Social Media: What Do I Say? (Part 2)

In the last post, we discussed how to curate quality content from other resources. As mentioned, this is an efficient way to continue to provide your community with compelling content while not bearing the load of always creating original content. It’s also a wonderful way to meet new people and provide a wider range of voices to your community, which help drive growth.

Original Content
At some point, you will want to create original content as well. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds. There are several ways to quickly create engaging content to help draw your fans and followers into a conversation with you.

• Successful case studies / testimonials—Showcase what your business can do by highlighting success stories! Customer testimonials or situations where you came through for a customer show other customers and prospects that you are a dependable business who will solve their challenges too. Check with customers before sharing specific information, such as their client names, order amounts or details of a project that may include proprietary business practices, etc.
•  This / that questions—Ask a question with two answers: this or that. For example, you see two new products at a tradeshow. Post pictures of both and ask your community whether they prefer product A or product B. It’s a great way to engage your fans and also garner feedback on what they like.
• Pictures / videos—Images are such a powerful way to break through the sea of text online and help to establish a human connection with your followers. Post pictures of your building, yourself with clients, product testing, at shows, etc. Don’t be afraid to mix in personal ones as well!
• Quotes—Inspiring or positive quotes can be a great way to make people smile and catch their attention. Quotes are often highly shared or retweeted, so they can help you grow your community if they resonate with your target audience.

Don’t get overwhelmed with producing fresh content and stop updating your social media in fear of posting the wrong thing. Just use common sense when posting, and don’t be afraid to mix personal in with business. Yes, you have to be careful, but it’s a great way to show the person or people behind your business. Always remember…

People do business with people, not businesses.

They want to know who you are, what your hobbies are and the connections they have with you. Social media is a fantastic way to truly get social, and bring a human touch online and off.

Do you have other ideas on creating original content for social media? Please share in the comments. I would love to hear about them!

Jaime

Let’s chat about curating content, your favorite content sources or the power of social media: