Social media makes it easy to quickly create, click, and share content with the world. But as convenient as it is to post instantly, businesses need to build their social media content strategically. A purposeful plan for your social media helps you develop content that aligns with your business’ branding and goals. Here are my tips for creating consistent, successful content.

Plan with a Purpose

The content you share to social media should be as intentional as the content and copy you share on any other marketing platform. You need to clearly define what you want your social media strategy to achieve for it to be effective.

Posts should serve a purpose and call your audience to actions consistent with one or more of your business goals. Even when brands share scenic photos or inspirational quotes, there’s usually a strategy behind them to evoke specific thoughts, feelings, and other reactions.

Here are some examples of business goals your social media content might support:

• Driving traffic to your website or blog
• Generating new leads
• Building brand awareness
• Boosting brand engagement
• Increasing sales
• Creating a brand-centric community
• Providing fast and personal customer service

Know Your Audience

It would be challenging to create purposeful social media content without knowing who you want to read it. Develop content with your desired audience in mind. I previously shared tips on how to define your ideal audience that you can find here. Understanding who your audience lets you consistently share content that will appeal to them.

With your target audience in mind, write your content like you are directly speaking to them. Consider their interests, passions, needs, and wants. Use your knowledge of who they are to craft content that resonates with them and catches their attention. Strategies such as incorporating keywords and hashtags relevant to your ideal audience will also help you attract the right people.

Categorize Your Content

Spur of the moment social media posts happen. But for the most part, planning and strategizing your content is the best way to make sure it will be consistent and successful. Armed with an understanding of your audience and the goals you have for your social media posts, you can start to develop ideas for different content categories. 

For example, I break down my social media content into the following categories: design, education, personal, quotes, and new products or services. Planning this way lets me ensure I’m incorporating variety in what I’m sharing, being strategic with my content, and covering multiple aspects of my business and brand.

Optimize Content for Each Platform

Each social media platform has different uses and functions, as well as diverse audiences. Here is a quick look at how you can prepare effective social media content for each platform that will be impactful.

• Twitter: Copy written for Twitter should be very direct. Focus your tweet on the call to action for your audience, and exactly what you want them to know.
• Instagram: Support the images or videos at the center of each post with a compelling caption. Utilize your bio link to direct your audience to more from your business.
• Facebook: Facebook makes it easy to reshare posts, so it’s ideal for promoting curated and hyperlinked content. Casual, shorter text tends to get the best engagement.
• Pinterest: The platform’s visual nature makes it a great way to share vertical infographics, photo-guides, and other imagery-focused content. 
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the most business-focused social media platform. While you should avoid emojis and GIFs, LinkedIn is great for sharing examples of your insights, experience, and expertise. 

Schedule Posts in Advance

Establishing your business on social media can’t be done without consistent posting. The best way to make sure you are regularly sharing content is to lay out a social media content calendar and schedule your posts in advance. Plus, if you assess what days/times your content performs the best or gets the best engagement, scheduling helps you plan your posts accordingly.

What works best for me is selecting a time every week or month to schedule my social media content. By doing this, I’m planning with purpose and getting the most out of my posts. 

Maximize Your Reach

Once you have great content for your social media platforms, focus on getting it in front of as many members of your audience as possible. There are a variety of tools available that analyze your accounts for optimal scheduling, suggest proven hashtags, and even guide you through recirculating your content.

For example, I use Tailwind to maximize my reach on Pinterest. The app gets my pins in front of a broader audience. In fact, it has helped me reach 2.3 million monthly viewers!

The best way to ensure you’re consistently reaching your audience through social media is to plan your content with purpose. I hope these tips will help you create strategic content that supports your business goals. If you’re looking for a place to start, my new guide, The Content Planner, is coming soon! It’s full of tips and checklists for developing compelling content for your business.