Social Media Marketing Materials: Crafting Content that Connects
Social media has transformed marketing. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X allow brands to engage with customers and promote products and services directly. However, effective social media marketing requires creating suitable materials to capture attention and drive accurate results. This comprehensive guide will explore what types of content perform best, creative strategies for captivating social audiences, and plenty of tactical advice for social media managers, small businesses, and marketers of all levels. Let's dive in!
Table of Contents
What Types of Content Work Best?
It's not enough to post something and hope it sticks. Specific formats deliver better results across social platforms.
Visual Content Reigns Supreme
Humans are visual creatures—we process images 60,000x faster than text. After all, social media provides the most visually-driven interfaces. So it's no wonder visual content dominates:
- Photos – High-quality, eye-catching photos garner the most likes and engagement. Images showing people tend to perform better than more generic shots.
- Graphics – Infographics, illustrations, animations, and quotes presented as shareable visuals can quickly grab attention in the feed.
- Video – In terms of visibility and engagement, nothing beats video. Short videos under 2 minutes get the most interactions and drive massive traffic potential.
Key Takeaway
Ensure most of your social content marketing has an engaging, visual-forward focus. Post text-heavy status updates less frequently.
But Text Still Matters
Text-based content should not be ignored completely. The proper text support helps convey messages effectively:
- Blog Content – Supporting visuals with in-depth, long-form blog posts allows you to demonstrate thought leadership and authority on topics to grow brand visibility and trust.
- Captions – Properly contextualised photos and videos with captions explaining what the viewer sees help capture their attention in those critical first few moments.
- Behind-the-Scenes Content – Pull back the curtain by crafting text-based content that gives exclusive insights into your brand, products, services, and company culture.
Key Takeaway
Find the right balance of attention-grabbing visuals supported by text content that educates and engages social audiences.
Crafting Captivating Social Media Content
Creating well-performing materials across social media requires understanding what captures user attention and interest in their quick-scrolling feeds.
Adapt Content-First for Mobile
Most social media usage happens on smartphones. So content should be optimised first and foremost for mobile experiences:
- Utilise vertical sizing for videos and visuals
- Ensure text and elements have sufficient spacing and size for easy viewing on small screens.
- Link out to external sites rather than directly inserting too much text copy in posts.
Key Takeaway
Users will keep scrolling if it doesn't grab attention and translate well on a phone screen. Mobile-first is a must.
Lead With the Hero Shot
Visual content should focus on leading with a compelling hero shot – an attention-grabbing photo or graphic anchoring the post. For example, an Instagram carousel could feature:
Slide 1 – Eye-catching lifestyle image of someone using your product
Slide 2 – Supplemental screenshot or how-to graphic demonstrating features
Slide 3 – Link or call-to-action button to drive conversion
Key Takeaway
Hook social media users instantly with a strong opening visual that sets both tone and anticipation for what else they might discover if they stick around.
Pull Them In With Intriguing Text
While arresting hero visuals do the heavy lifting, text copy has the power to pique curiosity and extend engagement:
❓ Questions – Pose questions to followers to spur excitement, engagement and brand interaction in comments
👁️ Teasers – Provide a taste of an exclusive reveal, exciting announcement, or special offer coming soon
🔎 Calls-to-Action – Go beyond posing questions and provide clear links/buttons to drive the next click
🗨️ Conversational Style – Adopt a casual tone as if speaking peer-to-peer with followers
Key Takeaway
Strategically pepper text into posts to sustain interest and promote desired actions post-click.
Maximising Social Engagement
Now that we've covered various types of social content, what strategies can boost visibility, engagement, and conversions?
Provoke Emotions
Social media is passionate by nature. Content that generates an emotional response also elicits higher interaction rates. Compassion, humour, surprise, inspiration – aim to spark a feeling. For example, Nike's iconic social ads primarily focus on delivering inspiration (#JustDoIt).
Spotlight Brand Personality
Consumers increasingly support brands that align with their values. Broadcast your unique brand identity by crafting social content highlighting company culture, beliefs, and personality.
Encourage Sharing & UGC
User-generated content shared organically by unpaid fans and followers offers authentic peer-to-peer endorsement of your brand. Run creative contests inviting UGC art, videos, testimonials, etc., to leverage for re-sharing.
Optimise With Paid Amplification
Beyond organic posting, paid social ads can expand reach to new demographics. Tailor ads optimised for conversions with advanced targeting options offered by platforms' advertising tools.
Key Takeaway
Implement strategies centred on emotion, branding, organic community sharing, and optional paid promotion targeting top-funnel growth or lower-funnel conversion objectives.
Crafting Social Posts That Convert
Driving tangible conversions is the end goal of social media marketing. Here are critical strategies for creating posts and ads to spur your desired on-site actions:
Lead With Value in Ad Copy
Promoted posts work best when centring value in the copy. For example, eCommerce brands should emphasise the product benefits shoppers will realise post-purchase vs overly salesy copy.
Spotlight Specific Products
Curate posts highlighting specific best-selling items over linking to your online store homepage without featuring standout products. Showcase items in a lifestyle context, concentrating on their differentiation.
Share Genuine Reviews & Social Proof
Reviews and testimonials from real, verified buyers provide massive credibility to motivate clicks and transactions. Ensure you include noteworthy press features or relevant social following/engagement metrics.
Close with Clear Calls-to-Action
Regardless of format, every post and paid ad should conclude by prominently guiding the next click. Tell viewers exactly where to go and what to do there. Reduce any friction slowing the path to conversion.
Managing a Strategic Editorial Calendar
Consistently publishing captivating content requires planning it out in advance. An editorial calendar provides a valuable roadmap.
Map Out Monthly Themes & Campaigns
Look at more significant tentpole initiatives, product launches, promotions, partnerships and events happening across the next 3-6 months. Nestle-related campaign themes and content are incorporated into certain weeks and months accordingly.
Schedule Mixes of Content Formats
Variety helps sustain audience interest week-to-week. Use your calendar to plot out a solid blend of content types – photos one day, video the next, and behind-the-scenes the following day. Rinse and repeat.
Set Publishing Date & Share Duties
Who is creating and publishing content on which platforms on which dates? Assign clear owners, use calendars to signal hand-offs, and keep initiatives moving forward seamlessly all month.
Analyse and Optimise Over Time
A calendar provides a helpful frame of reference to reflect on what content delivered desired results…and what didn't. Reflect and refine over time to double down on your best-performing social content material approaches.
Executing Best Practices Across Key Platforms
Let's explore specialised tactics and best practices applicable to critical social media platforms.
With its broad reach across demographics, age groups and interests, Facebook offers extensive targeting capabilities perfect for:
- Driving website conversions via lead generation forms
- Video views to increase brand visibility
- Engaging existing audiences to boost retention
Stand out from the noise by:
- Creating native video or carousel image ads
- Sharing new blog posts and community updates
- Leveraging options to promote posts and manage sustained ad spend
As the premiere channel for visual content and storytelling, Instagram delivers tremendous opportunities to:
- Showcase products in a lifestyle context
- Increase brand affinity and awareness
- Drive sales directly or to other online stores
Best practices for the platform:
- Post eye-catching photo and short video content daily
- Utilise links in Stories and swipe-up calls-to-action
- Promote shoppable product Showcases and Drops
X (Twitter)
The fast-paced, news-oriented nature of X lends itself well to the following:
- Up-to-the-minute announcements, launches and updates
- Trending newsjacking with relevant commentary
- Engaging audiences in quick-hitting dialogue
Stand out from the busy feeds by:
- Closely tracking trending topics daily with shareable takes
- Hosting X chats and Tweetstorm Q&As
- Paying close attention to spikes in discussion volumes around brand handles and hashtags
The platform-native content most resonates, but marketers must hone efforts specifically around the unique use cases and audiences per platform.
Measuring Content Performance
While much focus centres on content creation, data-informed optimisation is where the rubber meets the road.
Key Performance Indicators
Judge effectiveness via platform-specific metrics like:
- Impressions – How many times was your content shown to users?
- Reach / Traffic – Total number of unique accounts that viewed your content
- Engagement Rate – Likes, clicks, comments, shares divided by total impressions = how captivating is your content?
- Link Clicks – Total users that clicked from your post to your site or offer
- Conversions – Site actions from social referrals, like purchases for ecommerce brands
Monitor weekly and month-over-month to pinpoint winning themes and formats vs. laggards to help guide your future content roadmap.
Benchmark & Set Goals
In isolation, even strong growth may still have unrealised potential. Compare against competitors and industry benchmarks. Set measurable targets month-over-month for impressions, engagement, web sessions, etc., based on past trends and desired 12-month objectives.
Optimise & Evolve Mix Based on Insights
Consistently outperforming content warrants additional investment for paid amplification to expand reach. Underwhelming posts signal tweaks needed to improve or entirely different formats to test instead. Judiciously evolve your calendars to fuel what works…and phase out what doesn't.
Key Takeaways
We've just scratched the surface, uncovering tips to maximise social media marketing. Let's recap the key themes:
- Visually-driven posts and video content engage social media audiences best.
- Text content should play a supporting yet strategic role in sparking interest and actions with clear calls to action.
- Emotional, shareable posts reflecting brand personality achieve higher interaction rates.
- Promoted ads can extend reach and conversions but must lead with genuine value.
- An editorial calendar provides an essential planning foundation, mapping campaigns, assigning roles, and analysing performance.
- While strategies differ by platform, optimising based on actual metrics is imperative to sustain outcomes over time
Adapting these best practices based on rigorous testing and keen competitive observation will enable your brand's social content marketing mastery in the months ahead. But this is a marathon, not a sprint – set goals thoughtfully and course-correct based on verifiable data vs. guesswork. As they say, what gets measured gets managed. Now, get out there and continue engaging your audiences!
Top Social Media Marketing Materials FAQs
What types of content should I create for social media?
Focus predominantly on eye-catching visuals like photos, videos, illustrations and graphics. Supplement with helpful text-based content like captions, blog posts, teasers and announcements to support and contextualise the visuals.
How much should I be posting per platform?
Aim to post 1-2 times per day for Instagram, 1-3 times per day for Facebook, and 1-4 times per workday for faster-paced X. Testing different volumes for your audience is critical, but quality over quantity carries the day.
How can I make my social content more engaging?
Tap into emotional connections like humour, surprise and inspiration. Encourage audience participation with polls, questions and user-generated content submissions. Share exclusives like behind-the-scenes glimpses into your brand and company culture.
What does an effective social media ad include?
Strong social ads promote a specific offer or featured collection while leading creatively with the hero visual. Include social proof and reviews. Use urgent calls-to-action driving to a landing page or product showcase to reduce friction.
Why is an editorial calendar so important?
Planning content themes, formats, and publishing duties weeks or months in advance enables consistent, high-quality output. Analysing performance data compared to your calendar then facilitates creating better content accordingly. It also aids with planning integrated cross-channel campaigns.
