6 Types Social Media Content Your Audience Really Requires

In 2022, social media is just one part of our daily lives. People spend over two hours scrolling through their feeds each day and use seven+ platforms every month.

Brands have a great opportunity to increase their visibility and reach potential customers.

It can be difficult to decide what type of content you want to share on social media. There are many options. You might not find the right platform for you. Different preferences are based on age and other demographic factors. Social media trends and best practices are constantly changing.

Before you decide what your social media strategy will look like, or how you'll update it if one already exists, it's important that you know which types of content are getting the most attention. This is what we will be covering in this article. You'll find out why social media is so important for your content strategy and 6 types of social media that your audience should see on your platforms in the sections below.

Let's get started!

Quick Takeaways

• You can find content (i.e. articles, videos, etc.) One of the top five reasons that people use social media is because it's easy to share content.
• Social media stories can be a great way to share more casual content with your followers.
• Infographics are 3x more popular than any other visual content on social media.
• Social media can be used to increase traffic to your website by promoting your blog articles.
• Half of internet users are able to report that they have purchased products through social media advertisements.

What is the deal with content marketing and social media?

It's amazing to consider how social media has changed in the past 20 years since MySpace was launched (what is that again?). It was first introduced by Facebook. It started as a way to connect with friends in youth, but it became an easy way for everyone to share updates about their daily lives. This eventually led to the huge platforms that allow users to share and consume news and media.

Social media is crucial to your content marketing strategy. It meets your audience where it is, and where it's going to be looking for brand content. Hootsuite's recent research found that finding content (e.g. Articles, videos ranked among the top five reasons that internet users 16-64 use social networking sites.

Image Source: Hootsuite

Social media allows brands to share original content and amplify content from other channels (i.e. your blog, video library, etc.). It is a great way to engage your audience in a meaningful way. This is crucial — 90% of consumers say they are more likely to visit a brand’s website, purchase their products, or choose them over a competitor if they follow them on Social Media.

Source: Sprout social

A brand's success with social media marketing depends on its ability to share lots of high-quality, engaging content. You need to understand your audience's preferences for the types of posts you share on social media.

The next section will discuss 6 top-performing social media content types and how to incorporate them into your strategy.

6 Types Of Social Media Content Your Audience Really Needs

Videos with captions

Video is the most popular and preferred type of internet content. Cisco predicts that video will make up 82% of all internet traffic by 2022. Additionally, 9/10 people want to see more videos from brands. Videos on social media receive 48% more views per post than posts that aren't.

Also, the numbers can be hard to ignore.

HubSpot also discovered that brands use social media the most.

Image Source: HubSpot

Today, it is easy to create video content. You only need a smartphone to record HD videos. Videos can be posted from other channels, such as YouTube or your website. Or you can upload directly to the platform (such as social media stories or live streams).

To see how your audience reacts, it's a smart idea to try different videos.

Stories

Stories are the best channel for sharing video content on social media. They can also be used to share photos, highlight important posts and interact with content such as polls and surveys.

Stories are a casual way to engage with your audience. You must still maintain the same quality standards as for other social media content. However, you can share more everyday content to keep your brand visible to your followers.

Interactive posts

Interactive posts can greatly increase your social media marketing ROI. Although there are many ways to interact on social media, I am not referring to just comments. Interactive content is content that is interactive by nature. This includes live streams, polls and surveys, Q&A content, and much more.

This content can be posted in a variety of ways depending on which platform you are using. Instagram is an example of interactive social media stories that include rating scales, Q&A box, polls, and other features. Twitter's in-tweet (and anonymous!) poll feature allows users to be completely honest with their responses. Facebook Live was the first place we saw people interact directly with brands via live streams.

Interactive content can be a great way to increase engagement. You can also collect valuable insights from your audience regarding product preferences and other relevant information to your overall strategy.

Infographics

Infographics can be used to condense complex and detailed content into an easily digestible social media post. Infographics are great for covering technical topics, statistics, or any other information you need to convey.

Infographics are a great choice for social media because they are the most shared type of visual content. They're 3x more popular than videos and any other regular images on social networks.

This list contains 40 inspiring infographics.

Hyperlinks to other content

Social media should be used as part of a larger content strategy. This will allow you to amplify the content that you create elsewhere, such as on your website, YouTube channel, or website.

Every blog post should be shared on social media. If it makes sense, you can also revive old content or current topics. You can encourage your readers to share your content by including social sharing buttons on your blog articles pages.

Image Source: Marketing Insider Group

To give your opinion on current topics and events, you can also share content from other news sources and brands. This is a great way for your audience to engage in discussion and encourage dialogue.

Promotional content

Speak up! Promo material? This one is on the list, you might wonder. Organic traffic is the best, right?

Well, yes. However, this doesn't mean that promotional content is bad idea, especially when it comes to social media. Here's why:

• 40% of internet users aged 18-34 have reported that they purchased a product via social media platforms.
• A majority of consumers report that they have purchased a product because an influencer recommended it to them.
• Half of adult internet users believe that social media advertising helps them find the products and services they are interested in.

Paying to boost posts and running social media ads can increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website and social pages. Mix promoted content with content that you already share naturally.

Great content can help you increase your social media success

If you don't create great content regularly, it is impossible to share it on social media. Marketing Insider Group's team of SEO experts and writers can provide you with optimized content that is ready to publish every week for a year or more. ).

To learn more, visit our SEO Blog Writing Service or to schedule a consultation with me to get going.