Photo credit Sean MacEntee
Finding content for your company’s social media accounts is not easy. While some businesses supply social media managers with a steady stream of white papers, blog posts, videos, and ideas, many of us are left with almost nothing.
Even worse: the very people who hire you refuse to participate in anything fun, even as a modest team photo. (It’s called social media, people.) Maybe your client does not have a blog, or your colleagues refuse to write. (Check out Martin’s useful tips for that situation.)
Alas, until AI (artificial intelligence) takes over our job, we must create a lot of content to post on social platforms each day. Make your life easier with these ideas for finding, producing, and tracking content for your social platforms for your B2B clients:
Tried and True
Let’s start with the basics.
- Content Calendar – This is a must if you manage multiple accounts. A content calendar allows you to see what you’ve done before and plan for the future. These don’t have to be fancy, by the way. I like to use spreadsheets.
- Google Alerts – As we learned in SMMCP class, Google alerts are a useful way to find blog posts and other people’s content to share on your social media accounts. One idea: get creative with the alert terms so you can find something different from what everyone else is sharing.
- Evernote/Notebook – Make sure you have a notebook or someplace you can write down brilliant ideas while you’re having lunch. Creativity doesn’t keep to a schedule; keep your notebook on hand. Many of my best blog post ideas occur while I’m trying to fall asleep. (Darn it.)
- Feedly or other RSS Reader – Who’s got time to read? You do if your client leaves you high and dry. While we know it’s better to share in-house content, you’ll need a strong mix of other people’s links.
- Basic photo editing software and programs like Canva. With no graphic artist handy, you’re in charge. Find royalty-free images and try out infographic programs so you can produce your own useful, shareable content.
- A face for video. Or at least the bravery to try it. Join the new video-focused Toastmaster group in Raleigh and start practicing. If your company/client allows you to shoot videos for Facebook (or better yet, go live!), you’ve got one useful way to generate something interesting.
- Find the one. There is probably one person in the office mildly interested in social media. Chat with him or her. Is he/she willing to help or offer ideas? Follow his/her accounts.
- The holiday list. Yep, time to drag out the “It’s National Topic that Relates to Our Company Day.” (Curious about those holidays? Check out this podcast episode.)
Other Avenues
Next, here are some other ideas for finding and creating content. Some of these might not work for all industries. Some brands and companies prefer to stay safe rather than stand out. If that’s yours, best wishes to convince them to be bold! As Ann Handley always says, our biggest mistake is playing it too safe with content.
- Thrift stores. You don’t have to be a #Girlboss to find a deal at a thrift store. Can you drag a team member in there and take a fun photo? Can you find an item that relates to the business in some way? Can you tell a story of a forgotten, cast aside item and tie that into the business? Can you buy some items and put them in the office for a photo?
- Art gallery. Or some other interesting place. The idea is to tie it back to your company’s services in some way. Of course, you don’t always have to be “sell, sell, sell,” as we know. But it pays to think hard about the stories you’re telling.
- Events. Is the company involved in charity work? Are you attending something interesting this weekend you can share? If nothing else events provide a photo opp. A lot of North Carolina’s smaller towns have various fun things happening. If you client is located in one of them, help spread the word about those local events. By using hashtags, you might even gain a few followers in the process.
- The long story in short segments. Write a blog post or story related to your company, but then divide it up into 140 character statements. Number each one and then spread out those posts on Twitter, labeling each with a number and/or hashtag.
Often the hardest part about content creation and social media for businesses is convincing them it’s OK to be different. Many of the people I work with prefer to stick to the basics. What helped you convince someone to be bold? What helps you create strong content for social media platforms?
Jennifer Suarez is a Raleigh content writer who offers blog posts, social media, and other writing services to small business owners and marketing agencies. She graduated from the SMMCP program in May 2016.
Photo credit Sean MacEntee https://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/
