Social media is an enormous part of the digital and new media. Creating content for it is no longer about uploading a picture of you on the Island or the New York City.
Millions of brands have sprung up from social media using the right strategies and developing scalable, sellable content.
And why would anyone ignore such great platforms that can change your life and business and even more importantly, already have the community of audience you seek to reach.
Over 4.5 billion people are using the internet at the start of 2020. That’s more than half of the world’s population. Active social media users have passed the 3.8 billion mark with this number increasing by more than 9 percent. Stats by SmartInsights.
Facebook alone has over 2 billion monthly active users. Instagram a whopping sum of over a billion. LinkedIn, a beautiful platform for B2B connections has 675 million monthly active users, Twitter is in its millions too and even recent platforms like Tiktok.
Now, how do you create content for your social media platforms? And by this I mean content that truly resonates with your audience.
Before we dive into that, two things you must understand; first, these different online communities have been wired to function in different ways.
I can be in three platforms, let’s say Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, but whenever I click on any of the Apps, my expectations are completely different.
So, if you truly want to excel and be at top mind, you must understand the expectations of your audience. Then create content that connect with them at that level.
The second and very important thing you must understand is that whatever platform you choose; social media is SOCIAL. Even on a very professional platform as LinkedIn. Your clear understanding of this will richly help your content development strategy and set you apart as the top 1% in your niche or industry.
Your content must be wrapped up in a very social, communicable and relatable way.
Your question now should be “How do you make this happen?”
Two things:
- Know your audience and
- Tell a story that connects with them.
Two days ago I was listening to Seth Godin being interviewed by the young and profound digital marketer Peace Itimi. Seth made a point that resonated very deeply, talking about reaching your audience via a story.
Here is what he said:
“There is a Zulu term – SAOBANA which means “I SEE YOU”
It means I see your parents and your grandparents before you. It means I see your dreams, your hopes and your fears. It means I see who you are trying to become. (Emphasis mine).
If you can see the other person truly, then telling them a story isn’t that hard because you know how they are listening. And what their aspirations are.
What we have to find is the empathy to show up for someone we care about and be willing to ignore everybody else.”
Nobody really own an audience on social as we have been made to believe. The number of followers or likes you get is just in the metrics.
Nobody on social media is for anybody. Not even the founders.
This is how it works; you never wake up in the morning and say “I am coming online to see X, Y and Z post”. You don’t come online to see what Mercy Omoregie has put up on her blog.
You came online, get on social and saw somewhere this post I put up on Content Creation for Social Media. You would like to learn about that, and you click. Read through, love what you see and would love to see more.
You scroll down and subscribe to our email list. Like and follow our Facebook page. This you do, not because of me, but because of YOU. What you have learnt and expecting to learn more.
You are simply looking out for yourself and what you stand to gain, whether by entertainment or some useful tips. And that is okay.
So what role am I to play here? Showing up and showing up consistently for the things and people I care about. Finding common grounds that help me penetrates the value I bring. And this applies to you too.
Because you care about Heath and Beauty as I care about Content Development and Strategies, you show up for people who need help in that field as I have showed up for you now.
And then you go a little deeper in research, find out more, what’s truly relevant to the people you want to reach, the people you care about? What problem are they trying to solve? And what’s the best solution you can give?
You develop your content in the best formats that suits the social channel you choose. A blog post (writing) as this, an infographic as the one above, a podcast or video.
This greatly helps your audience and they are grateful, grateful for the value you bring. You do this very often and with expertise; you become a trusted brand and a reference point.
And it is just natural that these set of people (who you continue to serve and meet their needs) consistently follow, like and engage with your content. And when you make a premium. It’s easy to sell.
So now, instead of worrying about your likes and comments on socials, how about you get better at what you do, what you truly care about, find out what people are interested in then learn how to develop your knowledge, skills and experiences into great compelling content that connects and resonates deeply with your desired and targeted audience.
Any question? Please ask below in the comment session.
Click here to see our previous post. Content Creation Vs. Content Marketing.
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Online Business Consultant, Content Strategist.