of content you can post, and there's much more that your business could come up with as well. The important thing is to remember to try different topics, and sticking to one type of post will get old quickly.
