Social media is a 24/7 proposition and creativity….isn’t.
It’s easy to get burned out when you’re trying to come up with new content every day—or even more often. There are several things you can do, however, to produce good content even when your social media muse is quiet.
Get our staff involved. When in doubt, farm it out. Actually, your staff can be a tremendous source for ideas. They know your business and your customers almost as well as you do, and they have social networks of their own. Get them together for monthly or weekly brainstorming sessions; they’ll appreciate the opportunity to get involved and be more engaged in the workplace, too.
Take a routine post from a different angle. If you run an auto repair shop, for example, instead of talking about your monthly specials, take and post a picture of a corroded oil filter or nearly unrecognizable auto part, explain what happened and offer preventive maintenance tips.
Try something new. There’s no definitive answer to what makes a good social media post, despite what the experts say. Sure, there are general suggestions, like the better the visual, the higher the engagement, but the fickle mood of web surfers is also a factor. Throw in a quiz, or an unrelated photo and ask for a caption. Pick a customer who answers or creates the best caption and offer them a discount or a small gift. You don’t always have to be ready to step out of your comfort zone. Just do it.
Get a little goofy with your feed. You can promote your business and your monthly specials to improve your sales without overtly marketing to your customers. Try enlisting someone on your staff and asking them to pose for a photo. Post it with a caption like: We could tell you all the reasons you should come in for your spring maintenance and take advantage of our March offers, but instead here’s a picture of (your employee). She’s having a rough day. Help us cheer her up!
Repurpose old ideas. We’ve all had what we thought were great ideas for social media content, blog posts or messages that haven’t exactly worked out like we thought they would. If you’re stuck for new content, why not revisit some of your old posts? It could be the timing wasn’t right then, or perhaps you can think of a new way to use the old material. If it’s a blog, include a quote from a different section. Or ask a question that the blog answers, and post it as a link. You might rediscover some of your old favorite posts, and that will help you get the creative juices flowing again, too.
Those are some of our thoughts. What do you do when you feel like your social media has stagnated? Let us know in the comments!