Next Level Social Media Posts for Your Brand

1. What is a social media post?
2. What makes a good social media post?
3. What social media post formats are there?
4. How do you write a social media post?
5. Which social media post ideas are there?
6. What is a social media management tool?

Are you social media managers in a company or have you always wanted to know everything about social media posts on Facebook and Instagram? Then you are in exactly the right place. In this article, the two guest authors Marion and Verena from so.you tell you everything about ideas, tips and knowledge about social media posts!

Table of Contents

1. What is a social media post?

2. What makes a good social media post?

3. Which social media post formats are there?

4. How do you write a social media post?

5. What social media post ideas are there?

6. What is a social media management tool?

What is a social media post?

Social media posts are usually text, image or video content that is published via a social media platform.

The big advantage over offline “posts”: Other people can interact directly with the content. And this is how:

• react with emojis
• comment
• share with your own network
• save for a later point in time and remember

The author can be a company (brand-generated), an influencer (influencer-generated) or a fan of a company (user-generated). Why should a brand write social media posts? Because that's how reach and visibility is created. The highlight: Building a relationship with the target audience is very natural via social media channels.

What makes a good social media post?

Which social media post is good or bad is always decided by the followers themselves. It's best to periodically look at the most important KPIs. This way you will learn what your target group likes and you will increasingly hit the taste of your fans and write “good social media posts”.

This statement was not helpful? Here you will find a small list of the most important “ingredients” for a good social media post, because as you surely know, it's all about the total package.

1. Visual elements with pep stop the user's scrolling thumb

You know it yourself, you scroll through the feed of the social networks and suddenly there is

• a new picture/video of your favorite brand,
• an infographic on a topic that currently concerns you,
• a picture where you think “this could be me”,
• or even a really funny picture of a brand you don't know yet – You interrupt scrolling and swipe, react and then read the text.

Statistics on the relevance of visual elements vary depending on the source: Some speak of 94% more visibility, some even of 98% more visibility of social media posts with visual content compared to social media posts without visual content. Conclusion: For a good social media post, good creatives are needed.

2. Text that inspires, helps, entertains or captivates

An essay like in school? No, nobody needs that. It should contain: An intriguing first line, clear structured content and a call-to-action (CTA). We'll show you how to find exactly the right words shortly.

3. Hashtags – Your organic reach booster

Hashtags are the SEO tool on social media. With the right hashtags, your post can even be found by users who don't know you yet. Hashtags about current topics, such as #blacklivesmatter make your account a possible discussion platform. Hashtags about your location help, for example, tourists can find you immediately.

But be careful: Hashtags don't work equally well on all social media platforms. For example, hashtags are not widely used on Facebook. In contrast, they are real “reach boosters” on Instagram. There you can even place up to 30 hashtags, currently about 10-12 are considered “optimal”. Important: Use no more hashtags than words in the caption. Hashtags can also be used intelligently on Twitter. The social media platform LinkedIn is currently developing further in this area. Currently up to 5 hashtags that you use in your post are added to the URL of the post.

No matter which network: Use hashtags strategically and don't spam your followers with them.

4. Emojis – jump right into the hearts of your followers

Do you want to evoke emotions and speak in the language of your followers? Then use emojis. Emojis are often defined as the “worldwide storytelling language” and that's exactly how they should be used. Here is a small overview of the correct use:

• Emojis should complement your “message”.
• Emojis must not be used instead of words, since particularly new emojis are not available on all devices.
• Use emojis that are understood by your target group. You are not sure what a particular emoji means? Click into emojipedia.org. There the meaning is decrypted.

Should you also use emojis on LinkedIn? Yes, definitely. There they function in particular to improve the readability of social media posts, such as being used as bullet points.

What social media post formats are there?

A whole lot! Depending on the platform, individual formats work better or worse. New formats are added – older formats become less relevant.

Image-text post: the classic

True to the motto: “A picture says more than a thousand words”- the classic is as popular as ever. The big challenge with the classic: Stand out from the crowd.

Tip: If you post several pictures at once -a „carousel”-, you can extend the stay on your profile.

Guides: Deep-dives into individual topics

Guides are a collection of multiple social media posts on Instagram. Depending on the topic – product, seasonal or a topic-series – they can be summarized in guides. Even user-generated content from other profiles can be used.

Video: the champion

Not everyone makes videos and that's exactly your chance. Post videos and stand out. With videos, the transfer of your brand and yourself is much easier. Videos entertain, inform, tell.

But when creating videos, you should definitely think about the everyday life of your users: They might be at work or at university. This means the videos you post should also have real entertainment potential without sound. Optionally, you can turn on automatic subtitles.

Hot tip: The first 3 seconds have to be as entertaining as possible. Otherwise a) the dropout rate is too high and b) you can, for example, make the automatic playback of videos on social media platforms work for you.

What doesn't Facebook reward you for? Links to YouTube videos. Because Facebook always wants native content. Here's how it works best:

• MP4 for all who want to play it safe, other formats are allowed.
• A maximum file size of 10 GB is allowed.
• You have up to 240 minutes to deliver the most exciting content of all time.

On Instagram, you need to consider the following cornerstones:

• Video in the feed can last a maximum of 60 seconds
• IGTV can last up to 15 minutes

Live video: the authenticity guarantee

Authenticity is often absent in high-quality marketing videos. That's why it's so important to go live from time to time. Use live videos for branding, reach and building customer loyalty. Hardly anyone appreciates sales actions in live videos.

Reels: the entertainers

30-second short videos with a 300% entertainment factor are reels. You can find reels on Instagram and they are currently the trend feature there, which the algorithm rewards with reach.

Story: today's status update

We recommend using the Instagram story features to create stories. The current basic rule is 9:16 and 15 seconds. Use polls and questions. This way you can increase the interaction rate. After creating the story in Instagram, it can be shared on both platforms (Instagram and Facebook) at the same time.

Text post: the status update from earlier

Yes, it is still possible. Do you remember the status updates at midnight after a disco visit? There is no longer any reach or high interaction rates on it today. However, they can still be used for spontaneous information that needs to be communicated quickly.

Link post: on your own behalf

On Facebook and LinkedIn there is also the option to simply post links. So you can showcase your website or your web shop.

Our TIP: Regardless of the platform, always keep an eye on the latest formats! Those who use these are always rewarded most by the algorithm.

How do you write a social media post?

We have prepared a guide consisting of 7 steps for you.

Before you get started, you should definitely have a Social media strategy thought out and already prepared a Social media editorial plan. Ready? Then let's go:

Do your homework and research!

What problems, questions or needs do your desired customers have? What hot topic is your dream community currently talking about? These topics are the basis for your textual content.

To build trust with precisely this community, you can tell success stories of former or current happy customers. In this way, the community can better imagine how you can help and what their own future might look like. In this way, a connection is made on an emotional level with your brand and your future customers give you a leap of faith.

Speak the language of your desired customers.

Yes, you guessed it – the research continues. In what language and with what words do your desired customers talk about their problems and needs. Use exactly these words to address the problems in your social media posts. This way you can show that you know your desired customers.

A post that you write for your fashion community on Instagram should sound different than a social media post that you write to address CEOs on LinkedIn. Both groups not only have different mindsets and different problems, but also use a different language to express themselves.

Use your brand language

Finally – enough research for now. With all the target group focus, of course, the development of your brand language should not be neglected. This reflects your values and should always evoke the same emotions. If you succeed in speaking the same language on all channels, this can help users to identify with you and remember you.

Be positive!

This advice by no means implies that every one of your posts should cause a belly laugh among your community, but rather, that your social media post should evoke a positive feeling in your readers. This feeling can also be triggered by informative posts, news or great emotional videos.

Be aware that your texts are not too long.

As short as possible and as long as necessary – is the generally known rule here. Be conscientious with the time of your customers. If you want your target group to pay attention to you, you should do the same for them.

Write user-friendly!

Capture your fans with a concise first line. The purpose of the first line is to arouse curiosity so that the followers continue reading. Your tonality should always match the goal of the post. Inform, entertain, tell, shake up and sell are just a few examples of possible goals of your social media post.

The reference level for vocabulary and sentence length should be an 8th grader. The simpler you write, the easier your content can be consumed. Use emojis and paragraphs to structure your content and further increase readability. Your paragraphs should be a maximum of three sentences long.

Tell your followers what you want from them.

Add a call-to-action sentence at the end of each social media post. Do you want them to follow your page or share the post? Then tell your users. You want to know what they think of the topic of your post? Finish the post with a straightforward question. Important here: The easier it is to answer, the more feedback you will receive.

What should you post on social media and what should you better not post?

I don't know what to post! Nothing happens in our company that is relevant for social media! We don't have enough content! We hear such statements all the time. Our answer to this is usually “Let's have a brainstorming session together and create a Social Media Strategy. After a short time, a colorful mix of topics is ready for the editorial plan. Depending on the goal definition, the content focus is on different topics. Basically, however:

1. Let the followers take a look behind the scenes of your company.
2. Show faces – whether it's employees or customers: “People want to see people”.

Definitely not belonging in the topic list of your social media channels are:

• Incendiary details from the business figures
• Negative content where competitors, customers or politicians are dragged through the **. Content of this kind is not only unprofessional, but can also destroy trust and credibility in your brand. The same goes for unconfirmed details and rumors of all kinds.
• Stolen content, i.e. when you post content from someone else under your name. If the original author gets wind of this, it will definitely get uncomfortable and could even have legal consequences.

...and basically anything that should not be posted online permanently.

Which social media post ideas are there?

• Stories of your customers: How did you help the Mustermann family last time? What problem did Mrs. Mustermann have? Write social media posts about customer stories so potential new customers can identify with you.
• News about brand, product, store or company: Use social media posts to quickly inform your fans about news. Some concrete examples are: Communication about the change of business hours or opening times on holidays, so your customers don't get stuck in front of closed doors, introducing new employees, presenting new products, explaining new features on the website or perhaps a change of generations in the management team. In this way you keep your fans always up to date and make them part of your company.
• Funny captions: Yes, correct – your followers also want to be entertained. Feel free to make a joke every now and then and sweeten your fans' day in this way.
• Giveaways: Be generous! With giveaways, your fan base on social media can be increased in no time. Write your rules strategically and ask your followers to like your account, to repost your social media post and to inform friends about the giveaway. In this way, the numbers around reach and traffic go up rapidly. The statistics of your future social media posts will thank you.
• Company values and goals: No, you shouldn't write your defined values 1:1 into a social media post, but rather bring them closer with examples. Is one of your values for example “sustainability” and you have adjusted the packaging of your products for this reason? Then tell your users why you adapted the packaging.
• Knowledge and expertise: You are definitely experts in a certain specialist area in your industry. Share this knowledge in simple words with your users. With social media posts of this type, the probability is high that your posts will even be “saved”.
• Share and react: Has a trade magazine written about you or has a cooperation partner mentioned you in his social media post? Then use your social media account to share these posts and write a personal two or three sentences about it. This brings variety and conveys trust.
• Employee stories: No business without the people behind it – we all know that. Also tell about your employees on your social media channels. This has three positive effects: 1. More trust in your company in the eyes of the followers – they want to know who is behind the company after all. 2. Employee recognition and appreciation also has positive effects among your employees themselves. 3. The number of potential applicants rises.

What is a social media management tool?

Social media management tools are usually used to increase efficiency and performance on social media. Typical tools support social media managers in the following activities:

• Planning the social media posts
• Automatic posting of the social media posts
• Management of user interactions
• Competitor analysis of other social media accounts
• Graphic processing of the images and videos
• Analysis and reporting of the social media posts

The selection of possible tools on the web is virtually endless. Some popular Social media tools for example are Hootsuite, Later, Facelift Cloud or Fanpage Karma. The tools differ in possible functions, customer support, user-friendliness and complexity of the setup. To find the right tool, we therefore recommend a look at the software rating platform OMR Reviews. Here the individual Social media management tools are presented and rated by users.

In short, there are a whole range of social media post formats, depending on the platform, various points have to be considered. The users determine through interactions whether a contribution was good or bad – in order to write a good contribution, creatives and text must always be aimed at the defined target group. In terms of content, there is hardly a story within a company that cannot be used as potential social media content. As long as the no-gos are observed, everything that helps to achieve the goals defined in the social media strategy can be posted. To increase the efficiency and performance of social media marketing, social media management tools can be used.