The Basics Of Social Media Content [& How To Create It]

Learn the basics of social media content, including what it is, types to consider producing, and how to produce content your followers love.

What Is Social Media Content?

Social media content encompasses anything you post on social media platforms.

Posting a photo and caption on Instagram or Facebook is social media content.

While the definition sounds straightforward, you’ll get the most out of social media content with a social media strategy.

There are many types of blog content, just as there are for social media.

But the main difference is that blog content is long form.

You’re writing an informative post for your audience to spend time reading.

Social media content is more like marketing, where you’re grabbing your followers’ attention and directing them to your blog or site with sound bites, engaging multimedia, or catchy captions.

What Is the Purpose of Social Media Content?

The purpose of social media content is to present your brand or website as a cohesive entity.

You want to use the same colors and personality as on your blog or online store.

Social media profiles are a natural extension of your company, so they need to be recognizably “you” to grow your audience and increase revenue.

Social media content is essential because it’s a chance to engage with your audience.

Instead of hoping your static website is enough to make sales, social media is more proactive.

You’re reaching people on outlets like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and more.

On these platforms, you can let your brand’s personality truly shine.

Social media content lets you expand your reach and interact directly with people on multiple platforms.

You can use those outlets for advertising, building customer loyalty, and spreading information about your products and services.

Common Types of Social Media Content

There are many types of content to use online, but you want to focus on those most suited to social media.

Most platforms have designs that encourage users to scroll through their newsfeeds and timelines, so you need content that will grab their attention.

Unsurprisingly, some of the most effective are visual:

• Images: Images are the most common social media content. They include photographs, branded graphics, and illustrated quotes.
• Videos: They’re engaging because they auto-play as users scroll, so the action demands attention. You can explain a concept or show off a product in video format.
• Infographics: These images share data and statistics about something relative to your brand or blog. The visuals are clear, eye-catching, and easy to understand.
• Interactive Graphics: These graphics are a hybrid between an image and a video, often involving animation to highlight key aspects.

What Types of Social Media Content Are Most Popular?

Engaging materials like videos and interactive graphics are the most popular social media content.

Viewers stop to watch the footage play out instead of skimming right past a static image.

It helps to know the best times to post on social media, so you can maximize your audience reach and give your content a good chance of being seen.

Examples of Social Media Content

Before you can develop a strong content strategy for your brand, you should check out examples of social media content.

Moz helps users understand what type of content to share on what platforms, along with how to analyze the results.

Infographics

Canva showcases different types of infographics so you understand the general layout.

The goal is to share detailed information engagingly.

Canva includes templates so you can input the data and quickly create a stunning, factual graphic to share.

Infographics are an effective way to illustrate statistics and key information.

They make data more accessible and are highly shareable, ensuring they’re a popular choice for marketers, non-profit organizations, and businesses.

Images

Images don’t have to be selfies.

They could be a product, a photograph of your team, a glimpse of office life—anything that might resonate with your audience.

Many images add graphical elements and text to provide interactivity or additional context.

Instagram is particularly well-suited for images.

In fact, the platform’s design makes a great choice for using image themes to help your content stand out.

You could play around with posting only specific colors, use the “checkerboard” approach, or experiment with “moods.”

Adobe has examples of images that could give you ideas for sharing your brand personality.

Videos

There’s no need to hire an award-winning director to create social media videos—you can do it yourself with countless apps and tools.

Animoto is one of the top programs that simplifies video creation.

They have templates for Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram video content, along with examples to help you come up with content ideas.