Blog - What Content Should I Post on Social Media?

Photo by Steve Gale on Unsplash

Key Takeaways

• Genuine content speaks to your followers specific interest, not yours.

• Engagement is the goal, not sales.

• Social Media offers long-term community relationships built on sincerity, not call-to-actions.

Several times a week, I’m approached with this question: “I know social media is important for my business but I don’t know what to post. How do I know what to make?”

Answer: What your followers want to see.

How do you know what that is? Here’s how to find out.

Be Interesting and Pay Attention

Your followers have started their engagement with your brand by following you. Listen to what they are interested in by following a few easy steps:

1. Narrow down your followers' general interests to specific topics.
   
   What exactly do they want to know about your brand or profession? If you’re a tax attorney, do they want to know about how to save money next year? If you’re a plumber, do they want to know how to fix a running toilet on their own? If you’re a writer, do they want to know about your most recent work?
   

2. Discover these specific interests by leveraging your social media platforms analytics tools and by monitoring the engagement metrics of your posts.
   
   What does that mean? Pay attention. Check out your posts with the most comments, DM’s that ask about specific topics, videos that get the longest view time; all of these things are clues to what your followers care about. Pay attention.
   

3. Create content in your followers preferred format.
   
   Some platforms are video driven (TikTok/IG), some are blog driven (LinkedIn), while some are predominantly photo driven (Pinterest). Depending on the platform, you may have a greater engagement rate with video, other platforms may be reader-centric which would require blogging content, while other platforms may be down for both, a video talking about the content in the linked blog.
   

4. Be consistent with your communication, content, and reciprocation.
   
   Someone comments, reply to them. Someone DM’s you, respond to them. Someone shares your content, thank them and offer more. Engagement is the goal with all content. Once you get that, act on it, and keep it going. It means someone took the time out of their lives to tell you they like the work you’ve done, so reciprocate in kind and reward their decision with more meaningful content.

Don’t Sell Me

Your content is only effective based on the engagement with your community. If you make ads, as in templates from Canva that have discount promo codes about your services, your community is going to bail. Social media platforms are inundated with ads, the last thing any follower wants to see is another ad. 

So scrap the pitch videos and replace them with honest, sincere content that speaks to human beings, not leads.

Build value in speaking to your expertise, educating your followers, and engaging with them as a person, not a business. This approach will remove your call-to-actions and replace them with sincere stories about why you chose to do what you do for a living. 

“I became a chiropractor to alleviate chronic pain in the world” means more than “Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, hit follow, go to my website, and use my promo code to save 10% off your first appointment!” 

This sincerity requires vulnerability on your part. That’s the currency in which human connection deals, so get used to it. Don’t be afraid to open up a bit, be honest, and your followers will meet you along the journey.

You’re in a Long Term Relationship

Social media has become a means to establish long-lasting relationships with your followers and brand. Gone are the fast click-and-quit encounters of the early 2000’s. These days, followers on most platforms (Tinder excluded) are more interested in connecting with brands that bring genuine value to their lives by educating and informing them on how to have a better life.

The next time you’re wondering what content to make, answer this question: How can you make your followers’ lives better once they set the phone down? 

That’s what content you should make.