Running out of ideas for your social media posts? In this post, you’ll find 17 distinct types of social media posts, all of them proven to build your brand, drive engagement, and lead to sales.
But first, let’s dig into social media strategy, so you understand which types of posts are best for your business.
Social Media Strategy: a Quick Overview
An effective social media strategy includes
- The channels you’ll use
- The format of your posts (video, live video, text, or graphics)
- The frequency of your posts
- The tone or voice of your posts
- The content you share
Choose your channel
Start by identifying the social media channels where your target audience hangs out online. To put your message where they’ll see it frequently, you need to be active on those channels.
If you’re just getting started or if you’re strapped for time, choose just one or two channels. Ask yourself which channels are most likely to lead to engagement from your best customers.
That’s where you need to be. Ignore the other social media channels, and don’t feel guilty about it.
Choose your best types of social media posts
Once you know where you want to engage, study the types of posts your audience engages with most.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Stick with what works.
In just a minute, I’ll give you 14 types of posts that have been proven to drive engagement, traffic, and sales. But don’t randomly choose your favorites. Choose the formats and styles that your audience enjoys engaging with.
Choose the frequency of your posts
Post daily if you can. To stay engaged, you need to post as often as you can and still do it well.
Note: “Well” means engaging with your followers. If people leave comments, join the conversation.
If you don’t have time to do that on a daily basis, aim for a minimum of two posts a week:
- A personal post that helps people get to know you and your brand
- Plus a value post that shares your expertise and helps your audience succeed
Choose the voice and content you’ll share
Social media is often where your clients and customers find you. So it needs to be congruent with your website and your brand personality.
If that’s casual and playful, be casual and playful in your social media posts. If that’s straitlaced and formal, be straitlaced and formal in your social media posts.
Focus on posting content that will attract your audience’s attention, build relationships, and lead to conversion.
How you do that is up to you. There’s no right way to do social media. Whatever works for your brand is perfectly fine.
Set the goal of social media for your business
The type of content you create for social media will depend largely on what your goals are. Here are some common business goals for social media:
- Brand awareness
- Brand engagement
- Website traffic
- Entry into a sales funnel
- Customer service
- Marketing research through social listening
How Do You Define Social Media Success?
Success depends on what your goals are for your social media program. If branding or engagement is your goal, focus on your numbers of likes, shares, followers, etc.
If you’re using social to drive traffic to a landing page, track the source of your traffic to that page. Look at how much traffic comes from your social media compared to other channels.
Different approaches you can take
You can treat your social channels like a micro-blog, an extention of your main blog, where you post new ideas, comments, and tips.
These could be the same type of posts you’d make in your blog, just shorter.
But you can also think of your social channels as a niche television station. Your job, like a television station, is to inform and entertain your audience.
To do that, you need to set specific times for your social media show. Then focus on creating Netflix-worth content that’s worth tuning in to.
17 Ideas for Social Media Posts
Here are some formats and ideas for social media posts that have been proven to attract attention and get comments, shares, and clicks.
1. Links to Your Content
#SocialMedia #Marketing Do’s and Don’ts https://t.co/0RKJWb4ibx
— Kim Garst (@kimgarst) August 20, 2016
This is what most people think about when the subject of social media for business comes up.
And yes, you can use social media to distribute your content, but don’t let this be your only type of social media post. Be creative about how you share your content in social media. Some ideas:
- Share an interesting quote or idea from the post.
- Create a video with your main points.
- Create a meme or graph that’s sharable.
- Create a series of posts that share the full story without having to click through. Like this…
2. Curation
10 Digital #Marketing Statistics You Need to Know by @CharlieRiley https://t.co/4gxxXZrdzn #SEO #SocialMedia pic.twitter.com/R2q1iML57Y
— Sujan Patel (@sujanpatel) August 20, 2016
To become a curator, you need to think like one. Every day, browse the web looking for interesting posts. Just as you do with your own content, pull out an interesting idea, add a link, and share it. By the way, this is a great way to build relationship with other bloggers and thought leaders.)
By the way, this is a great way to build relationship with other bloggers and thought leaders. Be sure to mention the author in your post. A simple “by @TwitterHandle” will do the job.
3. Make announcements
Coming soon: I've documented how I moved from Medium to Substack. I'm waiting for a friend's related resource to publish so I can include the link. Hopefully that will be tomorrow.
— Sharon Hurley Hall (@SHurleyHall) February 24, 2021
— Scott Barker (@scottbsales) February 24, 2021Might run a little experiment in 2021. @HackItMax and I are toying with the idea of creating a cohort-based course for aspiring GTM leaders.
We’d share all the things that helped us get further in our careers, faster.
Apply for the beta below.
Social media is one of the best places to let people know what you’re doing and what’s coming up. It’s a good idea to let people know what’s coming up as well as what you’re doing now.
4. Ask for help
Twitter friends!
— Adrienne Barnes (@AdrienneNakohl) February 24, 2021
I need a top of the line paid ads expert, Funnel expert, PPC expert… whatever they are calling themselves I need to know the people that can create a paid ads campaign that is stellar.
My client needs help in this realm, and it's not my forte.
Social media is about connecting with people and being, well, social. So talk to them as you would in person. If you need help, reach out.
5. Share tips and tricks
Share your expertise. This type of post may be a few sentences or a short essay. It may be a how-to, factoid, reminder, or step-by-step process.
This type of post is the modern-day blog. It puts your best ideas in front of your audience without them having to click through to see it. An easy way to create value posts like this is to take snippets from long-form articles on your blog.
6. Post quotes and memes
You have to keep moving forward. pic.twitter.com/XWuYWUso4G
— Jed Record (@JedRecord) August 20, 2016
7. Give industry updates
Report on changes to the industry that will affect your followers. Announce the item, report on it, respond to it, just as you would in a longer medium.
8. Share random or interesting thoughts
— Ross Simmonds (@TheCoolestCool) April 30, 2020"What's your Twitter strategy?"
It's simple:
I tweet about the things that are interesting to me (marketing, entrepreneurship, growth & software) and format them in a way that is easy on the eyes.
Oh. And I talk to people.
It's called "social" media for a reason.
If an idea, question, or joke pops into your head, feel free to share it on social media. These are personality posts that help people get to know you. With these posts, let your hair down and be yourself.
9. Be seasonally relevant
Whether it’s Black history month or Christmas, share posts that celebrate the season or join the collective conversation.
10. Promotions or Offers
Start doing marketing that people love. Learn how for free. https://t.co/55hhojMbKa
— HubSpot Academy (@HubSpotAcademy) December 11, 2015
Download latest ebook “The Unfair Advantage Guide to Successful Blogging” https://t.co/hlMftENwin by bloggers who’ve “been there, done that”
— WHSR (@WHSRnet) August 20, 2016
Social media is supposed to be social, so you don’t want to overdo promotions. But your followers know you’re a business, and if they follow you, it’s probably because they like your products. So go ahead and promote your offers as well as your content and ideas.
11. Updates and Sneak Peaks
Let people know what’s going on or coming up in your business. Tell your followers about recognitions and achievements you’ve received, tease about upcoming events or product launches, announce changes in the way you do things. Keep people informed, and they’ll feel a part of what’s going on.
12. Peeks behind the curtain
Some of the Harney’s went out to enjoy this beautiful weather with our friend Ned from @scenichudson. #Gorgeous day! pic.twitter.com/tQ1zUW5FEG
— Harney & Sons Teas (@HarneyTea) August 20, 2016
Post a picture of fun or unusual events at your office. Or feature an employee, client, project, award, whatever. Be creative and have fun. Your goal is to open the door and let people see what goes on behind the scenes.
13. Conversations
Looks like I got 6th place… aka the 5th loser. Congrats @bmassey for scoring the top spot! @affsum @wpengine https://t.co/FuUbxbfHll
— David Vogelpohl (@davidvmc) August 12, 2016
Be social. If someone posts something you like, share it, being sure to acknowledge your source. If someone makes a comment, respond. If someone shares your posts, thank them. Don’t be afraid to start and continue conversations. After all, we’re talking about social media.
14. Coupons and Discounts
It’s $5 Wednesday! All waistbeads & select jewelry & crystals are just $5! Remaining products are up to 30% off, no coupon code needed! Happy Wednesday! https://t.co/3jtvuRhNWi 💜✨ pic.twitter.com/Z4cZl6BJVu
— Sisn_creations (@sisn_creations) February 24, 2021
Your social media followers are often your most loyal fans. Reward them with coupons, special discounts and other perks.
15. Graphics, Memes, Videos
Studies show that images engage better than simple posts. Create graphics of big ideas, quotable quotes, and your most important thoughts. Make info-graphics to give add a visual element to studies or statistics. Record a live video to share your ideas. Or just include a selfie with your post. The idea is to go graphic rather than relying solely on written words.
16. Ask questions
— Tommy Walker (@tommyismyname) February 23, 2021What camp do you fall into?
1️⃣ If you don't have anything interesting to tweet, don't tweet at all.
2️⃣ Tweet every day, no matter what.
One of the keys to engagement on social media is to listen to your followers. What better way to listen than to create a forum for them to share their ideas?
Ask questions that get people involved. Ask for input in your next product or presentation. Ask what people need the most help with.
Not only can it spark real conversations, you’ll learn a lot about the people in your community.
17. Humor
Thought leaders scrambling to tell someone how “failure is life’s greatest teacher” while LinkedIn is down pic.twitter.com/TUNUt7H3DW
— Semrush (@semrush) February 23, 2021
One of the best ways to engage people is to get them laughing. Don’t be afraid to post cartoons, jokes, graphics, or live feeds of yourself in a Chewbacca mask (whatever works). If you see something that’s entertaining to you, share it. If you have the talent to create your own, you’ll do even better.
The Secret to Social Media Success
This is just a small taste of what you can do with social media. The key is to drive awareness around your brand and what you do. Be as creative as you like to achieve this goal.
And whatever else you do, be social.
