Social media platforms are the leading marketing platforms in this day and age. Worldwide, there are more than 4 billion social media users, with the top social media platforms being Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
The different types of social media platforms require different types of social media posts.
This is because the various social media platforms attract various demographics of users.
For example, Facebook users are mainly those above 30 while TikTok attracts mainly users below the age of 25.
Your social media posts have to be tailored to the different demographics of users.
On each platform, content is presented differently. For instant, Twitter consists of short posts while Instagram is more image based.
Therefore, you need to learn how to maximize the content potential of each social media platform – by learning how to use each social media platform in person is a great way to start.
This way, you can learn the unique way each platform operates. It will help you understand how to make content that stands out from the competition, as well as what tastes the users on the platform have.
In addition to tailoring your content to fit the styles of the different social media platforms, it also helps to determine your brand’s tone of voice and personality. That way, you can ensure that your content, no matter what platform it’s on, matches up with your branding.
How Data Can Help You Trend in Social Media
In order to plan effective content that will attract users, you need to stay relevant to the current trends. There are many ways to gather the information that you need to craft good quality and unique posts that will bring in the traffic.
Many social media platforms provide data about your content performance, and this is called analytics. Basic analytics is often free, and you’ll get tons of useful information about several other key performance indicators too.
Here are the different types of analytics reports that will be of use to you:
1. Publishing & Post Performance Reports
These types of reports will be able to show you the amount of engagements you receive per post. They will also show the trend of engagements over time, so you can compare and see whether your posts are performing better or worse over a period of a few weeks, months or years.
These reports are important for you to see how many people you’ve reached, and to see how each content has performed so you can decide on your content direction.
2. Audience Insights & Personas
Social media audience insights provide you with a complete look at the profiles of the people that interact with your content.
These interactions can include users who like your posts, page visitors, those who leave comments and more.
Often, these media insights include various aspects of your visitors including their location, age, gender, jobs, qualifications and even marital status.
Having a clearer idea of who your content appeals to will help you craft the direction of your content for the long term.
3. The Best Posting Time
One of the best social media marketing tips is for you to learn the best times to post your content.
Posting times will heavily affect the visibility of your content. Usually, you want to find out when most of your users are actively online.
Choosing to put up a post during the periods when your followers are online will indirectly increase your post engagement rates.
The optimal times to post are different for each account, depending on the type of content and business you have.
Therefore, based on your account analytics showing the optimal engagement times, you will have to experiment and see which one gives consistent results.
Related Articles:
Best Time to Post on Facebook Malaysia
Best Time To Post on Tik Tok Malaysia
Type of Posts for Each Social Media Platform
In this section, we’ll address what to post on each media platform. These suggestions are merely a guide for you to understand each platform more.
The top social media sites in Malaysia present content in a very different way, and emphasize different types of content.
Facebook is the leading social media in the world today with 2.80 billion monthly users, which represent about a third of the world’s population.
Facebook has a very versatile content creation interface, where you can share texts, videos, images, GIFs and so much more very easily.
These are some of the Facebook content you can consider posting:
Embedded videos
On Facebook, videos and images can be directly uploaded and hosted on the site. You can also embed videos easily from other social media platforms like Youtube and Vimeo.
Live Streaming
Another trend that’s really taking off on Facebook is live streaming. Business owners are now turning to Facebook live streaming to sell their products directly online.
They set a time and date where their followers can tune in, and then during the live session they will introduce their products at length.
Funny Memes
Facebook is a place where there are also a lot of memes floating around. So some of the content you put out can take advantage of the current memes that are being shared. To make your memes relevant, you can tie them in to the current issues and happenings.
Product Descriptions
Having a post with lots of images of your product will help your followers understand your products better.
Facebook has a special Business Manager platform which you can use to manage customer interaction, post ads, keep track of your content and more, so be sure to use those.
Instagram is an image based social media platform which allows the sharing of short videos, less than one minute long.
Any videos longer than that are hosted on IGTV, a special section within the platform.
Apart from the standard image and short video feed, there’s also an option called Instagram stories, which are displayed on the top part of a user’s account.
Instagram stories are transient content that play out like a reel of clips, and are available for viewing for only 24 hours. These are some of the most popular things to post if you’re a business page on Instagram:
Inspirational quotes
Brighten up someone’s day and encourage them. Suitable for brands that encourage motivational and encouragement such as fitness brands, life & wealth planner and more
Lifestyle and Behind the Scenes Posts
Include something from your daily business operations, such as how your products are made, how quality checks are conducted and such.
Additionally, you can also include non-product related posts about your daily activities.
Short Videos
It’s always refreshing to post short informational videos that will benefit the customers.
Promotions and Competitions
Design an attractive poster that will catch your followers’ attention.
Testimonials
Feature testimonial images from past customers who were satisfied with your products or services. Videos work well too.
When it comes to Instagram, it’s all about attention-grabbing visuals, whether its photos, posters, designs, or video stills. Make your images as unique and stand out as possible for the best results.
TikTok
TikTok is a platform where users are able to watch short video clips posted by other users. They are then allowed to like, comment, and share the video clips. As a brand on TikTok, there are many fun TikTok memes and video concepts that are trending.
Additionally, you can use the various TikTok marketing tools to help your brand reach out. It’s important to keep up with the latest viral video concepts on TikTok. At the same time, you can also balance out your content with some informational posts, brand stories and more.
Here’s some of the content you can post on TikTok as a business:
Question Answering Time Q&A
Usually, business owners and influencers do this for their followers all the time. The questions from their followers are posted to the upper left side of the video, while the influencer or business owner answers them. Sometimes, more than one question will be answered.
Viral Dance Videos
You can keep up with the latest dance trends under the ‘Discover’ section, as well as the other trending hashtags on TikTok. Having a dance collaboration with other channels that share your values can also be an option.
Trending Meme Videos
Although dance videos are pretty popular overseas, TikTok is a lot more than that. On Malaysian TikTok, our trends often include various humorous action videos, funny tropes and memes. In fact, all these attract much more views than dance videos.
Read also: Guide to Find HashTag on TikTok Malaysia
Twitter can sometimes be a challenging tool to post on, especially since the posts have a 280 character limit, including spaces. This means that your content has to be very short and concise.
It is possible for you to post content as a thread, in a series of posts one after the other. However, as a brand, it’s advisable to keep your message as brief and to the point as possible.
On Twitter, some of the best performing content includes:
Twitter Polls
Twitter Polls are a fun way of getting your audience involved in answering questions. You’ll also get to know more about them this way. Polls do not have to directly be associated with your brand, and can just be fun and entertaining.
Linked Videos or Images
Due to the limitations in words, Twitter content always works better with an image, GIF, or video. Links are always encouraged on Twitter as it adds more attractiveness to the post. Links give you the freedom to convey messages through an image, rather than thinking of more words to express it.
Open Ended Question
Twitter attracts a fairly young, urban, and well-educated crowd. Therefore, they’re not afraid to express their opinions in an eloquent manner. Posting open ended questions where your visitors can have an open, moderated discussion is also one way of attracting traffic to your page.
Trending Twitter Hashtags
You’ll be able to see what Twitter hashtags are trending under the magnifying glass icon. Hashtag trends are listed according to your geographical location. Posting content containing that hashtag or key word will help people discover your page when they scroll through.
LinkedIn is a platform which welcomes professionals, and is used as a platform for them to network with one another. Its user interface is not that different from Facebook. However, there are additional features, such as job postings.
Whether you’re posting on your personal page as a business owner, or on your business page, here are some useful ideas on what to post:
Leadership & Career Tips
Since Linkedin is a very corporate centric platform, articles like these will benefit your connections. They will be able to share your career tips and blog posts to others, and you’ll be able to build your brand awareness this way.
Brand Stories
Posts about your company and business will also do well on LinkedIn. You may want to incorporate your opinions on corporate culture and work culture to make it more relevant for the audience.
Corporate Social Responsibility Posts
Highlight any social or charity programs your brand has been involved in recently, and encourage your followers to participate and get involved by sharing your post and raising awareness.
Corporate and Brand Videos
Videos attract more views and attention than long written posts, and this is also true on LinkedIn. Some of the types of videos you can post include company profile videos, behind the scenes videos, product introduction videos, corporate tips, opinions and more.
Pinterest is a rather unique social media platform where users are able to contribute images, and other users can pin them to ‘boards’. As a business company, using Pinterest can be useful, especially if you have a business that can contribute lots of unique images.
To attract attention to your profile, it’s good if you can provide original images and designs. Here are some ways to do it:
Share Wallpapers
Make original wallpapers for smartphones and label them with trending keywords or tags. This way, when someone searches for that keyword, your wallpaper shows up and people may click on your page for more.
Provide Stock Images & Design Ideas
Many designers hang out on Pinterest, and providing them with widgets, backgrounds and more can be a point of attraction. They will be able to pin your images to their board, and you’ll gain better brand awareness.
Provide DIYs & Tips
Step by step handicraft, design or lifestyle tutorials as well as useful tips and ideas also do very well on Pinterest, as people find them useful. This is especially practical if your brand sells arts and craft related products.
Youtube
Youtube is yet another leading social media platform with about 2.3 billion active users. It is a streaming video platform whereby you can start an account and post videos. These videos can cover a myriad of things and there are many influencers on this platform.
Here are some of the videos that perform the best:
Vlogs
Vlogs or video logs are videos whereby the Youtuber ‘brings’ viewers along to vacations, events, outings, eateries and such. They will be narrating their experiences, so that viewers feel that they’re part of that experience too.
Music & Songs
Whether you make covers or original music, this type of content attracts lots of viewers on Youtube too, because listening to music on Youtube is rather common.
Challenge videos
Sometimes there will be trending challenges on the internet, and you can take them on while filming yourself.
Reaction and Review videos
Youtubers often create content from other people’s videos, and reaction videos is how they do it. In reaction videos, these Youtubers film themselves reacting to songs, dances, actions, and more.
Find out more about which content suits your business the most and get more ideas for the best Youtube content.
Your Social Media Content Should be Versatile and Varied
As a content creator for your brand, one of the most important things to avoid is stagnation.
If a certain type of content works for your page, you still need to revamp it and renew it regularly to make your social media platform strategy feel fresh every time.
The benefits of social media marketing are numerous for your business as well as your brand marketing.
Not sure when and how to start?
To ensure your company is able to find its voice, why not come and talk to us at One Search Pro and we’ll plan your content strategy for you. Alternatively you can also read about the latest social media marketing trends on our blog.