When it comes to marketing your brand online, do you know what is the most important thing that can help you stand apart from your competitors?
It’s creativity!
From branding to delivery, every point in your customer journey should be creative enough to cut through the market noise. Without creative ideas and executions, you will never be able to join the marketing game, let alone win at it.
Let’s see what this means in terms of social media marketing.
As of October 2021, 4.55 billion people are using at least one of the popular online channels for socializing. More than 90% of US companies larger than 100 employees are already making use of this whopping number.
5 Creative Content Ideas for Social Media Marketing
There’s no doubt you, too, should be focusing your marketing efforts on social media. However, with so many others doing the same, your social media marketing content needs to be delightfully creative and impossible to resist.
Here are some suggestions on how to achieve that.
Create Short Video Posts
It never hurts to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and learn more about their social media habits. As a social media user yourself, you should know by now that everyone’s favorite type of content is a short video.
As of 2021, 85% of marketers believe short-form videos are the most effective way to energize a social media marketing campaign.
Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, it’s safe to assume that this statistic won’t change anytime soon and that you should include short videos in your social media marketing efforts.
But, what can you do to make your videos creative enough?
Leading brands from many different niches are having a lot of success with behind-the-curtains videos, giving people a glimpse of their processes to connect with them on an emotional level. Such videos also help boost your company’s credibility.
User-generated videos are another great example.
Not only are these types of videos unmatched in terms of authenticity, but they’re also full of potential when it comes to creativity. When you allow happy customers to speak for your brand, there are no limits to what they can conjure up.
Along with short videos, marketers also recommend leveraging live video streaming, shoppable reels, and interactive stories.
Whichever you choose, lean on targeting data and customer testimonials for help to create the kind of content even you would want to watch.
Provide Expertise in Your Niche Through Authoritative Posts
Let’s say you’re buying a new phone. Your first step, of course, would be online research, for which people heavily use social media these days. Like millions of other modern-day customers, you’d be scrolling for the best video to view what’s new on the market.
Would a creative thumbnail be enough to convert you, though?
Surely not. You need some substance as well.
Well, your target audience is looking for the same thing.
Expert knowledge is one of the most reliable ways of getting ahead in the social media game. Your expertise in your niche will always be something that your audience will find attractive. After all, there is always a new topic to learn about and enrich one’s understanding.
While being informed doesn’t guarantee you’ll engage your audience, passing on that information in a creative form can. For instance, you can create videos wherein you tell people what they need to hear using fun sound effects and underscore important ideas with stickers.
Also, any business looking to gain popularity and respect on social media must always have how-to content in its arsenal.
Ultimately, what both potential and existing customers want from your brand is this—practical information delivered straight to social media, ready for them to consume over morning coffee.
Create Quizzes to Boost Engagement
Quizzes are one of the most underrated marketing strategies in the book. They are almost unparalleled when it comes to lead generation.
Even if you exclude their shareability factor, they can still attract different target audiences and keep them entertained by showcasing your creativity and ingenuity.
How exactly do quizzes help you achieve your marketing goals?
The answer again lies in people’s social media habits. Nobody can resist a fun scroll-stopper.
Every once in a while, every internet user needs a quick game to wake them up from their social media slumber. In their many shapes and forms, social media quizzes are extremely clickable.
And because they don’t use in-your-face advertising, savvy marketing experts rely on quizzes to lead successful campaigns from the sidelines.
Mainly, what online quizzes offer is pure fun.
Your new followers and existing customers alike will appreciate their entertainment value, which translates to clicks, likes, and shares.
Also, in comparison to other forms of content, quizzes are incredibly easy to make. The only thing you need is a reliable social media quiz maker. Creating quizzes is also a very cost-effective way to promote your brand.
You can, however, also boost your social media quizzes with paid ads if your marketing budget allows for that. This method proved to be quite a success on Facebook for an online program named The Foundation. It helped them score more than 16,000 leads.
Be Friendly Towards Your Followers
Social media has come a long way since its early days. Luckily, one thing remains unchanged – no matter what, social channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram will always be about connectivity.
Your customers and potential leads are still ordinary people looking for friends.
We’re seeing brands assume that role a lot more often these days. Household names like Coca-Cola, Nike, and Apple have all successfully rebranded their companies to be more accessible on social media. The bigger they get, the more time they devote to talking to their followers. They ask questions, think out loud, and listen to feedback.
To get creative with this approach, there are a couple of great things you can add to your social media marketing.
Let’s talk about polls first.
Though a very simple idea, taking polls is great for boosting engagement and creating a buzz. It’s also an excellent technique for social media listening. Whenever in doubt about your next move, you can always ask your followers.
Not only will this give you first-hand insights into your target audience (thus contributing to your capture-and-convert efforts), but it will also make your followers feel appreciated. Modern consumers like to feel involved, active, and in charge of their customer journey.
Instead of polls, you can also use behind-the-brand snippets. For this, you can choose anything from short videos to tweets. This type of content should feel intimate, transparent, and unedited no matter the form. Its end goal should be to make an emotional connection.
Collaborate with Influencers
For effective marketing on social platforms, you can also approach social media influencers to do some of the work for you.
Influencers have a tight community of followers who trust them, which makes them perfect as a channel for familiarizing yourself with potential customers. Plus, influencers also know the most creative ways to engage audiences.
But, how do you select which influencers to collaborate with?
When it comes to influencer collaborations, the rule of thumb is to go small. You’ll probably be tempted to reach out to the biggest, most recognizable name in your niche.
But you shouldn’t.
According to Forbes, that’s not the best idea. Micro-influencers with no more than 50,000 followers are simply a better fit in terms of cost, authenticity, and the amount of focus they’ll give you.
Conclusion - Let Your Creativity on Social Media Shine
There you have it – being creative on social media isn’t so hard, after all.
In terms of social media marketing, the more crowded the marketplace, the better it would be. Huge social media channels like Facebook and Instagram offer endless opportunities for innovative marketing campaigns.
Stay in touch with your followers, listen to their needs, and reap the benefits. Ask them what they want and what their hopes are from your brand to drive your strategy and you’re all set.