Social media marketing – when done well – is more about building a relationship and informing your audience than it is about selling them your product or service. Which is a good thing, actually, when it comes to brainstorming topic ideas, allowing for more creativity. (How much can you talk about widgets, anyway?) We content writers tend to go by the 80/20 rule. To keep things relevant, 80 percent of a business’ social media content should be amusing or educational and 20 percent should sell the product or service.
What’s amusing? A comedic meme that relates to your industry, for example (ensure it’s not sexual, political or otherwise potentially offensive in any way).
I used this one for an electrical contractor’s Facebook page.
What’s informative? Any tips about your industry that offer value to the reader – whether they are a client or not. These nuggets of wisdom establish you as an expert in your field.
For instance, I write blog posts for a professional architectural photographer. She often discusses how it’s helpful for architecture-engineering-construction firms to team up on photography costs with clients where possible. For instance, if your firm built a mall, you and mall management can potentially collaborate on the cost of photos. You can use the photos for your marketing portfolio, the mall can use images to lure new tenants. Notice that the tip is helpful, but not blatantly self serving.
But where many business social media pages fall short is by not forming topics based on what is happening in the news at that moment.
News stories are right there for the taking, and have built-in relevancy that should be utilized to keep a business appearing current and well informed.
An accountant can let clients know that they are up to speed on the new rules of bookkeeping for medical marijuana businesses, for example. An elder-care facility blog is more effective when it doesn’t just tout the importance of removing slip-and-fall hazards from the home, but provides links to current innovations that help seniors do just that. For a global moving company, I just posted an item showing new data on millennials and their thoughts on relocating for job advancement. (The moving company’s underlying premise? We’re here to help.)
News stories are an underutilized asset in most social media campaigns. They can be used as a direct link, or built upon. Either way is a win in terms of your branding as a modern, constantly improving company, with its finger on the pulse of the industry.