3 tips for creating engaging content for your business

June 22, 2020

Keeping up with social media is easier said than done. Social media is one of the toughest platforms to be in for a small business. Return on investment may not be as easy to track as an advertisement, and generating frequent content is quite time consuming. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you have few or many post. The important thing is that you have engaging content. For some of the less artistically inclined, “engaging content” can be a vague statement. What’s engaging for some is not engaging for others. You may find guides that ask you to create an engaging posts. However, the term “engaging content” could mean almost anything. Should you have an open ended headline? What should the content of my photo be?

The following is a description of what types of posts your business needs along with a brief description of why they are important. If you choose not read the rest of this article or somehow remember only one thing from this article, follow this advice: Would your post be something you show off to your friends and family?

People go to social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to look at something that entertains them. That is why we use the ‘Show off’ rule. Think about it, if you are a small business owner, you’re already talking about your accomplishments to your friends and family. When was the last time you scheduled a meeting at your office with a family member to conduct a boring sales pitch? Hopefully never. You likely have countless stories of when you did ‘x’ for the first time, how exciting ‘y’ was, or that time ‘z’ made you laugh.

Unfortunately you can’t recreate your personal anecdotes online. You can however, snap a picture or video of the next awesome thing that comes around. We believe your social accounts are a brand awareness tool as opposed to a direct sales portal. As such, we believe your ideal customer should think you are as amazing as you think you are. The name of the game is to keep them interested at what you have to offer. Customers should come to you on social media, not the other way around. Most people do not wants to see an advertisement pop up on their feed.

We recommend that you mix up your feed with these 3 different categories of posts to create a healthy business page. Not all your posts will be winners, but these three types of posts serve a specific purpose. 1) Offer something useful. 2) Offer something unique 3) Show off how much better you are than your competition.

Something Useful

Your business offers a solution to a problem your customers have. A tip or common problem can go a long way. This is a way of positioning your brand as an expert in your field. Show what happens when people don’t do regular maintenance or use your products. For example, a bike shop can show images of the repair of a chain that hasn’t been cleaned in years. Show off your knowledge despite how mundane it may seem to you. You are the expert. Your customers expect you to know more than them.

Occasionally you may receive comments addressing problems you may have not encountered. Also, don’t spend too much time diagnosing everyone’s problem for free. Your business exists to make money. Tell them to come visit you.

Note: when searching for an image to post, know that not every case that walks into your business will be as exciting as the extreme repair job in our bike chain example. In addition, you don’t have to photograph every job you’re working on. Going back to our bike example, let’s say you’re repairing another part of the bike. Take a brief second to snap a picture of a perfectly good chain. Use that image talk about the advantages of a well maintenance chain.

Something Unique

People follow you because they believe in your brand. Show them who you are. There is no need for professional quality posts. If you’re running a small business, use that to your advantage. People like the wholesomeness of seeing you for who you really are. As people, we tend to favor the underdog and see the small guy succeed against corporate giants.

This type of post help your digital marketing efforts. This shows that your feed is not filled with yet another advertisement. The goal is to let your followers know that you trust them enough to see how your business operates. Of course, do not showcase your company secrets or competitive advantage because your competitors are probably watching every move you make online.

That being said, don’t buy stock photos/video if you don’t have to. Don’t steal photos off google images. Anyone can do that. The most successful posts you will probably have is something your competitors cannot have. That could be as simple as your team photo, a photo of an award/certification/recent accomplishment with your name on it, your storefront or office building, custom office equipment, etc.

Keep your ideal customers in the know of what makes you special. Maybe you and your employees do some volunteer work or have an amazing skill completely unrelated to your company. Showcase that the people that work with you are not just any stranger off the street.

Be a Show off

Not everyone is good at boasting. Some people like to remain humble. While that’s all fine and good, people look to your business because you’re the one they need to fix ‘x’ problem. You shouldn’t be the second best. It’s YOUR account! Be the hero of your own story. This type of posts lets people know that your business can get things done better than the competitor.

Take a hint from your local news. How many times do you hear “fist seen on ___,” “only on____,” or “____ is on your side?” Its a tactic to keep you from switching the channel. Take a look at phone companies. Every phone commercial says they’re the best ____ in the nation. Show off what you’re genuinely good at and people will notice. ***WARNING: Choose your words carefully.*** Although the news and phone carrier examples use these tactics, they try their best to be extremely specific or overly vague so that their claims are technically true. This is to avoid false advertising claims or lose credibility. Perhaps your the only “Western Boot” repair in town, you’re technically the “best western boot repair shop in town.” Give people a reason to be proud to be associated with you.

At the start of this article we mentioned to post something you’d show off to your friends and family. That’s because it gets you into seeing this type of posts in a different light. Do your friends care that you did ‘x’ at work? Maybe, maybe not. But when you tell that story in person, you were probably excited to tell them about it. You likely preface interesting stories and build up the excitement so your loved one gets a laugh, is amazed, and cares about “x” as much as you did. That is the type of excitement your content should have. It shows that your business genuinely likes doing what you do.

People like winners. We want to buy from the person that posts pictures of houses with a “Sold” signs because that person is ‘good’ at their job. No one wants to hear from the desperate sales agent showing off empty houses ready to move in. Maybe you pride yourself at how clean your restaurant is. Show of your freshly clean floors and tables. We want to eat at a clean place. You sold out of ____ ? Show us the empty shelf or warehouse so that we know that we can’t have ____. People want what they can’t have. Next time it’s in stock, we’ll want it more than ever because we now “know” it’s popular/good.

Think about this type of post as the entertainment factor people seek online. You may have seen this type of tactic used by Instagram models. Who wouldn’t want to travel all the time and stay at the cool mansions. Their lives seem amazing on their feed. Whether that’s an accurate depiction of their success can be debatable. You don’t have to be over the top. It’s likely that your business will stumble upon a small victory once in a while. Sometimes it’s a major deal, others may be a small victory. Don’t be afraid to show off something however small it may seem. We all like to associate with successful things. Strive to be the greatest there ever was, then show the proof of your success.

Full disclosure, Top Hat Central offers social media content service. If you would like custom content contact us here. This page was designed to address common questions we encounter. Whether you choose to use our services or not, we hope you continue to pursue your online goals.