As an inbound marketing agency, we spend multiple hours each week monitoring, scheduling and reporting on social media accounts on behalf of ourselves and our clients. The truth is, between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the many other platforms available today, we could spend all day playing around on social media in an attempt to create some steady form of conversion paths for prospects.
However, the results don't just show up overnight. In fact, according to Social Media Examiner’s 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, only 34% of marketers (slightly more than one in three) think that their efforts are effective.
Don’t get caught in the habit of posting just to cross something off of your todo list.
It’s easy, especially on HubSpot, to rely on your blog posts as your main source of postings on social media. But try not to fall into that trend.
Let’s spin up some new social media content ideas so you can get some great engagement without hitting your audience over the head with a shovel.
1. Employee Bio
Your business is run by humans, right? Ours is (most of the time) and we want our audience to know who we are and how we add to the companies success.
Try posting one employee’s bio each week and show the human side of things.
2. Post A Slideshare
We love slideshare! A well thought out SlideShares demands attentions. Check out our pride and joy: Click here to see our stellar SlideShare (119,183 views and counting!).
3. Link to a controversial blog post
We’re not telling you to intentionally start a fight, but let’s face it, users like to chime in when it’s from behind the safety of a keyboard (see also: YouTube comment section).
4. Share Random Tips
Sometimes readers are just too busy to click on your link and read your entire post, I’m sure everyone has been there. So why not share a industry tip. Short, cute, digestible. Bonus: add a random number to your tip to make your audience more intrigued.
5. Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Who doesn’t love a behind the scenes photo. Take a candid selfie to tell people who you are and show that you are a real person. A simple picture of your office will get more engagement due to the heavy usage of stock imagery floating around the internet.
6. Quotes
Inspiring, creative, humorous or motivational, quotes always perform well on social media and receive 847% more retweets than questions according to QuickSprout.
7. True or False
You know the answer, but does your audience? Let them guess. Who knows, you may come across a prospect who may need some assistance in your area of expertise.
8. Post an image that has nothing to do with your products or services
You want me to do what? Yep, by posting a photo that isn’t depicting your product or service gives you the opportunity to convey the feeling behind your brand.
9. Statistics or data
If you’re looking for shares and retweets, you’d be well served to focus on sharing current and relevant industry statistics. Today’s social media community loves numbers. Give the people what they want!
10. Answer FAQs
Does you business get the same questions via email and social media day after day? You’re not alone, and if we’re being honest (we are), no one really has the time of day to answer these questions one at a time. Answer an FAQ once a week on Facebook and you’ll create some constructive chatter and that will save you time.
11. Create a Caption
It was always so much fun coming up with captions as a kid. What if you could bring your audience back to that time? You can, post a whacky photo of a co-worker and ask your audience to create a caption (in good taste).
Don’t let your Social Media Strategy suffer because you’d rather do what is safe, or easy. Try something new and track the results. What social media strategies do you use to boost engagement?
