The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Content Creation
Social media is everywhere. It’s there when you wake up in the morning and automatically reach for your phone. It’s there when you’re sitting on the bus on your commute to work and feeling bored. It’s there when you want to check on that one kid from high school who you haven’t spoken to since graduation. And love it or hate it, it is here to stay.
But if social media is a constant in your life, you can bet that it is a constant in the life of the people around you. More specifically, it is a way to reach potential customers who have never even heard of your brand before.
But while almost everyone is on social media these days, the learning curve when it comes to creating content can feel steep. After all, in a noisy online world, how do you make your business stand out?
Today, we’ll be walking you through the fundamentals of social media content creation, including:
- How to create specific content goals
- Advice on choosing the social media platforms that are right for you
- Why video content is important
Why You Need to Create Social Media Content
Look. We get it. You run a highly successful business already. What does social media content creation really offer you?
The answer: lots! Here are some of our top reasons to start creating social media content:
- Beat the Competition – Here’s a hard truth for you: your competitors? They are already on social media. And every day that goes by when you don’t join them, they are stealing potential customers away from you!
- Spread Information – Gone are the days when you could send out an occasional email newsletter and expect that your customers would receive the latest updates on your products and services. These days, more and more people are turning to social media for their news. This is the best way to keep customers up-to-date!
- Boost Engagement – Struggling to get people to your website? Advertising your products and services on social media is a surefire way to get people interested and clicking on your website to learn more!
- Clarify Brand Voice – A social media presence is a great way for your customers to get to know you. You can show off the team behind your work, do product demonstrations, or help others understand your brand values.
Which Social Media Platform Is Right for You?
With so many social media platforms, and can be hard to choose where to put your time and attention. If you are new to social media marketing, we recommend choosing one platform at a time to get started with. But where to start, exactly? That’s up to you!
Instagram is easily one of the most popular social media platforms on the market these days. With a combination of photo and video content, it is versatile and accessible. Instagram tends to appeal most to those in the 20-40-year-old age demographic.
Instagram is a versatile platform but does require that you can create solid visual content in order to stand out from the crowd.
Facebook is a great way to connect with an older demographic, but as an advertising platform, it leaves a little something to be desired. Most people on Facebook aren’t actively seeking out brands and companies to follow, which means your team will have to be extra diligent at building up engagement.
That being said, you do get a lot of options when it comes to the type of content you want to create. From long-form posts to videos and photos, Facebook truly does it all.
YouTube
Did you know that after Google, Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world? That means you have access to a whole lot of potential customers. YouTube is limited to video content, but it also provides the opportunity for you to create more long-form content.
TikTok
If you are looking to appeal to a younger demographic, you’ll find them on TikTok! TikTok is made up of short-form video content, which is perfect if you are looking to create something short, snappy, and eye-catching.
If your goal is to reach out to professionals in a certain industry, you can make great connections on LinkedIn. While it is primarily used as a hiring tool, these days, you can use it to help establish yourself as an industry leader while connecting with people who have the same goals as you do!
5 Things to Consider Before Creating Content
Before you hit record, it is important to have a clear social media strategy in place. Get clarity on your goals by answering these questions!
1) Who Is Your Target Audience?
This is arguably the most important question you can ask yourself as a business owner. Your product or service should aim to solve a problem. The key is to identify who is dealing with that problem, and voila! You have your target audience.
Knowing who your ideal customer is can help you choose a social media platform that will appeal to that specific demographic.
2) What Is Your Brand Voice?
A large part of developing a social media content strategy is deciding what you want to say and how you want to say it. Is your brand funny? Serious? Calming? Experienced social media content creators know that each piece of content they create should match the overarching brand voice.
3) What Are Your Goals?
In order to measure change, we always recommend coming up with 1-3 big goals. Whether it is building engagement, increasing sales, or making industry connections, make sure there is a clear “why” behind what you are doing.
4) Who Are Your Competitors?
A great trip to succeeding as a social media content creator is to look at what your competition is doing. How are they succeeding? And where are they falling short when it comes to engaging social media content? This can give you valuable clues as to what direction you should take your own content in.
5) How Is Content Getting Produced?
It’s all well and good to come up with content ideas. But all of your social media efforts will be for nothing if you don’t have the proper team to execute it. Ideally, you’ll want to have dedicated social media managers within your company who can help to keep your social channels thriving and your marketing strategy on track. However, sometimes you may find it beneficial to outsource elements of your content creation to an expert! Be sure to do some research and check in with your team about what elements they are confident about handling and where they feel a bit unsure.
Get the Content Help You Need
Video content reigns supreme these days, and you want content that stands out! That’s where we come in. At Stringline Productions, we help business owners create professional quality video content. From filming, directing, and editing, we help you through every step of the process. Contact us today to get started!
