10 Social Media Content Ideas for Small Business
I recently shared some tips for streamlining your content curation process. But when it comes to creating your own content, many people get paralyzed or stuck: they don’t know what to share, or if they know what they want to share, they don’t know how to go about getting it. Whenever I start working with a new client and developing their social media marketing strategy, one of the first things I do is brainstorm and identify possible content “categories”.
While this list I’ve compiled below might be full of “obvious” selections, trust me - having this list in your back pocket will be a lifesaver when life gets really busy and you know you need to come up with content, but your brain is empty. I’ve purposefully tried to keep these categories broad so that they’ll apply to a variety of industries, but I encourage you to get really specific with your own categories!
* Educational
Think of this type of content as content that will help you be seen as the “go-to” resource for whatever service you provide. The go-to Realtor in your neighborhood. The go-to restaurant for great pizza. The go-to clinic for veterinary medicine. This is content that gives value, that helps establish and solidify your reputation as an expert.
This type of content is typically made up of content you own, like blogs, white papers, infographics, videos, etc. Educational content is some of the best content you can share, but also the most time-consuming to create. For a newer brand or business, I recommend aiming to mix in this more labor-intensive type of content with content that's easier for you to get and post (like content from some of the categories that are lower on this list).
* Promotional / Sales-Type
Of course, you’re expected to sell yourself and your products at some point! Just be wary of over-selling on your social media. Aim for a good mix of 20% (or less) sales-type content and 80% content that does not include a direct call-to-action (CTA).
* Offers & Giveaways
Most product based business will regularly run special offers and promotions for their products. But if you're in a business where you can't offer discounts or sales on your products or you don't have a products to sell, you can still run a promotion! All you need is prize and rules for your contest. You can run them in conjunction with a holiday, to celebrate the anniversary of your business, to recognize hitting milestones, or even just because! Pro Tip: Make sure you choose a prize that aligns with your business!
* List-Building
It’s important that as you build your brand, you think about building your email list. So make sure you sprinkle in opportunities to ask people to subscribe to your email list or opt-in to receive something (like a freebie or guide) that will subscribe them to your list. Make sure you follow best practices for list-building and if you are in Europe or advertise in Europe, pay attention to the GDPR rules and regulations.
* Behind-The-Scenes
I consider this type of content to be a gold mine. It always seems to perform well and is about the most interesting type of content you can create. People tend to be curious about what others get up to all day at work and how things work behind closed doors. You can also share information about the different members of your team to put a human face on your brand!
* Testimonials
Client testimonials are not only great for your business, they can be shared on social media! You worked hard for those reviews and testimonials so share away!
* Data/Graphs
At first glance, sharing data or graphs on social media doesn't seems like a natural fit. But plenty of consumers love numbers and find this type of content to be valuable. And at the end of the day, it's all about giving value to the consumer.
* Events
Even if your particular brand or business doesn't regularly put together or host many events, if you're a local business don't forget to share what's going on in your community!
* Holiday
You don't have to celebrate every holiday. But posting a holiday message for the major ones is a nice social freebie for busy entrepreneurs. And it's a good idea to keep track of the more obscure "holidays". You know the ones....National French Fry Day, National Boyfriend Day, etc. If you can find a way to apply these obscure holidays to your business, you can ride that social media wave!
* Cross-Promotion Between Your Platforms
This isn't a super interesting content type, but it's still one you should do once in awhile. Cross-promote your social accounts to other platforms to help get more follows for your accounts. If, for example, you share on Facebook where people can connect with you on Instagram, you're bound to get at least a few more followers on Instagram for your efforts!
Got another idea for content you can share on social media? Leave a comment below!
Looking for ideas on what to post to your Facebook and Instagram stories? Click here to grab my free download with 25 great ideas you can use on your stories!