For some businesses, coming up with content ideas is tough. They shouldn't worry - it’s a common problem for anyone with social media account.
COVID-19 and all of its ups and downs have provided businesses with something to talk about for a few months, but as restrictions begin to gradually lift, I’ve noticed a lot of businesses feel a bit lost or perhaps uninspired. Sure it’s exciting that you can potentially re-open, but it’s been a stressful extended period, and maybe those creative juices just aren’t flowing yet. Well I’m here to help get them flowing again - here’s five quick and easy content ideas to help break your creativity block.
1. Turn a blog post into a video
Blogs are a great content tool for both your social media and website, but video is still the most popular form of content people consume, so why not share your blog (or something specific within your blog) via video? For example - 55 comms' Michael Crutcher often talks about the importance of a business understanding its personality and could explain this really nicely in a blog piece. But posting this as a click-through link on social media might not grab that audience attention strongly enough and then that value is lost. However, if we promoted this blog piece with this video of Michael then that blog is more likely to see more reads and that value provided has been consumed further. Essentially it’s a fresh way to share something you may have been doing routinely.
2. Go Live
I always believed that it’s extremely powerful to constantly share your knowledge and opinions on matters that relate to your industry and audience, particularly if you hope to be considered an industry leader. A great way to do this is to go LIVE on social media. Facebook and Instagram make it so easy to live stream across your social media platforms, yet it’s grossly under-utilised. If you’ve just released a new product, go live and tell your audience in real-time about it, let them ask questions and answer them in real-time. If there’s been a delay in shipping or deliveries, go live and reassure your customers that it’ll all be okay. The added bonus to going live is that is really help build and strengthen your social media community by providing important and relevant information as it happens and allowing the customers to communicate with you in real-time.
3. Interview someone
Let’s not get this confused, don’t just interview anyone … but someone relevant to your business or industry would make for a very interesting piece of content. For example, if you own a book store - interview an author of a book who’s just been put on your shelf. It’s a great promotional tool for the author, for you and your book shop - and it’s far more interesting than simply posting the book cover on social media. An interview can also be converted into a blog piece which would be a great piece for your website. We’ve used the interview content idea a fair bit recently, most notably with Broncos CEO Paul White over Zoom.
4. Curate user-generated content
There’s no better way to get your audience enthusiastic about engaging with your brand than by sharing the content they make using your product. Clothing brands have used this content idea forever, but who’s to say other industries or businesses can’t adopt this method too? A great example would be a business that makes cookware - start up a hashtag that your audience can tag their posts with and scour through to find all the meals people are making with your cookware - and then share the best of it on your social media. This content really works and I couldn’t recommend it enough.
5. Organise a social contest
If you’re a business that’s lucky enough to starting doing business again, then definitely consider a social contest. This content idea is a great way to generate some major buzz around your business and that’s certainly what a lot of businesses will be hoping for as they open their doors again. A great example to help explain would be a bar or restaurant - start a contest that will reward a lucky few customers if they secure a booking in your first two weeks of opening. The prize could be something as 20 per cent off their bill, or you could announce the win online as something like a free dinner or dessert - it’s entirely up to you. Nonetheless, social media contests have always worked well for a variety of businesses, have a think about it.
And there you have it, five quick and easy content ideas that hopefully help kick-start those creative engines. Have fun.