19 Useful Tips + Metrics for Validating Social Media Content Ideas
Social media is a great platform to connect with people in a more personal way.
And there is no doubt that content plays a vital role in a successful social media marketing strategy.
But the question is, what makes great content that people want to share?
This post will help you answer that question.
Your audience is using social media for a variety of reasons — from engaging with brands and celebrities to following their favorite bloggers. And social media users love scrolling, discovring new trends, and sharing and reposting about them.
If you want to get better at social media, you need to study where they are and what type of posts they are most likely to share.
In this post, we'll share 17 things you need to understand before starting with social media. So, let's begin.
Basic Tips to Help You Pick & Choose Great Content Ideas
Creating content for social media is an art that requires patience, planning, and time to get things right. There are golden rules and best practices to follow in order to achieve better results.
Here are the some tips that will help you pick the right content ideas and create content that engages and attracts your audience.
- Always stay relevant: There are hundreds of blogs, websites, and social media accounts that generate content for social media. Pick something that interests you and is relevant to your niche.
- Use visuals: Visual content drives more traffic than text-only content. It’s one of the best ways to convey information quickly. Include visuals whenever possible. They help to establish trust and credibility, which can result in better engagement.
- Stay consistent: Consistency is key. Use the same tone of voice in your social media posts and your emails. Create consistency in the information that you share across channels.
- Have a plan: Decide on what information you’ll share and how often you will post. Write out your plan and stick to it. If you fall off track, get back on track as soon as possible.
- Be transparent: Be honest and open about your company. Your followers should feel safe and confident in the information that they receive. If you need to correct something, do it in a timely manner.
- Be patient: Content creation takes time. Don’t expect overnight results. It may take a few days, a week, or a month.
- Ask for help, wherever needed: It’s okay to ask for help. Ask a colleague for advice. Ask an influencer for advice. Contact a friend who has a business-related skill.
- Write from the heart: Try to write from the heart when sharing valuable content. Show that you care by being genuine.
- Always start with some research: Make a research plan and execute it. Research what your audience wants and likes.
- Keep it short: Short and sweet is better than long and boring. Keep your posts crisp and relevant.
- Find your voice, and stick to it: Write with your voice. If you talk to your readers the way that you talk to yourself, they will not only understand you but also get excited.
- Provide value: Give your readers value and then tell them why they should follow you. And don't forget to include a call-to-action at the end of each post.
- Provide incentives: When creating content, think about what people want and offer them something that they can’t get anywhere else. Offering special deals, discounts, or limited time promotions are great ways to entice your audience.
- Create content that speaks to people: People love hearing your voice. You can use an image or video that represents your brand or company.
- Share something from your personal experience: Share the things that you know and are comfortable with.
- Involve your audience: Don’t just talk to your audience; interact with them, ask them. Invite questions in your posts and respond to comments.
- Don’t get discouraged: Even if you get no response, or desired traction, remember, it’s okay.
- Don’t be afraid to fail: The worst thing that you can do is to stay stuck. It is important to experiment and explore.
- Take notes: If you keep taking notes, it will be easier for you to create more content.
Social media metrics to validate content ideas
The best thing about social media - you can validate your content strategy. If you're just starting, you can find a competitor account with large following to analyze these metrics and build your strategy.
A tool like Buzzsumo along with some spying tools would help you get hold of such metrics from competitor account.
Let’s explore the social media metrics that will help you create content that will bring results.
Number of followers
Number of followers is the easiest metric to track. However, it’s a little misleading. A large number of followers may not necessarily mean a high engagement rate. It’s easy to accumulate a large number of followers. So, you need more metrics too.
Likes and shares
How many likes and shares do people get on the post? How many retweets or comments are made on posts?
The number of likes and shares and comments reflect how much the audience is interested in your content. If your audience isn’t engaged in content, then you may not see the desired results.
Moreover, shared content is a great signal that something is resonating with your audience. So, how to use this insight and metric to your advantage?
In a recent survey, the most shared content is around a theme. Here are some examples of what works best on social media:
a. Theme: #Inspiration.
People share quotes, motivational messages, or tips on how to live a better life.
b. Theme: #Fitness
Fitness became a trend on social media. People shared photos of their fitness routines and exercise tips.
c. Theme: #Money
#Money made a comeback. People shared how to save money and ways to build a profitable business.
#LifeHacks and #HealthyLifestyle are still popular. People shared how to live healthier and get rid of stress.
Comparing the kind of content your competitors are posting and the engagement they get, you can validate the content ideas quickly.
Comments
Comments give you valuable insights into what your audience wants. They also give you valuable feedback on the quality of your content.
So, when you check comments on your competitor's posts, you'll get a lot of ideas to post content on your own handle. Confused? Here's how you can use YouTube comments to find content ideas.
Audience engagement
How many people are engaging with your posts on social media?
What do they say about your posts? Do they like them?
How often do they engage with your content on social media?
Are they visiting your site or sharing your content?
Do your posts receive a high number of comments or shares?
Are people sharing the content on their timeline?
Are they liking or retweeting it?
Final Words
Using social media for distributing content and staying close to your audience has several merits. If you post wisely, and have some great content ideas, you'll see results in no time.
The key is to validate content ideas with the right metrics and best practices like the ones above. Try them out to scout and shortlist content ideas for social media.
And if you're falling short on content ideas, don't forget to check out guide on finding unlimited content ideas for social media. All the best.
