How to Get Ideas for Social Media Content Creation

So, you’ve mastered keeping an active blog on your WordPress site, and after some practice with letting your personality shine through you’ve had some success with getting your content shared! Now comes the next step of translating your WordPress achievements into a thriving, cross-platform social media presence. Here are my top recommendations for finding inspiration to create social media content:

Follow creative leaders in each platform

A great way to start learning how to create quality content is to follow people who are already using each social media platform well. Search for someone in a similar business as yours who’s work you already admire. Do you like the content they’re putting out? If they don’t seem to have mastered social media yet themselves, chances are they’re following someone who has.

Want your tweets to bring a smile to your follower’s faces? Start following a comedian who tickles your funny bone!

I also recommend taking the time to find and follow a few artists whose work you simply enjoy. Want your tweets to bring a smile to your follower’s faces? Start following a comedian who tickles your funny bone! Want your page to be full of cool photos? Fill your news feed with photographers whose pictures make you drool! Surround yourself with the type and quality of content you want to create, and good ideas will find you.

Create and schedule hashtags that are based on your SEO keywords

Translate your SEO keywords into a hashtag.

Since you’ve already identified SEO keywords for your website, why not translate them into a social media hashtag you can keep on your content calendar? For example, if you’re a restaurant specializing in locally grown food, you could use #Farm2Table on Fridays; tweet about the great farmer you work with, then share a photo on Instagram of that night’s produce being plucked from the vine.

Keep in mind why people are following you in the first place

Post with the intention of making your community feel like valued insiders.

Do your followers rely on your tweets to keep up with what’s new in your industry and community? Are you notorious for your great DIY tutorials? Don’t forget that most consumers follow companies with the hope of getting information about deals, special offers, and new products or services. Creating posts with the intention of making your digital community feel like valued insiders will go a long way towards creating brand loyalty and increasing shares. If you don’t know yet what content your followers would like to see, it’s always ok to pose a question as your status, and see what answers you get back!

Don’t forget that you’re telling a story

At it’s core, social media is a powerful form of real time storytelling. Great narratives have the potential to not only tug at your audience’s heart strings and create a lasting sense of connection, but also to spark individuals to take action.

If you’re stuck with what to post that day, consider the elements that make a good story. Your story is more than just big plot points like projects and events. It’s also made up of characters, settings, conflict, and resolution. Does your audience know anything about the individual members of your team? Are they familiar with the locations that influence the work you do? Don’t hesitate to share an obstacle that your business has overcome, or reach out to your community to help you solve it in the first place!

Play!

Not only is it inherently fun to be creative, but audiences like to watch people who are having fun! Some of the most successful social media campaigns are pretty silly. Don’t be afraid to play, experiment, and bring a spirit of joy and good humor to your work, no matter what it is!