What to post on social media? A Good Answer to a Bad Question

Let’s get real, we’ve all been there, wondering, “What to post on social media”.

Take a deep breath, you are safe here: I asked myself the same question in the past, there is nothing wrong with this.

The problem is the question itself: it is not well placed, it is misleading and it leads nowhere, if not to further confusion.

Conversely, this question often pops up when you lack a strategic approach to social media. In other words, if you ignore why your business is on Social Media and what they can do your business, you will have a hard time deciding what to publish.

This is why, in this article I will provide some good answers to a bad question, so that you will stop asking yourself “What to post on Social Media?” once and for all.

Let’s get started.

Hello business: why are you even on Social Media?

It might sound odd, but it often the case: a lot of companies are on social media without knowing the reason why. They opened channels just because they had to, without sitting down and asking themselves what they are trying to achieve.

When faced with the reason-why question, most business owners and managers reply: I want to use Social Media to drive sales.

Oh dear, welcome to the club. Every company wants to make more revenue, no need to tell.  I am well aware that companies employ various revenue models, but for the sake of clarity, in this article I’ll focus on the simplest scenario: businesses using social media to sell products or services.

Social media can indeed serve the goal but the problem is how to drive sales. Social media can generate revenue but – I hope you have realized –  Social Media are about human beings enjoying free content, most of the time for fun, interest or relaxation.

In other words, Social Media are not a marketplace. People follow social media accounts and become part of a community because they like the content proposed – they find it entertaining, educational or engaging. Nobody follows an account posting discounts only.

Conversely, sales happen at the end of a process and discounts and promos usually convince users that already know your business and who already considered, even if briefly or unconsciously, to buy from you. It is time to break it down briefly:

1. The process starts with potential customers discovering that you exist, by coming across your social media content;
2. Prospects see what you do and, if they like it, they might decide to follow your account;
3. By seeing the content you publish, prospects start to trust you, as they see you work well and notice that you know what you are doing;
4. As time goes by, prospects will start considering your products and services;
5. Eventually, they will buy from you, either naturally or through promos and discounts.

Being aware of this process is key if you plan to use Social Media to help your business grow. This is the first step to unlock tons of ideas on what to post on social media: bear with me, we are getting there!

What to post on Social Media: a bigger picture.

The pieces of the puzzle should be starting to come together.

If you are using Social Media for your business, you reasonably expect to drive sales and grow. But sales come at the end of a process, especially on platforms where people are spending free time for fun, interest or relaxation.

This is why, before deciding what to post on Social Media, we must broaden our horizons. We must focus on the bigger picture, concentrating on how different Social Media goals can help your business along the whole process:

• build your company’s brand awareness, meaning: telling clients that you exist;
• showcase the features of your products and services, meaning: helping clients choose you over competitors;
• inspire your potential clients, conveying that you work with passion and that you always give your best;
• engage with clients: replying to answers and doubts, showing that you care;
• educate your clients: explaining what you can do for them, and making them realize that you might indeed help them;
• building your authority, proving that you deliver what you promise, and that you can make clients happy.

Take a moment to think about this. Focus on sales process and then think about the list of goals just above. You should start to realize that the question “What to post on Social media” starts to get weaker and weaker.

Why? The answer is simple. Your Social media posts should be strategically designed to fuel the overall sales process and help your business grow, by focusing on the different goals above here: showcasing what you do, building confidence and authority, educating clients about their needs, engaging with them and answeting their questions…

This is called a strategic approach to Social media content creation. Creating posts for specific reasons, to achieve business goals, and not just because you feel like it.

You might be wondering: everything sounds great, but how do I actually come up with content ideas? How do I practically solve the problem of deciding what to post on my social media accounts?

We are almost there, stay with me for the final chapter of this article. It is time to unleash the power of social media post creation!

What to post on Social media: switching views.

Let’s face it: many business owners or social media experts face a sort of writer’s block when deciding what to post, as if they had used up all their resources and already expressed all they could possibly express.

As we discussed earlier, this blank-page syndrom relates to a lack of social media strategy. But also, this has to do with a business-centric approach to communications, meaning: people tend to post about what THEY think is relevant, and not what CLIENTS might consider interesting.

I get you, this might sound a bit too abstract. Let me introduce a real-life example to make things even clearer.

I remember talking to a restaurant owner. He had opened a Facebook page to have more clients, he had taken a picture of the entrance and posted it. Then he added a photo of the menu; he even posted some pictures of foods and drinks. Last, from time to time he was sending out a promo to make sure people could book their seat to make sure your dining room is full. End of communications.

I remember talking to this owner, and he really thought he had said all he had to say. He had simply listed all the elements that had come to his mind from a business-centered perspective: this is where you need to pass to get inside my place, this is the list of things I offer, these are some nice pictures.

Guess what? He found social media useless for his business. And when he thought about continuing the social media effort, he did not know what to post.

Truth is that social media require regular content. But with that approach, the restaurant owner would have never driven sales. In order to be effective, a Social Media strategy must go beyond this, by switching from a business-centric approach to a client-centric approach.

A quick exercise: think from a client perspective.

Here is the twist: imagine you were a customer: what would you find interesting to discover about a restaurant? Why would you follow such social media account?

Let’s brainstorm together:

• Is the venue nice? Is it clean? Is the restaurant located in a Medieval castle, who deserves a visit even if the food is just OK and not great?
• Who opened this restaurant? Is there any personal, family history or social mission that animates the activity? 
• What food should I expect to find? Shall I find the reliability of a family-owned, traditional environment or should I experiment with the daring cooking experiments of a young chef?
• How are dishes prepared? Is there any secret? Is there any particular attention paid for allergies, for specific diets, for the protection of the environment?
• What about the ingredients? Where do they come from? Does the place offer nice herbs or exclusive seafood?
• Are other customers satisfied with the service? Is there a line to book my place? What about client reviews?

These are just examples. Bear in mind that customers do not always ask themselves these questions out loud. Instead, the point is that customers DO hold these doubts, even if at unconscious level.

These are gray areas that influence the clients’ perception of the restaurant, even if not explicitly asked out loud, and customers ask themselves these questions during the sales process. This menthal process unfolds before deciding to dine at your place.

This quick exercise has immediately given us ideas to quickly move beyond the owner’s approach, ideas for posts addressing or anticipating client’s feeling, doubts and perceptions:

• bring your venue forward: customers care about food, but going to the restaurant is a broader experience. The environment is key;
• do not be afraid to share stories, especially when they talk about your values, your passions, what motivates you to run a restaurant. Talk about founders, chefs, members of staff;
• show your dishes, make them visually appealing, but build stories around them;
• prove your expertise: showcase your ingredients, and why you chose them over others;
• ask questions, engage with clients: show you are there to clarify doubts on the menu, on the service, on the prices;
• interview clients, show their happy faces, ask them to become your ambassadors.

Conclusions

I hope the restaurant analogy proved what this article is all about. Asking yourself what to post on social media is often a consequence of a partial understanding of how social work and how they can serve business goals.

Let sum it up once and for all:

1. Always bear in mind how sales happen on social media;
2. Always approach social media content creation strategically, asking: what business goal am I pursuing with this post?
3. Always put yourself in your client’s shoes. The posts must be interesting for them, not for you.

By following these steps, you will be amazed by the tons of ideas that will come to your mind. And, most likely, you won’t be asking yourself “What to post on Social media” any longer.

Sounds easy, right? Thank me later 🙂

About me!

My name is Edoardo, but everybody calls me Edo.

I am a digital marketing specialist and a digital project manager, with extensive experience across different digital marketing projects.

Thank you for reading thus fur, I appreciate! I hope you found the article useful.
Feel free to share any thoughts or doubts, drop me a line here: edo@edoardoghitti.com

Also, I run a newsletter where I share tips, tricks and views on digital marketing. You’re welcome to join: no charge and no spam. You are safe with me!

Talk soon! 🙂