Content Hacks That Your Social Media and Content Manager Must Know

With "netizens" spending 143 minutes per day on social media, the digital landscape has shifted towards using the platform for business or brand discovery. How can a social media and content manager capture a sizable audience?

Social media has become an indispensable tool for businesses, offering a direct line to connect with potential and existing customers. It allows brands to build awareness, foster loyalty, and drive sales through targeted content and engagement. However, cutting through the constant stream of information online is a challenge. 

Businesses need to create content that is not only informative but also engaging, captivating the audience's attention and sparking meaningful interactions. This is where content hacks come in - clever strategies designed to boost a brand's social media performance and ensure its message resonates with the right people.

Planning and Creation

Let's get into the planning stage first. As a social media and content manager, you need a game plan for how your brand will roll out effective campaigns in the weeks or months to come.

A. Know Your Audience

Who do you want your social posts to resonate with? Utilize surveys, polls, social listening tools, and website analytics to understand your audience's demographics, interests, pain points, and preferred content formats. This will help you create detailed profiles of your ideal customers. Key information to include can be their age, occupation, online behavior, and social media platforms they frequent. Then stay updated on trending topics, hashtags, and content formats that will be relevant to your audience and industry.

B. Content Calendar Magic

Set SMART goals. Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals for your content strategy (e.g., increase brand awareness by 20% in 3 months). Next, plan a diverse content calendar that includes a mix of text, images, videos, infographics, and live streams to cater to different learning styles and preferences. You can also repurpose existing content like blog posts into infographics or videos to maximize reach and value. Be efficient as well: use social media scheduling tools (such as Hootsuite or Buffer) to plan posts and ensure consistent posting throughout the week.

C. Catchy Headlines that Convert

Clarity is key. Keep headlines concise and easy to understand, avoiding jargon or overly technical terms. Highlight the value proposition of your content by focusing on the benefits it offers to your audience. Use numbers, statistics, or intriguing questions to pique the reader's interest and encourage them to click. Experiment with proven headline formulas like "How to" or "The Ultimate Guide to" to structure your headlines effectively.

Using Different Platforms

Don't just focus on one platform to reach potential customers. Vary your strategy according to the tone that matches well with the platform you're planning to post your content.

A. Mastering Visual Content

Platform specifics: adapt your visual content to each platform's strengths and preferences. Focus on creating high-quality visuals that are visually appealing and relevant to your content.

• Instagram: High-quality photos and short videos with eye-catching visuals and storytelling elements.
• Facebook: Diverse content like images, infographics, and longer videos with informative captions.
• Twitter: Eye-catching images and infographics to complement concise text content.
• LinkedIn: Professional-looking images, infographics, and videos related to industry trends.
• TikTok: Quick, concise videos that reflect what's currently trending.

B. Engaging with Hashtags

Research relevant hashtags for each platform and your specific industry. But don't overstuff: avoid using excessive hashtags as they can appear spammy.

• Instagram: Aim for 5-10 relevant hashtags per post.
• Twitter: 1-2 highly relevant hashtags are generally sufficient.
• Facebook: 2-3 well-researched hashtags are recommended.
• LinkedIn: Utilize industry-specific hashtags to reach a targeted audience.
• TikTok: 1-2 trending hashtags are already enough to make the videos reach an audience.

C. The Power of User-Generated Content (UGC)

Foster a sense of community by highlighting user-generated content and encouraging interaction amongst users. You can encourage participation by running a contest or asking questions. Actively engage with your audience to encourage them to share their experiences with your brand. It's important as well to recognize and repost what your customers are posting about you on their social media accounts. Repost user-generated content with proper credit to showcase customer appreciation and build trust. Another tip would be to launch specific UGC campaigns with clear instructions and incentives to generate a flood of user-created content.

Keeping Your Audience Hooked

A generic image of your product or service just won't cut it with the massive amount of content flooding one's social media today. What you need is effective storytelling that will keep your audience hooked on your content.

A. The Art of Storytelling

Craft stories that evoke emotions in your audience, whether it's humor, curiosity, or inspiration. You may create relatable characters or scenarios that your audience can easily connect with - think about an ideal customer persona. Another approach would be to present a problem your audience faces and showcase how your brand or product offers the solution. Cliffhangers and curiosity are effective narratives as well. Utilize cliffhangers or intriguing questions to keep your audience wanting more and encourage them to engage with your content.

B. Conversation Starters

Ask open-ended questions. Pose questions that require more than a simple "yes" or "no" answer to spark discussions and encourage participation. You'll see comments and engagements flooding in. Are your customers actively engaging? Respond to comments and messages promptly and authentically, building a sense of community and fostering loyalty. You can also come up with polls and quizzes to gather audience insights and generate interactive content that encourages participation. Make them feel connected as well by conducting live Q&A sessions, interviews, or behind-the-scenes glimpses to create a more personal connection with your audience.

C. Analytics Advantage

Monitor key metrics like likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates to understand what resonates with your audience. Social media platforms usually have built-in analytics tools to identify top-performing content. Confused about which ones will work out? Conduct A/B testing for different content formats, headlines, and posting times to optimize your performance. Continuously analyze your data and adapt your content strategy based on what resonates with your audience and current trends.

Get Those Engagements Coming In!

With the amount of posts exposed to your potential customer's social media account, it's not enough to simply create a social media post nowadays. You need to implement content hacks that will get them talking about your brand. As a social media and content manager, engagement is key to making sure your brand reaches out to your intended audience.

Now that you have an idea of what content to create, it's time to put those ideas to work. Get help from graphic design services like Delesign to craft compelling visuals that will jumpstart your social media and content strategy today.