SOCIAL MEDIA 101

A look at social content

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

Lesson 1:How to create epic content for

brands on social media

THE IMPORTANCE OF GREAT CONTENT

Creating relevant, interesting content on social media (and online) is important.

BUT WHY?

•Nobody gives a damn what your company has to say. So if you want people to listen, you better make

it good.

•Your competitors are creating good content.

•You only have a few chances to leave animpression.

WHAT MAKES GOOD CONTENT?

•It is not a sales pitch or a press release – be real,authentic and say something only if you have

something to say

•It tells your brandʼs story – it is not a boring piece of someone elseʼs story, but that doesnʼt mean you mention

yourself constantly

•It captivates the reader and makes them want to share your content – it resonates, emotionally or practically

•It is relevant to a user and their needs (utility)

TIPS FOR BECOMINGA CONTENT KING

KEEP IT SIMPLE (AND SHORT!)

If you canʼt say what you need to say in a few lines, reconsider whether it is worth saying. People have extremely short attention spans (approximately 8

seconds or less when online). If it is too complicated to say in a few lines, consider making it a few

pieces of content. TIP:

Content with 100 – 250 characters is more likely to

be clicked on

WRITE FOR THE CHANNEL

Why does someone need to go to your Facebook page if they see what you share on Twitter? It is important to write content for the right channel. That might mean sharing an article on Twitter,

a video on Facebook and a quote on Instagram. Consider sharing the same piece of content, tailored to the channel, on different days.

(Monday on LinkedIn, and Friday on Facebook, for example).

Your content calendar should not be a copy and paste for each channel.Think carefully about:

•The time of day we post on a certain channel, and why

•The type of copy and visuals that will work on Facebook versus Twitter versus LinkedIn

•The days we post – are Facebook users more active on a certain day of the week? Are your Twitter followers more engaged on the weekend?

•The channel you are posting on

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Much like writing for the right channel, it is important to know who youare talking to on social media. This might not always only be your target

audience. It might also be your social audience.

To get to know your audience, do the following:

•Who likes your pages? Who follows you on Twitter? Who engages with the brand?Get to know these people

•The primary and secondary audiences of this brand – if you are a B2B brand, your audience might be quite different to that of a B2C brand. Create a persona of these people

and write for them.

HEADLINES ARE THE DOOR TO YOUR CONTENT

Headlines determine whether people will click on your content or not. When you write aheadline, think about the following:

•What are people searching for? Use Googleʼs Keyword Tool to assist you if you donʼt know

•Who are you writing for? LinkedIn demographics will be different from Facebook

•Will this entice someone? Would I want to read this?

•Short, sharp and punchy is more important than reaching a word limit

•Link to external sources to lend credibility to your posts

•Embed videos and slideshare presentations for more dynamic content

SIZE MATTERS- FACEBOOK

Using the right sized visuals is important on social media - it gives consistency to content

Guide:

•800x800 pixel images square

•512x1024 pixels for landscape

•500x700 pixels for portrait

•Use these image guides for help:

https://blog.bufferapp.com/ideal-image-sizes-social-media-posts#facebook

SIZE MATTERS- TWITTER

•Aspect ration of 2:1 - landscape. Any image with pixels at this ration will work, and will be scaled to 506x253 pixels. Images should not be uploaded that are smaller than this

•Use Twitter cards - these are great for linking directly to site with a hyperlinked image, but means adding a pixel to the website

ASK FOR THE ENGAGEMENT YOU WANT

Write content that prompts engagement from your fans. According to constantcontact.com, posts with the following calls to action received more engagement:

Comment = 3.3 more comments

Share = 7x more shares

Like = 3x more likes

Caption this = 5.5x more captionsBONUS TIP:

Games and fill in the blank

content are great ways to

prompt conversation!

DON'T BE AFRAID TO TEST NEW FORMATS

There is more to social media than images:

•360 video on Facebook

•GIFʼs - particularly easy and fun to use on Twitter and Facebook

•Interactive videos on Facebook

•Quotes on Instagram and Facebook

•Infographics - people love these (even if they are just visually appealing!)

•Brain teaser puzzles

•Twitter cards

•Podcasts

Learn more here:

•https://pablo.buffer.com/app•https://blog.bufferapp.com/tools-create-images-for-social-media•https://dropbox.com/s/3h8fq8ydsothkw8/Twitter%20card%20dimensions%20PDF%20%20Google%20Docs.pdf?dl=0

LOVE THE HASHTAGAs we all know by now, hashtags help to curate content from various

sources and make a particular topic searchable. So using these hashtags,it goes without saying, helps you (and your brand) to join that conversation.

Hashtags are great for events/ conferences (#Coachella); live news updates, disasters and social campaigns (#FeesMustFall); holidays and cultural days (#Christmas/ #FathersDay);

general interest/ niche interest topics (#TechNews); fun (#SorryNotSorry); days of the week (#FashionFriday) but they can also be used to join almost any conversation about any topic

(especially on Instagram). For example, travel; pets; technology; adventure; food; mountains; wine etc.

#hashtag *Based on analysis of 50 Instagramprofiles with 100 more followers

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THE POWER OF FACEBOOK EVENTS

Whilst not specifically about content, this is a great way of puttingyour content in front of your audience.

The benefits:

•Donʼt necessarily need to actually host an event -if there is an online sale,for example, you can host

an ʻeventʼ counting down to the day the sale starts.

•Can promote them with media

•Each time you post, attendees get notified

•Easy to create

SHARE YOUR BRAND STORY

Many companies (especially in the B2B sector) believe they have nothing toshare on Facebook - but actually, the brand story is important for building brand affinity and

generating interest. Deep dive into how the organisation came to be, and share this story with fans.

CONCLUSION

A recap of what we have learnt today:

•Keep your content simple•Write for the right channel, and for your audience

•Use the right size visuals•Make your headlines stand out

•Test new content formats all the time - innovation is the key•Ask for the engagement you want

•Use hashtags effectively for each channel and occasion•Where possible, use Facebook events

•Share your relevant brand story

For more information about creating a successful contentfor your brand, visit www.iconicmedia.co.za, or find us on

social media @IconicMediaSA.Donʼt forget to look out for our next presentation in this

series, “Using Social Media Analytics Effectively”.

THANK YOU!