5 Top Tips for Eye Catching Social Media Content
In an increasingly noisy news feed how do you stand out from the crowd? Is your social media taking up all your time? Thinking about creative new content is time consuming and challenging, and, whilst very necessary, may be taking your time out of working on your core business. Here are 5 top tips that you can build into your marketing for a creative content strategy that ultimately tells your story and helps you get your message out to your ideal customer.
What you create should be driven by what you want to achieve
What are your ultimate goals for your business? More clients? More sales? Educating your audience? Entertaining your audience? Increase in brand awareness? Building an engaged community?
Video
When it comes to capturing your audience’s attention, there is no better tool than video. In fact, we often quote Forbes
“Video is a marketing tool you can’t afford to pass up”
However video creation is not as simple as creating something off the cuff. Proper planning, scripting, storyboarding and execution are essential. If done correctly, you can repurpose a well shot video into 10 shorter reels for instagram, videos for FaceBook or TikTok giving you content for days. It’s most important to ensure that you keep your message simple - short, sweet and to the point messages are easier to understand, and shorter videos perform better. Latest research shows that the average person spends 100 minutes a day watching video content, just mentioning the word “video” in your email subject line boosts open rates and embedding video on landing pages can increase conversion up by 80%. Video is not going anywhere… it is the most important tool in your marketing tool box. However, year after year the average attention span for consumers is getting shorter and shorter with the average around 8 seconds! That is three quarters of a second shorter than the attention span of a goldfish! So get to the point fast and grab your customers attention in the first 3 seconds to retain their attention to watch your entire video and catch your call to action at the end.
Testimonials
Shout about your successes - happy customers are the best social proof that you are doing what you do well. Share what they’ve said about you - people love motivational quotes that motivate them or elicit a particular emotion which in turn can lead to post interaction or shares.
Professional Photography
Is your instagram grid strong on brand? Or is it a little all over the place? For brands, creatives or influencers, consistency and style are critical… particularly if your account is focused on aesthetics or lifestyle. After all, your grid is a quick and easy way to get your message across. By alternating the style of photo you post, you’ll easily create a checkerboard look on your grid. Try alternating text quotes with photography, or mixing close-up shots with landscape photos. Going back and forth with brand distinct colours works too. Everyone has a pretty great quality camera on hand these days with the advances in phone technology and phone cameras are great! However, because you have a great camera does not make you a great photographer! A professional photographer will consider lighting, lenses, angles, composition, contrast and colours and work with you to create a set of striking images that make your grid stand out and show off your brand. You only have one chance at making a great first impression.
Know your Audience
Who is your audience? Where are they? What are their challenges or problems? How do they benefit from your products or services? By understanding who your audience is, you can tailor content specifically to their needs, answer their burning questions, and resonate better with your end customer. This is how you foster a long term relationship with your clients as well as a sense of brand loyalty - they feel they are being heard and their needs are being met. Monitor your audience feedback, what they do and don’t like, which social media posts they are most engaged in, where and how they seek support - by knowing your audience, you will begin reaching the people who will be buying into your brand.