4 types of Content that help you win on Social Media
Content Creation on Social Media is the real deal. You cannot create a Personal Brand without content.
It’s true but what’s also true is that the numbers on social media are overrated.
Followers ≠ Money. Period.
Why? Simply because the number of followers can’t pay your bills. Not directly. The real game starts with how you build a community off social media.
You’d say that a sizable chunk of influencers are earning a butt load of money, right?
Well, that’s true only when you have a highly engaged community of followers, which is not easy to build. As an influencer, you get paid to influence. As simple as that.
People love social proof and, they want someone to tell them they are making the right decision. Influencers help you do exactly that.
Brands care about followers but only to a point. If you don’t have a community that listens to you, How will you generate sales for the brand that comes to you?
Nobody wants to spend money on someone who cannot make them more money.
Influencers don’t make easy money and it’s definitely not a “get rich quick scheme.”
The only way to become a worthy influencer is to give something meaningful to your audience. Social Media content creation is the best way to get started, and arguably the simplest one too.
Read on to discover the 4 ways to create content that kills it on social without fail, all day, every day.
Why Social?
Because it’s the life of the party, peeps. Social is where everyone is. No doubt about that. If you are a creator or a brand, you have an entire army of people who are potentially interested in what you do.
Every creator is a brand and, every brand is a creator. There are no two ways about it.
Social media is the mecca of communities. People come here to connect with like-minded people or to feel like they belong.
If you are skimming through, here are the main reason to build a presence on social media is:
Brand Awareness: I like to call social media a noticing machine. It helps you notice and get noticed. 50% of the world’s population uses social media and, there is a pretty good chance that you will find people who resonate with you or your brand.
You need to be in the spotlight when there’s a crowd. Social media is that spotlight. Brands & Creators get noticed, increase authority, go viral and interchange their roles ever so subtly.
Community & Networking: Social media is the place to collect your tribe. It’s like the meeting point. The journey is together from this point onwards. As a creator and a brand, it is a big responsibility to provide value to your community by listening and knowing them. Social Media feels like home.
After a long and tiring day of scrolling through the internet, you come back to your news feeds to see what your favorite brands or creators are doing. This is where the magic happens.
4 types of content formulas that kill it on Social
1. Entertainment
2. Educational
3. Inspirational
4. Informational
1. Entertainment: We need a break every once in a while. One of the best ways to take a break is to enjoy or amuse yourself. Content that helps you do that wins every time.
Entertainment keeps the audience hooked. Humour, Drama, Thrills, or Action works well to keep people engaged. The power of entertainment lies in binge worthiness.
Brands or creators who entertain you are the most well-known in the industry, and go viral relatively easier.
The binge factor keeps you hooked and platforms like Instagram have made it easy to keep yourself engaged with a single swipe.
Think of: Vines and never have I ever rapid-fire rounds or dance and mimicry.
2. Educational: Educating people is one of the simplest ways to provide value. Social media content has a reputation of being easily consumable. This is the exact reason why educational content can deliver massive value in less time while being more interactive. The holy trinity.
The educational content on social media works like a charm because it builds tight-knit communities. Once people realize the value you provide, they keep coming back for more. People don’t hate learning. They hate the way they’ve been taught. Social media content helps you turn it around.
Think of: Carousels and live Q/A helps to build a teacher-student relationship.
3. Inspirational: People aspire to be better and, if you give them a way to do it, they will come back for more. By this, I mean motivational content that helps people believe. As a content creator, the hero’s story works like a charm. The one that says:
“I’ve been through this journey and, I can help you do it better.”
Storytelling is the secret weapon to inspiration. Your audience is more likely to relate to you when you share your authentic story as a creator or a brand. Emotions are everything, and inspiring emotions lead to action.
Use the power of your social media content to help people believe in themselves and execute.
Think of: Coaches and trainers selling courses on social media using snippets from their early life to inspire you. The “then and now” difference is really persuasive.
4. Informational: Social media content is replacing news and tv channels to get information. The sweet spot with informational content is an element of surprise. Basically, what people are familiar with, but don’t know about it, in-depth.
To deliver content based on facts and figures, heavy research is needed.
Newsjacking is a popular way to inform with content on social media. The beauty is that it helps us consume information in the form we like.
Think of: Memes and trending topical posts. Uberfacts is a great example of information content with great delivery.
Next Steps for Content Creation on Social Media:
Don’t sweat it. I won’t leave you hanging with information. This is how you can take action.
- Establish a personality for your brand, no matter if you are an individual creator or a business. Build a voice that helps people perceive you how you want them to. Start with colors, typography, and writing content that suits your personality.
- Make a social media calendar and list out everything you can do within these 4 categories. Try everything and figure out which one gets the best response. For Eg: Memes for infotainment, blogs for education, etc.
- Start measuring the results of your content backed by data. Do not assume your audience likes what you like. Most social media platforms have natively built analytics so, use it.
- Do not churn out content just for the sake of it. Create content in a way that brings people closer to your product or service. Your followers don’t bring you revenue. Your products or services do. Meet people on social media, guide them and then give them a solution.
Conclusion
A world that is fascinated by likes and followers has no idea, how superficial it actually is. The only way to convert followers into revenue is with a sound social media strategy. That strategy rests on the shoulders of the 4 types of content described above.
Content is at the heart of everything that we see online but, the only way to be seen is to be distinct. You and your content should stand out from the crowd with the help of a secret elixir called creativity.
All the things I’ve talked about becomes null and void without this elixir. The only way to do something different is to create content that is original and creative. It won’t happen on the first day but, it will definitely be a start.
Content creation is like compounding. If you want to see the gains you need to stick with it, longer.
Final Steps:
- Consume great content,
- Create every day,
- Put it out for your community,
- Get feedback, improve and,
- Then repeat.
The only caveat is don’t break the flow. It’s simple, not easy.
