Statistics show that there are about 70 million posts being published each month and with the multiplicity of platforms and content types, the attention span of internet users is now an average of 4 seconds.
What does this mean for you as a content creator, business owner or head of a communications department creating content for your brand online?
It means that you need to be very intentional about what you post otherwise you run the risk of being ignored by the very people you want to attract.
How to Create Content for Social Media
If you are wondering what to post on social media that will attract your ideal audience and convert them to loyal fans and paying clients, here are three content anchors you need to remember:
- Expertise
- Values
- Sales
Share Your Expertise to Attract
Sharing your expertise refers to creating content from what you already know that solves a problem for your audience. When you share content that helps your audience understand something better, avoid mistakes, get more done in less time, etc You establish yourself as an authority.
What type of content demonstrates expertise?
- Tutorials (How-to content): This type of content takes your audience from blank to insightful. It shows them the steps to achieving the desired goal or eliminating a nagging frustration. For example, for those in the health and fitness niche, you can share a how-to tutorial on exercising at home. When your audience reads the post, they will see you as an expert because you have been able to help them achieve a much-desired goal – getting their exercises done even though they are at home.
- Sharing Relevant News: People want to know what is the most relevant news. When you share top, relevant industry information that affects your audience, you will be regarded as someone who is knowledgeable and one of the top people to listen to when it comes to your space. You become the go-to person for credible information,
- Reviews: You can also do reviews of products, services and tools used in your industry. For instance, if you’re in the Human resources industry and you review psychometric tools, people begin to listen to you and think, “Oh, this person actually knows what they’re doing. We should hire them or talk to them!”
- Interviews: Interviews are one of the quickest ways to gain credibility. When you interview professionals and experts in your industry, people begin to see you in the light of those who you host. A kind of shared influence.
You can also interview past clients and customers. People will want to read their content because they believe it is honest and will give them more insight into who you are and what your brand/business stands for. - Resource list: You can also have more than one. A resource list doesn’t have to be original. It is usually curated content that is helpful to your audience. You can link to other businesses/brands. In every industry, there are resources that people need to use. So whether you’re dealing with individuals (B2C) or a business (B2B), you need to identify the resources used in the industry and create content around that. You do not have to create originally; you can always use reference links.
Just have a list that helps people move from Point A to B.
The result is that people will share these posts, and you build meaningful connections with other people who have connected with you because of what you have shared on your website or social media.
Don’t hide what you know – Share it!
Share Your Values to Connect
This sounds somewhat off but you should remember that online you connect with people. So the question to ask yourself is, are there people who would connect with your values?
Many people have their value statement or list of values as a an art piece on their office wall, but do not share it with their audience!
Create content around your values.
If you have family as part of your values you need to put it out there. Then you should share how your business model favours the family structure.
If teamwork is one of your values, how have you modeled teamwork? What are the things you have done in your business to promote teamwork? Some businesses use the “Employee of the Month” award to encourage their staff members. There’s nothing that stops you from celebrating outstanding individuals on your online platforms.
If you share these things, people know what you value and you grow a deeper connection with those who share the same values with you. They will be loyal fans and probably become paying clients and brand ambassadors because of shared values.
Another point to note is shared memories. you can trigger a feeling of belonging when you share memories particular to a certain demographic. It could be location, school, childhood games, etc
Download to see more content ideas for social media.
Share Sales Posts That Convert
If you’re just online and all you know about creating content around sales is doing amazing sales copy and landing pages, you are selling yourself short!
Whatever product or service you are offering online, it is safe to assume tha you are not the only one offering that service.
So your job is to convince people to invest their resources with you and only you!
With storytelling, it’s easier to tell people why they should buy, instead of just telling them, “Buy!”
You can convince people to buy more of your products and services by impelemting the following techniques:
Sharing Behind-The Scenes
This could be for a product or service. In logistics, for instance, you can do a behind-the-scenes of the process you go through from when an order is made, to how you sort the orders and then deliver.
A chef could share short videos of food preparation and different ingredients that are used and why they are used for a particular dish.
These stories allow people to see another side of your business and build an emotional connection with you.
Sharing Testimonials
Testimonials are proof of service delivered. A lot of people make the mistake of using generic testimonials that don’t help in closing out a sale. I always advise testimonials to identify three things.
- What was the pain point the client had before contacting you? This helps you call out to those who have similar problems or frustrations and positions you as the solution.
- What was the service delivery – how was the experience of service delivered? This testimonial builds trust in your service delivery.
- How did the client feel after the service was delivered or the product was used? This highlights the feeling your potential clients want to get and makes it a reason for making the purchase.
Combining these will fetch you a testimonial that can help you convince another person to use your product or service.
Sharing Your Unique Selling Proposition
The unique selling proposition (USP) refers to the unique benefit exhibited by a company, service, product or brand that enables it to stand out from competitors.
As a brand/business, how are you different from any other person? You may not know it, but if you do (and I hope you do), it is your responsibility to educate your audience on what makes you different.
For example with AVC, I always tell my clients that, ‘even if you have other people offering online visibility services, I understand what it means to not have any knowledge of tech and so I can help you get your business online even if you are new to tech and digital tools”.
You need to ask yourself, ‘what is my unique selling proposition and how do I share it in such a way that people believe in me and then they want to use my service or buy my products over others?’
Share Your Why
Know and share your Why. I like to give the example of Tom shoes. TOMS Shoes’ business model is called one-for-one. It means that for each pair of shoes sold, the company gives one pair back to kids in developing countries. The one-for-one model allows the company to monetize through consumers’ word of mouth and social campaigns, with a minimum effort in terms of sales and marketing.
Many people bought from this brand not just because they needed shoes, but because of the chance to be benefactors to less privileged children.
That was their ‘why!’ You need to identify your ‘why’ for the long-term and share it with your audience.
You’d be surprised at how they’ll become stakeholders in your business because they relate to your vision.
Easy, Peasy Content Creation
Now you know how to create the different types of content, it is easier to generate an endless stream of content ideas that will attract your ideal audience and get them to become paying clients and loyal ambassadors.
If you will love support with your content creation, then click here to get a FREE Content Strategy session with me.
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