40 Ideas For Engaging Social Media Content You Should Be Posting

Behind the Scenes:

People want to know the real you. The people behind the brand. Keep in mind that social media is about building a community, share photos from events, lunches, meetings and just plain funnery around the office.

Fill in the blanks:

one of my favorite social media posts, because you get to see the different types of creative responses. Example: “What I love most about my job is ___________.”

Curated content from relevant industry websites.

Some of my go-to sources are Inc.com, Fastcompany.com, designtaxi.com, buzzfeed.com and Forbes.com. Make sure to comment why you found the content compelling enough to share, and maybe even ask for your followers’ take on the piece.

Bloggers:

For pretty much every industry, there is a blogger that is posting timely content just yearning for you to share it. Pull from their blogs and add your own spin on the piece – just make sure that you link back to the original source.

Questions:

 People love to give their point of view, so ask their opinion! Remember to be human and relatable, because not every question needs to relate directly back to your brand.

Humor:

Everyone likes a good laugh, and it speaks to the personality of the company when they can let loose once in awhile. Share a fun meme, gifs or some e-card!

Photo Albums:

Take photos at seminars, networking events and company parties. Just make sure no one is dancing on tables.

Stats:

Some may find them snoozy, but they’re a fast-and-easy way to look smart.

Polls:

Need some feedback on a product or service? Great. Put together a poll on Facebook or go a step further and create a survey on surveymonkey.com.

Social media Websites:

Pull content from the social media bible: Mashable. They have great tips on how to maximize your social media efforts and post timely articles.

Pinterest:

Pinterest is a stellar library of quotes, inspiring images and beautiful imagery to complement your posts.

Giveaways:

A great way to generate excitement and enhance brand awareness is to offer a giveaway. It’s also a great way to say “thank you” to your fans and brand advocates.

Contests:

There is a tremendous amount of talent that can be curated by brands if done correctly. Encourage fans to showcase their talent and compete for a prize – celebritizing your audience is a golden ticket for spreading your content like wildfire.

Audience curated photos and submissions:

Ask your audience to submit a photo of them with your product, of check-in to your establishment – this creates a relatable online experience surrounding your brand.

Tips & Tricks:

We know you’ve got them up your sleeve. Share the love!

Chats:

Get the dialogue going by hosting a Facebook chat, Twitter chat or Google+ hangout.

Shout-outs for good reviews:

Yelp reviews, Facebook comments, Twitter mentions are all a great repository for social proof, so reward promoters by posting their quotations on your pages.

Inspiring quotes:

Whether you ultimately pull a cool pic from Pinterest, or just type out some plain text, we all appreciate being inspired now and then!

Staff features:

Let people get to know the people behind your company, and feature them! But don’t be stuffy, really let them get to know the unique personalities inside your company and how they contribute to your culture.

What’s on your desk?

Take a minute to give everyone a peek inside of what you always have in your handbag, or what you can’t go a day without having. Take a quick pic of your desk, and voila!

How-to’s and tutorials:

Utilize your internal resources and awesomeness, and put together a tutorial about some aspect of your business. It doesn’t have to be long and boring; even a quick 60 second video will do!

A Round-Up:

Put together the ultimate list of can’t-miss items over the past week from your industry’s best resources.

Interviews:

Pick an A-lister inside or outside of your company and do an interview. Think about topics your audience will find important and valuable.

Trivia:

Oh come on, you’ve seen Wheel of Fortune, you know what to do.

Image of the day:

Found an inspiring place to travel? An incredible wonder of the world? Cute kitty pic? Get creative!

Videos:

Post something from Vine, Youtube or Vimeo. Alternatively, do something original and easy like an office tour or commentary from your CEO.

Playlist:

We all love a good playlist, especially when we’re at work – ask for what’s on other people’s playlist and put together a custom Spotify playlist based upon your fans’ suggestions!

Infographics:

Infographics are excellent for easy-to-comprehend, data visualizations. Bonus points if you make your own.

Slideshare Presentations:

They’re on the rise, people. And what’s glorious about them is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, because there are Slideshare presentations on, like, everything.

Application suggestions and reviews.

If I were on a deserted island and only had two apps to take with me, it would be Flipboard & Optimistic Weather. They are the bomb dot com.

The pop culture tie-in:

How is your product like Justin Bieber? Come on, we know you want to tell us all about it.

Successful oldies:

Have an old post that did well? Repost it, and the chances are the article or post will do well again.

Case Studies:

Brag a little, show off your best work, prove your value, and entice readers with a visual case study of some of your best work.

Illustrations:

Whether it’s a comic strip, visualization of content, a recipe, fashion sketch or instructional pathway, illustrations are great for adding visual punch.

eBooks:

eBooks are a great way to capture contact information and generating new leads by offering free, cutting-edge research and information.

Calendar subscriptions:

Simply post a link and encourage viewers to subscribe to your events, and keep up to date on the happenings surrounding your brand.

Meme-jacking:

Humor is tough, but it’s much easier to hit the right notes if you overlay famous images with your own branded message.

Evergreen content:

No, I’m not talking about Fir Trees, evergreen content refers to the posts that will always be relevant and helpful to your audience, compared with topics that change over time. Don’t be afraid to repurpose the good stuff.

This or That?

Mac or PC? Blogger or WordPress? iPhone or Driod? People are passionate about products and services they love, so spark a conversation!

Customer Service:

Social media is an extension of your customer service and can be a vital tool for responding to questions, complaints, and shaping the direction of the conversations going on about your brand. People are going to talk about your brand whether you’re monitoring it or not, and chances are your competitors are listening and swaying the conversation in their favor if you’re not listening.

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