Top 10 Tips for Developing Content for Social Media

Social media thrives on content. To get the most out of your social media marketing strategy, it’s important to have a good plan for generating and managing your content. The following 10 tips for social media marketing will help you generate content that gets noticed.

1. Avoid the sales pitch trap. Content filled with sales-speak and ongoing boasts about a specific product can turn off a social media visitor instantly. Keep with content that’s entertaining and informative and minimize any sales pitch.
2. Add value. Social media readers are looking for information in order to make a decision. Your content can be a critical part of that decision making process. Explain how a particular product or service can help in an educational way.
3. Keep it brief. Vistors to your page respond to short, attention-grabbing pieces of content. However, you can still link to in-depth content like blogs, articles or white papers to provide more detailed information.
4. Stay on target. Make sure all of your content is tailored to your business plan goals. Your content should be part of your marketing strategy and be designed around an objective or campaign. You may want to attract new customers, or you may want to build existing customer loyalty. Whether you’re introducing a new product or expanding your market, your content should have a clear purpose.
5. Set the appropriate tone. A key part of understanding your target audience is to know what tone is most effective in your content. Some social media readers may be more receptive to a first-person style of writing. Others may prefer a third-person, more formal and technical approach. Cater to your target audience when choosing your tone, and then stick with it.
6. Mix it up. Have variety in your content that takes different approaches, and then measure the effectiveness. For example, you may want to incorporate humor, while other times you can take a serious note or express a sense of urgency – the trick is to keep your tone consistent.
7. Grammar. Spelling or grammatical errors can quickly discredit your content and destroy your message. Make sure all of your content is screened before it’s published.
8. Be consistent in your message. Align your social media content with your website, email and any other marketing channels to make sure visitors receive a clear and consistent message.
9. Build loyalty, build advocates. Encourage your readers to share your content online and spread the word about your business.
10. Ask for it. Your call to action should always be a part of your content, whether subtle or direct.

Social media marketing requires effective, engaging content in order to achieve your goals. Use these tips to help make sure your content gets you the results that you expect.