Social media feeds can act as micro-newsletters, but increasingly now, social media is where people go to search for specific information, in a format they like to digest. Think of Social media now as a search facility for people looking for solutions. If you’re looking to sell almost anything, you can gain audience on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and others. If it is a product, you can represent it visually with pictures and demonstrations. If you sell a service, there is a world of opportunity for you to use video or other visual explainers to bring your service to life. Service-providing businesses also hold the golden key to real-life case studies of other people you have helped. Here are a few types of social media content which really catch the eye and also get your point across.
- Infographics – state the obvious, as simple diagrams! You have a lot of knowledge that you may think is common knowledge but in fact is not to the average consumer until they need it. Start by writing ‘5 things about…’ or ‘How to…’, then jump onto a graphics platform like Canva and try out some templates of flow charts or diagrams. Watch out for the dimensions; portrait images work well for Pinterest but don’t display as nicely on Linked in, for example. You can see all social media specs and sizes here.
- Title image for a blog – if you have a website with a blog, then drive people to it from social using a title image. Then, when you post it to your social feed, readers can restart it or select that image for their Pinterest board.
- Photos of yourself transacting with clients should be used on your website anyway, so drive people there from Facebook and Linked in. A picture paints a thousand words, and a simple well-composed shot can (a) demystify the experience of what you do (b) show you as warm and competent, which is vital for your brand (c) bring your specialism to the fore (d) be a visual search asset.
- Animated gif or clips – just a few seconds including your logo or brand colours can connect your market with your brand – making your brand synonymous with what you do. Animated ads get 5-10 more impressions (views) than a static advert. Canva makes short Gifs; Biteable is a wonderful platform for explainer videos and you can even export a PowerPoint as an MP4 video.
- Selfie videos – what’s your thought for the day? Or show us a 2-minute explainer of an aspect of your specialism, or tell your audience your next live event – where and when are you on stage or presenting?
- Screen record clips. Use a free app like ‘Record it’ to demonstrate an area of your website from your phone.
- Testimonials. If you have Feefo or Trustpilot, your subscription comes with widgets from which you can generate publishable ‘star and review’ graphics.
- Mini photo gallery of your last job. Before and after.
- Case study – a picture and a few lines about someone you helped. Use a stock image and anonymised names if you don’t want to show the real client.
- ‘Get to know you’ virtual card – your portrait and a few sentences about what you like to do. Make yourself real.
Hopefully this inspires you to try a few new ideas!
Keep thinking big!
Brightbird Marketing 