18 Ideas of What to Post on Social Media for Your Business

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, social media websites have become a central aspect of professional branding. Although it is rewarding, crafting an effective social media presence is still a challenging endeavour. That is why it is crucial to understand what resonates with your audience, aligns with your brand identity, and fosters meaningful engagement. 

This article is going to unravel the complexities of social media content and guide you through various strategies and ideas for creating engaging pieces of content that resonate with your audience. We will explore multiple types of captivating posts, from insightful articles and eye-catching visuals to interactive polls and personal stories and provide tips on how to tailor your posts to align with your goals and values.

Whether you are a social media novice or a seasoned pro, this article will offer valuable insights to enhance your digital footprint and connect more effectively with your online community. So, let’s delve into it.

Importance of Social Media for Your Business

Consistency with posting on social media is critical for the success of your social media marketing campaign and achieving your business goals. Regular posts keep your audience engaged and interested in your content. Besides, social media algorithms are designed to show users content they are highly likely to engage with, and consistent posting increases the chances of your content being seen by your audience.

The more consistently you post, the more opportunities your audience has to share your content. This will increase your visibility and make you reach potential new followers or customers.

Consistency also helps in fostering a sense of community around your brand. When followers expect regular content, they are more likely to engage through comments, shares, and likes, creating a community of loyal customers and advocates. They may also include checking your social media updates in their daily routine, thus keeping your brand prominently in their mind.

Another point that is also vital when creating social media content is that it allows you to gather data on what types of content perform best with your audience. You can then use these insights to optimise your future content for better engagement. Ultimately, increased engagement can indirectly boost SEO and lead to more traffic to your website, which is a factor in search engine rankings.

In the long run, consistent posting will lead you to develop your brand’s story and personality. This storytelling is vital in differentiating your brand and developing a stronger connection with your audience.

Developing a Social Media Content Strategy

Developing an effective social media content strategy involves planning and execution across several stages to increase your chances of getting the benefits we demonstrated earlier and achieving your business goals. So, here is a guide to help you develop a compelling content strategy:

• Define Your Goals: Clearly identify what you want to achieve through your social media presence. Goals could include increasing brand awareness, driving sales, engaging with your audience, providing customer service, or generating leads.

• Understand Your Audience: Research and understand your target audience. Know their demographics, interests, online behaviour, and the types of content they engage with. This understanding is crucial for creating relevant and engaging content.

• Pick the Right Platforms: Not all social media platforms are suitable for your brand. Pick those where your target audience is most active and that align with your content style (e.g., LinkedIn for professional content and Instagram for visual content).

• Develop a Content Mix: Plan a variety of content types to keep your audience engaged. Content can be educational, entertaining, promotional, user-generated, or interactive, like polls or Q&A sessions. Also, make use of visuals like eye-catching images and infographics and creative videos and animations.

• Create a Content Calendar: A content calendar helps in organising and scheduling your posts to ensure consistency. Plan for special dates, events, and campaigns in advance and make sure your content is always high-quality and authentic to resonate with your audience. Authenticity helps in building trust with your followers.

• Leverage Storytelling: People connect more with stories. Include storytelling in your content to make it more engaging and memorable. Share stories about your brand, customer experiences, employee insights, or behind-the-scenes content.

• Encourage Engagement: Create content that encourages interaction. Ask questions, invite opinions, run polls, and respond to comments and messages. Engagement not only boosts your content’s visibility but also helps in building a community.

• Analyse and Adapt: Regularly analyse your social media metrics to understand what is working and what is not. Use these insights to adapt and refine your strategy. Pay close attention to engagement rates, follower growth, and the type of content that generates the most interaction.

• Incorporate SEO Practices: Use relevant keywords, hashtags, and trends to increase the visibility of your content. This can help in attracting a wider audience and improving discoverability on social platforms.

As social media is constantly evolving, for your social media strategy to remain effective, it must be flexible and able to easily adapt to the latest trends, algorithm changes, and new features of each platform, as well as your audience preferences. 

In the next section, we are going to further break down this strategy by demonstrating 18 engaging content ideas to post on your social media.

1. Create a Regular Series

Creating a regular series for social media can help eliminate the question of what to post on social media for your business for at least one post a week. You might have seen the likes of Motivation Monday or Wellness Wednesday on social media before. Well, this is exactly what we mean by a regular series.

All you need to do is choose a theme that lines up with your brand and appeals to your audience. The format could be educational, entertaining, storytelling, interviews, behind-the-scenes, tutorials, etc. This theme must stay the same for all the pieces of content you create for this series in order to build audience anticipation, which, in turn, increases engagement and loyalty.

2. Contests or Giveaways

We all love gifts, giveaways and free stuff. So, creating a contest or a giveaway can help attract your audience and increase their engagement. But keep in mind that you should not do this very often; otherwise, you risk losing your audience’s interest. Contests and giveaways should only be a quick and easy option to fill a gap in your content calendar.

So, decide on the format of the contest; what exactly do you want your audience members to do in return for the gift? Is it to subscribe to your newsletter? Like and share the post? Tag a friend? You have to clearly outline how users can participate.

Your prize should also be desirable to your target audience and relevant to your brand. It could be your products or services, exclusive items, or partner brand gifts. The value of the prize should align with the effort required to participate.

3. Ask Me Anything

An Ask Me Anything post or series of posts is a great way to engage with your audience, build transparency, and provide value. It is also perfect when you are stuck on what to post on social media for your business.

So, build anticipation by promoting your Ask Me Anything session a few days or weeks in advance. Use your different social media channels, email newsletters, and website to inform your audience about the event, including the date and time, and encourage them to prepare or send in their questions. Clearly communicate the guidelines for the session, including the types of questions that are welcome or off-limits.

Remember that the key to a successful Ask Me Anything is authenticity. Be yourself and answer questions honestly. If you do not know the answer or cannot share certain information, it is okay to say so.

4. Run a Social Media Takeover

A social media takeover is an event where someone from outside of the organisation’s regular social media team is given control of the organisation’s social media accounts for a period ranging between a few hours to several days. The concept behind a takeover is to bring fresh content and a new perspective to the audience to increase engagement, reach new followers, or showcase a different aspect of your brand.

However, this someone cannot just be anyone, but they must have a following. Their content should resonate with your target audience and align with your brand values. So you can hire an influencer for your takeover, maybe a celebrity, industry expert, partner, employee, or customer. 

Work closely with the guest host to plan the content they will share. Promote the takeover in advance on your social media channels to build anticipation and ensure your audience knows when and why the takeover is happening.

5. Share Some Suitable Content

Sharing relevant current content can help your business appear like it has its finger on the pulse and that you are interested in the whole industry, not just there to promote your business.

This could be things like industry news updates, blog posts or relevant social posts from other channels and businesses. This can also help build connections and start conversations when you tag and credit correctly.

6. Repurpose Your Own Content

Repurposing social media content is an efficient approach to make your existing content live longer, reach a wider audience, and reinforce your messaging across different platforms. A simple way to do this is, for example, to turn a blog post into graphics with quotes to post on Instagram or use it as an inspiration for a video to post on Facebook or YouTube.

The point is to convert your content into different formats to suit various platforms. The new content should not just be a copy-paste or cross-post, but it has to be expressing existing ideas in a new, fresh way.

7. Host a Challenge

Hosting a challenge on social media is an effective way to engage with your audience and create shareable content. The challenge should be fun, engaging, and relevant to your target audience and brand. It could be fitness-related, cooking, creativity, photography, etc. The key is to make it interesting enough for people to want to participate.

You need to make it clear how to participate in the challenge. This might include specific actions to be taken, tagging your brand, or posting within a certain timeframe. Decide how long the challenge will run, then develop a uniquely memorable hashtag for your challenge. This will help track participation and make it easier for people to find and engage with the challenge.

Offering incentives can significantly increase participation. This could be prizes for the best entries, features on your social media channels, discounts, or giveaways.

8. Create a How-To or Tutorial

Creating a How-To or Tutorial is a great way to share your expertise and add significant value to your social media channels and to your audience.

So, choose a topic that is relevant and useful to your audience. It should be something your followers are interested in learning about, and that aligns with your expertise or brand. You also need to choose a suitable format for your tutorial depending on the complexity of the topic and your audience’s preferences.

Demonstrate each step clearly and show the action being performed, and make sure you use simple language and clear instructions.

9. Celebrate a National Day

Another great option for filler content on dull days when you have no idea what to post on social media is to celebrate a national day. There is a national day for almost everything, and this can be a great way to showcase the personality of your business. But again, this national day has, in some way, to align with your business—or you should make it align with your brand—and be relevant to your audience; otherwise, it will be completely out of context.

You must understand the significance and history of the day being celebrated to create content that is respectful and informative. If the day has historical or cultural significance, use your platform to educate your audience about it. This could be through interesting facts, historical insights, or highlighting important figures associated with the day.

If there is a cause or charity linked to the national day, consider promoting it in your post. This shows social responsibility and helps give back to relevant communities or causes.

For instance, if your services promote well-being and it happens to be International Cat Day—that is 8 August—you can celebrate this day on our social media by highlighting how keeping a pet cat can help people improve their quality of life and raise their happiness levels. You can encourage your audience to donate to charities that rescue cats too.

10. Give Customers the Spotlight

Another way to promote your business on social media is by giving your customers the spotlight. This can best be done by encouraging customers to share their personal experiences with any of your products or services on their social media and then repost this content on your channels. This could be photos, videos, or written stories. Also, make sure to always credit the original poster and ask for their permission before sharing their content.

These success stories can be very powerful, especially if they highlight real-life applications and benefits. Recognise and celebrate important milestones of your customers, like anniversaries of using your product, achievements they have made, or personal milestones, if relevant.

11. Do a “This or That” Poll

A “This or That” poll is a simple and engaging social media activity where you present two contrasting options, and your audience chooses their preference. This type of poll is popular on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X and is an excellent way to increase engagement, learn about your audience’s preferences, and create a fun interactive experience. 

Again, the options you give should be relevant to your business and customers. For instance, a coffee shop might ask, “Latte or Cappuccino?” while a fashion brand might ask, “Jeans or Skirts?”

After the poll has concluded, share the results with your audience. This can be a follow-up post or story. Use this opportunity to engage more with your audience by commenting on the results, starting a discussion, or sharing insights related to the poll outcome.

12. Behind the Scenes

Creating a behind-the-scenes social media post, is a fantastic way to humanise your brand, provide insights into the creation process, and build a deeper connection with your audience. This peek into the process often reveals the hard work, creativity, and dedication behind the final product, which is usually not visible in the finished work.

In short, you provide our audience with exclusive content that they would not otherwise see. 

So, decide on what it is of your business you want to showcase. It could be your workspace, your team in action, the process of creating a product, setting up an event, or even your daily routines. Remember that the appeal of BTS content is in its authenticity, so avoid overly staged or polished content.  

It is also important to tell your audience the story behind what you are showing and explain why it is significant. You can do this through captions, voice-overs in videos, or text in stories.

13. Share a Milestone

Sharing a business milestone on social media is a great way to celebrate your achievements, engage with your audience, and reinforce your brand’s story. 

Clearly define the milestone you want to share. This could be an anniversary, reaching a certain number of customers, launching a new product, expanding to a new location, or achieving a significant sales goal. Decide on the type of content that will best showcase your milestone.

To increase audience engagement, try to tell the story behind the milestone. Share the journey that led to this point, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them. 

This narrative approach makes your milestone relatable and inspiring. Also, acknowledge the support of your customers, employees, and partners. Expressing gratitude can strengthen the relationship with your audience and humanise your brand.

14. Tap Into a Trending Topic

Tapping into a trending topic on social media can significantly increase your brand’s visibility and engagement, but it is essential to do it thoughtfully and strategically. 

For that, you need to monitor social media platforms for trends that align with your brand and audience. Use tools like X Trends, Google Trends, and social media analytics to stay informed about what is currently popular. Make sure you fully understand the context and nuances of the trend so as to avoid misinterpretation or misalignment with your brand values.

Once you have identified a relevant trend, create content that ties in with the topic, adds value to the conversation and is not just a sales pitch. 

15. Share Some Industry Wisdom

Creating a graphic with some brand-relevant advice is a valuable way to establish your brand as a thought leader, position yourself as an expert and source of value, and provide meaningful content to your audience.

Focus on areas where you have substantial knowledge and experience. This could be insights into industry trends, best practices, lessons learned, solutions to common problems, or innovative approaches in your field. But again, whatever you post has to interest your audience, so tailor your content to address their needs, challenges, or interests.

16. Ask Your Followers for Advice or Opinions

This is another excellent way to encourage audience engagement and gather feedback for those days when you are stuck with what to post on social media for your business.

Select a topic that is relevant both to your brand and your audience. It could be feedback on a new product idea, opinions on industry trends, suggestions for your content, or general advice on a topic related to your field. Write a direct post that clearly states what you are asking for and why. A compelling story or a personal touch can make your request more relatable and inviting.

Let your followers know that you value their honest opinions and are open to constructive feedback. This encourages more genuine and valuable responses. Use the poll or survey features available on different platforms to gather quantitative data.

17. Congratulate Someone for an Achievement

Congratulating someone from your team or industry for an achievement on social media is a thoughtful way to acknowledge their success, share their joy, and showcase their personality.

So, create a post where you address the person by name and mention the specific achievement. Convey sincere congratulations and happiness for their success. Then, briefly mention what makes their achievement noteworthy. Whether it is the effort they put in, the obstacles they overcame, or the significance of their accomplishment, highlighting these aspects shows appreciation for their hard work.

18. Tease a Product Drop or Upcoming Release

Teasing a product drop on social media is an effective way to build anticipation and generate buzz among our audience members. Making guesses about what they are seeing will increase engagement and grow excitement for when the product does launch.

Begin by releasing subtle, intriguing hints about the upcoming product without giving away too much information. This could be in the form of cryptic images, short clips, or teaser graphics that grab attention. You can include sneak peeks of the product, shadowy shots, close-ups of textures or materials, or abstract representations.

Utilise countdown features on platforms like Instagram Stories to build excitement as the release date approaches. This will keep your audience engaged and remind them of the launch. Use phrases like “limited release”, “exclusive edition”, or “sneak peek” to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity.

Keep an eye on how your audience is reacting to the teasers, and be ready to adapt your strategy. The feedback can be invaluable for future campaigns.

In conclusion, crafting compelling social media content for your business is both an art and a science. It does require a deep understanding of your audience, a keen eye for current trends, and a willingness to experiment with various formats and approaches. 

Whether you are sharing industry wisdom, celebrating milestones, engaging with trending topics, or teasing upcoming product releases, the key is to be authentic, engaging, and consistent. This will not only keep your audience engaged but also establish a strong brand presence in the digital world. Still, always remember that social media is a dynamic and evolving landscape and that staying adaptable, responsive, and creative is essential for success.

FAQs:

1. How often should I post on social media?

Frequency depends on your platform, audience, and content strategy. Research best practices for each platform and experiment to find a rhythm that resonates with your followers.

2. What kind of content should I avoid posting?

Focus on content that aligns with your brand and adds value to your audience. Avoid irrelevant, overly promotional, offensive, or controversial content.

3. How can I encourage engagement on my social media posts?

Ask questions, respond to comments, run contests, use relevant hashtags, and leverage visual content like images and videos.

4. How can I measure the success of my social media efforts?

Track key metrics like reach, engagement, website traffic, leads generated, and brand sentiment. Utilize platform analytics and social media management tools for deeper insights.

5. What if I don’t have time to manage my social media myself?

Consider hiring a social media manager, agency, or utilizing scheduling tools to streamline content creation and posting.

Conclusion:

Knowing what to post on social media can feel overwhelming, but by considering your audience, platform preferences, and strategic approach, you can unlock the power of social media to connect with your customers, build brand awareness, and achieve your business goals.

Remember, consistency, authentic engagement, and data-driven optimization are key to social media success. Start implementing these tips, experiment with different content formats, and track your results to discover what works best for your business. Don’t be afraid to adapt your strategy as needed and embrace the dynamic nature of social media to consistently keep your audience engaged and your brand thriving online.