Social Media platforms are constantly evolving. With more than 3 billion active users on social media, the need for the right content types to perform is greater than ever. With content overload on social media, not all content types perform equally. Unless you have thousands of dollars to boost posts every month, you need to develop the right content. The right content will help you with organic reach. The best content types engage users and audiences while helping community building.

Why do Some Content Types Perform Better on Social Media?

Why are my posts not performing?

How should I grow my follower base?

Why are people not engaging with my social media page?

Why has none of my posts become viral?

What should my social media strategy be?

If you are one of those that are stuck in terms of creativity, this article will help clear your block. When we are too invested with something from the inside, we fail to stand away and assess the same objectively.

This is the reason why brands and agencies fail to adapt to the changing trends in social media. They are stuck in terms of creating similar content types repeatedly.

If you are a brand or a social media marketing agency, you have some experience with what I am saying. You must have seen some posts perform far better than your expectations. While at the same time, you must have seen something else perform abysmally.

Sometimes, even the best of social media marketing strategies fail to deduce why certain content types succeed or fail. However, they fail to take into account two important things-

• Constant changes in algorithms of social media platforms.
• Content overload on social media.

With millions of brands and people vying for likes, shares, and comments, it is difficult to attract attention. At this stage, algorithms filter out content, which sees less engagement and show content, which performs.

This means that all your effort towards strategizing; creating the post, and writing the copy, all goes to waste.

You might be paying over $2500 dollars in retainer fees, only to be told that you need to spend more on promotions.

Brands, Creative Agencies, and Forms of Content:

Before you start with boosting your posts regularly, you should try experimenting with different content types. I have written this article after speaking to some of the top creative minds in the industry.

As brands start paying emphasis on the ‘conversion’ part of social media, agencies need to look at sales. This is a rather new development, but one that is becoming quite mainstream. The sales aspect of social media is slowly overshadowing the marketing part.

This development is also because of the increased budgets, brands are investing in the platform. If you are an agency, your KPIs would have slowly started changing from engagement metrics to sales queries. That is the nature of the evolution that social media represents.

No matter which industry you are a part of, the end goal of social media has become to move audiences closer to the sales process. Brands expect this standardized KPI from agencies. This makes it imperative for agencies to pay special attention to the content they are creating.

There is a difference between content types and content forms. I would briefly discuss the forms of content that work on social media-

• Content that is Direct, Humane, and Honest
• Content that is Witty, Comical, and Humorous
• Content that is Inspirational and Motivating
• Content that is Fun and Entertaining
• Content that is Smart, Intelligent, and Educative

These forms work best when combined with different content types. You also need to pay attention to the fact that the copy should reflect creativity. It is only a combination of both, that will help you succeed.

Top Performing Content Types: The List

1. Live Streaming on Social Media:

If you compare the organic reach of Live Streaming with any other content types, you will see how well it performs. Most social platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer great visibility to Live Streaming videos.

The key is to set the tone for the session and announce the same to your audiences. What will the live streaming be about- interview, product review, launch, etc. It is one of the newest avenues for reaching out to audiences.

Live streaming is something that you should have as a content strategy. You should at least have a live streaming content type once a week on your social platform.

Livestreaming podcast shows are also popular nowadays.

A podcast is a digital format of a video or audio program for download over the internet on a mobile device or computer. It is meant to be listened to and is usually available as a series of episodes subscribers receive automatically. An individual or two or more people can host a podcast show. They lead the conversation, tackle hot topics, report the news, share stories, and more.

I personally love podcast shows because they’re informative and entertaining. Because of my curiosity about cryptocurrency, metaverse, and affiliate marketing, these are usually the podcast topics I search for. I often choose podcast shows hosted by renowned professionals in their field, distinguishing fake or real ones who can expertly speak about the subject matter.

You will need podcasting software for excellent video and audio quality to create podcast content. Examples of some features that you might want to consider when choosing podcasting software include high-quality recording, high-definition video support, and echo and noise cancellation. Learn more about podcasting software at http://melonapp.com/solutions/podcast-recording-software/.

2. Infographics:

While some critics state that the era of infographics is over, I feel a little bit differently. I agree that infographics do not have the same pull as they used to. However, for some industries, infographics still is a dominant and well-performing content type.

I am talking specifically about the B2B industries. The audience base for such industries is pretty niche. In my experience, I have seen people engaging with infographics in a big way in B2B industries.

Statistics, figures, numbers, data, how-to approaches, etc. perform amazingly well on social media platforms. Yes, they do not have the same pull, but they still should be on your content strategy.

Infographics are visually appealing and diversify your social media content to attract more followers and reactions. You can easily create infographics using graphic design apps that are available for free and in paid versions with more templates and features.

3. Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)

They are the latest rage, so much so that companies like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook have started using them in the comments section. For any kind of response, you can take help from a GIF.

GIFs lend your brand a humorous quotient. They also help reach out to younger audiences who cannot seem to live without memes and GIFs. No matter what industry you belong to, GIFs are an essential part of your content strategy.

There is a difference between GIFs and Videos. On Instagram, you need to upload videos on loop and not GIFs. Instagram does not support GIF formats.

4. Videos:

If you want to compare the growth of video content, you just need to scroll through your Facebook feed. You will see that almost all brands are switching over to videos. According to some experts, videos outperform images by 5:1.

This is a remarkable statistic. For some of the biggest agencies, two videos per week as the content is essential to boost your engagement.

Videos also have a better performance when it comes to garnering impressions. Want an example, how videos are here to stay: just link your video to YouTube and see the change in metrics.

5. User Generated Content (UGC)

The movement towards audiences liking real issues, real people and real developments is upon us. Over the last couple of years, social media has lost a lot of credibility. People want to see more things that are real.

This is why more brands are shifting towards user-generated content. You will see some of the best ones re-sharing and re-programming aggressively. The influence real people have on real people on social media is astonishingly high.

This is why social media influencers are more preferred that movie stars; at least on social media. They bring authenticity, and credibility and help gain trust for the brand.

6. Stories as Narratives:

As we move towards a period in human history, which is marked by alienation and ambiguity, stories help us in a big way. Think of how Humans of New York has become what it is. No celeb, no sportsmen- just real, normal, everyday people.

Everyone has a story to tell, and people love consuming stories on social media. Yes, the content has to be excellent. The copy takes the lead in this instance. Unless you are writing riveting content that is inspirational and motivating, you will not get the traction.

However, for every brand, a human narrative is important. Nearly all brands can have such a narrative to connect with audiences on a human level.

7. Share Stories as often as you can:

Social brands have gone on record to share how stories perform better than standard posts. In terms of organic reach and engagement, stories outperform statics in a big way. Almost all platforms- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and others allow for stories.

There are many reasons why stories perform better. The biggest one of them being that they are current and present. In other words, they are a content type in real-time. People want to always live in the moment and want to know what is happening currently.

Brands should start asking their agencies for a separate content strategy for stories. The best brands post nearly ten or more stories in a single day. This helps maintain engagement levels in a big way.

8. Interactive Content Types like Quizzes and Polls:

In today’s world, everyone wants to have a say, everyone wants to react or engage. Quizzes and polls are two content types that really heighten engagement levels. The best part about polls is that you can use stories for conducting them.

The more engaging content types you use, the better your will be your engagement on social media. As a brand, quizzes and polls can be conducted on almost all your product and services.

Check out how Burger King routinely shares polls with its audiences on Instagram stories. People want to engage at all times, you just need to give them the right content.

Source: Burger King

9. Link your Website Blog:

In today’s world, the KPIs of social media have changed drastically. One of the standard KPIs is driving audiences to your brand website. This means sharing great content that will influence people to click on the link and travel to your website.

I have found that blogs are a great way of redirecting traffic from your social to your website. However, the content that you put on social should be good enough for people to click on the link and travel.

Posting a blog link twice a week can help you redirect a lot of traffic from your social media to the website. However, the key is not to overdo it. Intersperse the blog link with entertaining content.

10. Give People the option to Shop:

Social media does 90 percent of the work in convincing and winning over people. What most brands fail to offer in a constructive way is closing the sales cycle.

I have seen your product on your social media page.

I have also seen videos of your product.

You announced on stories that it is now available.

I have also seen reviews of your product on your social page.

I have also seen you re-sharing the same product from another individual in a UGC format.

How, When, and Where can I buy it from?

The last sentence is where most brands do the above five points, well, fail miserably. You should always have a shop option on your social feed. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and others have all started with this function.

By linking to your e-commerce store or your brand website effectively, you can expedite the sales process. This will help bring back repeat customers and guarantee good metrics of engagement.

The Final Word

Aja Frost on Buffer mentions about why ‘humans love variety’. I could not agree with her anymore. She compares social media content to a buffet spread (quite an apt analogy). Human beings crave variety in all aspects of our lives.

The idea is to provide the same form of variety on social media. You have to do this both- in terms of content forms, as well as content types.

With social giants changing their algorithms and decreasing organic reach, brands and agencies have to work harder and smarter. However, great content always wins it. All you need to do is understand what your audience wants and offer it to them.

By shuffling between the above content types, you will ensure that your page is-

• Vibrant
• Youthful
• Dynamic
• Engaging
• Community
• Sales Oriented

As a brand, you should also be aware of the latest developments in the world of social media. By visiting the Newsroom and Blog of social media companies, you can understand what works and what does not. They frequently bring out the best practices of what works on their platform.

If you wish to contribute or add value to the article, the comments section is all yours.

For any other information on what content types work best on social media, or anything related to social media marketing, drop me a mail at [email protected]

Read Also:

• The Ultimate Guide to Social Media for Small Brands in 2019
• 10 Steps for a Successful Influencer Marketing Strategy on Social Media