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10 Types of Content That Will Boost Social Media Engagement

Are you noticing your likes, reach, and web site traffic from social media posts are dying down? Well, your suspicions are correct. According to SocialMediaToday.com, only 6% of your Facebook and Instagram audiences will see your posts on their feeds.

This is because social media platforms are prioritizing content that evokes deeper interactions among users. Receiving comments and shares, not just obtaining Likes, may be  the best engagement metric to gauge the success of your brand’s posts because they can indicate a wider reach.

This challenges your social media agency to craft organic posts that will incite conversation and shares. But, creating organic content that generates deeper interactions can require more effort than the standard pretty photo and catchy caption. To help inspire you and give you some direction, our team has outlined 10 types of social media content that will boost your engagement!

1. Take advantage of trending social media topics

Although there’s a small window of time to capitalize on trending content, these posts can attract more conversations on your feed. After all, these topics are trending because they are widely discussed online. In addition, social media platforms reward profiles posting trending topics by boosting their discoverability, which may lead to stronger engagements.

TIP: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter automatically list the top trending topics in a “Trending” tab or section, which is usually located in the side menu.

2. Create an organic social media campaign!

Developing engaging organic social media campaigns are great for promoting brand awareness and showing off your team’s creativity. Make your campaign inspiring with motivational quotes, informational with industry tips, or humorous with memes.

Recently, we developed the #DreadedAgencyRequests (#DAR) organic hashtag campaign, a humorous collection of client requests we’ve received over our 20 years in the marketing and advertising industry. Our industry peers found our humorous #DAR series amusing and relatable, which generated a lot of new likes, comments, and followers, creating a 100% gain in Instagram followers in just 3 months.

TIP: Pair your organic campaigns with a unique hashtag. Then, encourage your audience to follow that hashtag to view more of their favorite content. By following your hashtag, content from your campaign can reach audiences who don’t normally see your brand’s posts in their feed.

3. Post More Videos

Videos are much more entertaining content for your audience to engage with than static images and graphics. With video, it’s easier to convey information or share a story in a more amusing and relatable way. Videos are also likely to earn more comments than static posts. According to SocialMediaExaminer.com, a study by Mention found that out of 115 million analyzed posts on Instagram, videos earned 46% of the total comments.

TIP: The higher the quality the video is, the more engagements it will receive. However, creating a high-quality video isn’t as easy or as cheap as one might think. There are many elements to consider and plan out before production, including storyboards, talent, lighting, sound, equipment, and much more. If you don’t have the resources or time to produce your own video, consider reposting a video created by another profile,  or create more simple videos on apps, like Ripl.

4. Repost Content

Building your brand’s community by proactively engaging with your audience is just as important as getting engagements from them. By reposting, you are interacting with your audience, sharing meaningful content on your page, and strengthening your brand’s online community. Reposts also diversify your profile with great content that your social media agency team didn’t have to create.

Reposting user-generated content is a great strategy to start with, for two reasons. First, customer reposts are considered as engaging customer testimonials. Second, it’s a great way to show your appreciation to your community of consumers for using your product or services. Most people will feel flattered that one of their favorite companies wants to feature their content on the company’s feed.

Our client, Dole Plantation’s, social media community continues to strengthen due to our Dole Plantation repost program. We found that our reposts perform strongly on our feed, earning a lot of comments, shares, and likes. It’s also a sustainable content strategy that doesn’t require our team to create new content from scratch, which saves our client time and money when used as one piece of an integrated social media program.

You can also repost content that is on-brand but not directly linked to it, like quotes, memes, stats, or anything that you think your audience will enjoy. For example, for Castle & Cooke Hawaii, one of Hawaii’s leading real estate developers, we repost homemaking and home improvement content, including delicious recipes and simple DIY crafts, to diversify their feed.

TIP: Make sure to get permission to repost other people’s content, preferably by having them sign a waiver, and properly credit the original posters. Without these extra steps, you can potentially face legal issues.

5. Post Questions & Fill-In-The-Blanks

Remember, comments are social media metric gold! The more your posts get, the more discoverable and viral your post will become. Comments can also give valuable insight into your follower’s likes and dislikes.

Naturally, a practical strategy to boost the number of comments on a post is by asking audiences to share their opinion on a hot topic. Your questions can include something about your industry, brand, or something fun, like your audience’s favorite ice cream flavor. Your brand can also take this opportunity to get to know your followers better by having them share something about themselves, like what their favorite things to do in Hawaii are.

Another option that’s more convenient for your audience to interact with, are fill-in-the-blank questions. These questions usually require a one-word or very short answer, and they are just as effective.

TIP: Make sure to ask questions that don’t require long answers from your followers. The key to increasing audience interaction and participation is to make the interactions as convenient as possible.

6. Implement a Stories Poll

Polls are an effective option to entice audience interaction and feedback with their easy, one-click format. They can be sales orientated or fun and conversational, like this poll on what’s the best way to #DoleWhip, which we posted on our client’s  Instagram Story:

TIP: If the polling topic is interesting enough, the  results can also act as bonus content! On Instagram stories, you can easily share the results of the poll before it disappears. Keep your followers on edge by sharing updates on the current poll results.

7. Host a series of Ask Me Anything (AMA)

Popularized on Reddit, AMAs are essentially Q&As. This social media trend is a great opportunity for brands to educate and connect with their audiences. With AMAs, brands can accomplish:

– Raising brand awareness
– Showing more brand personality
– Establishing your brand or key team members as business influencers
– Help your team learn more about what your audience’s interests  are, and what questions/concerns they may have about your company, products, or industry

Whether your social media team answers questions in a live stream or by writing replies in the comments, this type of content will boost your engagements.

TIP: Instead of hosting one general AMA session, organize them into a series where each AMA session covers one topic at a time. For example, if Team Vision hosts an AMA, each session would be broken down into “How To Start Your Own Hawaii Agency”, “How To Create A Successful Marketing Campaign”, or “How to Increase Your Social Media Engagement.” By breaking up your brand’s AMAs into focused topics, your team can receive better questions and you can provide more specific answers. It also gives your audience the flexibility to tune in on the AMAs they are most interested in.

BONUS TIP: If you choose to live stream your AMA, promote it beforehand. Although Instagram and Facebook will notify your followers when you’re live streaming, promoting it can draw an even bigger crowd and build up the hype.

8. Run a Social Media Contest or Launch a Giveaway

Entering for a chance to win a free prize is irresistible for anyone, which is why social media contests and giveaways are one of the most popular posts on many business feeds. Whether the purpose is to build hype for a new product, promote your hashtag, or create user-generated content, these posts can help drive a strong increase in engagements.

TIP: Keep the rules simple and geared towards interacting with the post. For example, have participants share the post on their feed or share why they should be selected as the winner in the comments below.

9. Post Accomplishments & Company Milestones

Your social media audience is made up of more than just your customers, they are fans of your brand. Winning awards, accomplishing goals, and reaching company milestones are the type of meaningful content many of your followers will want to interact with!

TIP: Posting accomplishments is  also a great marketing opportunity to boost your company’s clout, if it’s publicized properly. To avoid coming off as arrogant, celebrate your brand’s accomplishments with the team. Post a group shot of your team (with the award) along with a message that shares how proud and thankful the company is for their talented team.

10. Take Your Social Media Followers Behind-the-Scenes

The behind-the-scenes action can be just as engaging as the end product. Audiences enjoy seeing what it takes to plan an event, set up photo shoots, or create a project from start to finish. It’s also great for building hype or extending the buzz around an event, premier, or new product release.

Of course, not everything happening behind the curtain is interesting, and just like a magician, you might not want to give everything away. To keep the audience engaged or overly informed, capture the highlights of the process. You can also keep your followers on their toes by making the caption a little vague on what is going on in the photo.

TIP: Try having your followers guess in the comments on what is going on in the scene. Our secretive behind-the-scenes Instagram post of our team filming a Castle and Cooke Hawaii social media video ad for the recently sold out Waipahu real estate community, Pu’uwai Place, is an effective example.

There you have it, Team Vision Marketing’s Top 10 recommended organic social media content ideas that will help increase engagement on your company’s posts. Just remember that the best business social media pages have a healthy mixture of content, and it  might take some experimenting to get just the right mix.

Have you tried any of these content strategies on your brand’s social media channel? Tell us in the comments below. To get the latest news on social media trends and marketing tips, subscribe to the Team Vision Hawaii marketing blog.

If you need help with your organic social media marketing or content creation, reach out to our team for expert assistance. Team Vision is a full-service advertising agency and digital marketing firm with over 20 years of experience working with some of the top Hawaii brands, including Castle and Cooke Hawaii, Honua Kai Resort and Spa, Dole Plantation, and more.

See more of our creative work that spans beyond organic and paid social media campaigns in our comprehensive portfolio.

Contact Us:

Phone: (808) 536-0416

Email: info@www.teamvision.com

Web: www.www.teamvision.com