How to Make Your Social Content Work for You
Facts, Fun, & Feels
Victoria’s catchphrase. It’s what content should be. We always say that content should “serve a purpose,” but what exactly does that mean?
When you’re posting on social media before you click that “post” button, you should be asking yourself “why am I sharing this?” Ask yourself this for a number of reasons:
Does it represent my brand in a way that reflects well on me/my company?
Does it add value to my audience’s day?
Does it give people a reason to follow/engage with me?
How does it make whoever is seeing this feel?
What does it encourage them to do?
Is this the best thing that I can share today?
For now, we’re going to focus more deeply on one of these questions:
Does what you are sharing add value to your audience’s day?
Your content should pertain to (at least) one of three areas: Facts. Fun. & Feels.
Facts
Your content should be informational. It should contain facts, should educate, or share important information that is relevant to your audience. Do your followers follow you to learn? Make sure you’re providing valuable content to them. Give them a reason to follow. Give them a reason to share.
One of the most powerful things a company can do is educate its audience on what they specialize in. It can be a way to offer up your expertise in a non-salesy way and create interest. For example, if your business is a retail shoe store, you could offer up a fact about how Michigan’s winters are brutal on your shoes – between the road salt and wet snow, your shoes can really take a beating. But if you use a weather protectant solvent once a year before the first snowfall, you have a greater chance of extending the life of your shoes.
While a post like this may have a shameless plug for a great weather protectant that you carry in your store, the purpose of the post is to educate on the proper care for your shoes.
Fun
Your content should be entertaining. It should be fun, should make your audience laugh, or should spark some joy.
Does your audience follow you because your brand/content is light-hearted, makes them laugh, or is the highlight of their day? You’ll still want to make sure you’re providing valuable content to them. But give them a reason to WANT to follow. (You guessed it) Give them a reason to share.
Feels
Your content should be emotional. It should make your audience “feel the feels” (to be Millennial about it…), should encourage them to reflect on something, do some soul searching, or inspire them to make a change.
Does your audience follow you because they admire your way of thinking because they enjoy the way you see the world, the way you challenge the status quo? Make sure you’re providing… you know the drill by now. Make your content work for you.
As you start thinking through your content strategy and applying the Facts, Fun, & Feels concept, it’s important to remember to stick to your brand voice as it is defined. The Facts, Fun, & Feels concept can quickly go sideways if you step outside your brand voice. For example, Wendy’s is notorious for its playful and sarcastic brand voice. If they all of sudden switched gears and started talking like lawyers, they could cripple their brand and reputation. The same goes for the company that has developed a prim and proper brand voice. If they decided to flip their voice and be sarcastic, it could be shocking to their audience and do more damage than good.
The main takeaway from this post is that your social media should have meaning behind it. If it doesn’t, it could just be noise. We don’t like noise. If you think you have noisy social media content, PLEASE let us help save you from falling into the depths of the internet.