10 Great Social Media Content Ideas You Can Post Today
Are you struggling to consistently find good content to publish on your social media platforms? Is it a headache to come up with fresh ideas for your Instagram and Facebook feeds week after week? Stress no more! All it takes is a little bit of creative thinking (which is what you're all good at anyway!) and some forward planning and you'll soon have a working template of great content ideas that you can return to again and again.
Content is Still King
Too often, people focus on number of Followers or number of post Likes. They think there is a magic formula that will boost these numbers over night. And yes, there are certain things you can do to increase engagement on your social media accounts. But to gain quality followers - people who really care about and want to engage with what you are doing - first you have to post good content. Yes, you can attract them with a competition. Yes, you can reach them with a sponsored post. But they are not going to stick around unless you are consistently posting interesting, captivating and engaging content. They will just hit Unfollow and be gone.
What should I be posting?
As a creative, you live and work in a visually stimulating world that is perfect for social media. Think of social media as your shop window. It’s a chance for potential customers to see behind the closed doors of your studio and engage with your brand on a much deeper level. Everything you do, from the tools you use, to the way you design and make your products, is perfect for social media - and it shows people the huge amount of care that goes into the making process and justifies your price points!
Where to find good content
First off, go and take a look at what the competition are doing. You'll get some of your best ideas this way. As you are probably already aware, there is now a Bookmark function within the Instagram app. This enables you to save posts from other feeds. Hold down the Bookmark icon and you can group posts in Collections. Create a “Great Content Ideas” folder today and start collecting!
Here are 10 examples of great content ideas posted on Thornback & Peel's social media. You could use these as themes to base your own content around:
1. Tools of the trade
2. Getting ready for a trade show or exhibition - this is a mock-up of Thornback & Peel's stand at Top Drawer.
3. Development of a design - this could include sketches, maquettes and colour swatches.
4. You and your team - it brings a really human face to your brand, making it much easier for your followers to engage with you.
5. Spotlight on a design - this is a great way to repurpose content. If you've got a popular product or design that's been around for a while, why not consider using it for a special focus. I themed a whole week's worth of posts around different elements of one of Thornback & Peel's most popular designs, Pigeon & Jelly.
6. Close-up detail - in this instance, a close-up of one of Thornback & Peel's new children's t-shirt, demonstrating how intricate the screen print designs are.
7. Linking to an event or trending topic - in this instance pantone's new colour of the year Greenery (remember to include the relevant hashtags being used around the event!)
8. Show your humorous side - it's ok to have fun with your followers, as long as it stays on brand and true to your particular tone of voice.
9. Ask questions - here, Thornback & Peel had plans to launch a print illustrated with popular dogs - so they asked their audience, which dogs would you like to see in print? The response was great and really got people talking.
10. User generated content - this is the holy grail of social media: getting happy customers and influencers to talk about your brand on their social media channels. There is nothing like word of mouth for getting people to trust and love a brand. Here, Thornback & Peel regrammed a great picture of their Rabbit & Cabbage tea towel taken by Australian food blogger Kitchen Correspondent.
You can see from these examples that it’s great to mix things up to keep your feed fresh and interesting. Experiment with mini videos, Boomerangs, close-up detail shots and different image crops. Monitor engagement levels on each post. Your Followers will soon tell you which ones they like best! Then just keep doing more of it!
For even more ideas, take a look at Joanne Hawker’s fantastic checklist for 31 days’ worth of content ideas as part of her #MarchMeetTheMaker challenge:
Now you should never be short of content ideas again! So what has inspired you to get out there and start posting? I'd love to hear your ideas - and share them with the rest of our creative community.