How to create epic content for brands on social media.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA 101
A look at social content

2. THE SKY IS THE LIMIT
Lesson 1:
How to create epic content for
brands on social media

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF GREAT CONTENT
Creating relevant, interesting content on social
media (and online) is important.
BUT WHY?
•Nobody gives a damn what your company has to
say. So if you want people to listen, you better make
it good.
•Your competitors are creating good content.
•You only have a few chances to leave an
impression.

4. WHAT MAKES GOOD CONTENT?
•It is not a sales pitch or a press release – be real,
authentic and say something only if you have
something to say
•It tells your brandʼs story – it is not a boring piece of
someone elseʼs story, but that doesnʼt mean you mention
yourself constantly
•It captivates the reader and makes them want to share
your content – it resonates, emotionally or practically
•It is relevant to a user and their needs (utility)

5. TIPS FOR BECOMING
A CONTENT KING

6. KEEP IT SIMPLE (AND SHORT!)
If you canʼt say what you need to say in a few lines,
reconsider whether it is worth saying. People have
extremely short attention spans (approximately 8
seconds or less when online). If it is too complicated
to say in a few lines, consider making it a few
pieces of content.
TIP:
Content with 100 – 250
characters is more likely to
be clicked on

7. WRITE FOR THE CHANNEL
Why does someone need to go to your Facebook page if they see what you share on Twitter? It
is important to write content for the right channel. That might mean sharing an article on Twitter,
a video on Facebook and a quote on Instagram. Consider sharing the same piece of content,
tailored to the channel, on different days.
(Monday on LinkedIn, and Friday on Facebook, for example).
Your content calendar should not be a copy and paste for each channel.
Think carefully about:
•The time of day we post on a certain channel, and why
•The type of copy and visuals that will work on Facebook versus Twitter versus LinkedIn
•The days we post – are Facebook users more active on a certain day of the week? Are your
Twitter followers more engaged on the weekend?
•The channel you are posting on

8. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Much like writing for the right channel, it is important to know who you
are talking to on social media. This might not always only be your target
audience. It might also be your social audience.
To get to know your audience, do the following:
•Who likes your pages? Who follows you on Twitter? Who engages with the brand?
Get to know these people
•The primary and secondary audiences of this brand – if you are a B2B brand, your audience
might be quite different to that of a B2C brand. Create a persona of these people
and write for them.

9. HEADLINES ARE THE DOOR TO YOUR
CONTENT
Headlines determine whether people will click on your content or not. When you write a
headline, think about the following:
•What are people searching for? Use Googleʼs Keyword Tool to assist you if you donʼt know
•Who are you writing for? LinkedIn demographics will be different from Facebook
•Will this entice someone? Would I want to read this?
•Short, sharp and punchy is more important than reaching a word limit
•Link to external sources to lend credibility to your posts
•Embed videos and slideshare presentations for more dynamic content

10. SIZE MATTERS- FACEBOOK
Using the right sized visuals is important on social media - it gives consistency to content
Guide:
•800x800 pixel images square
•512x1024 pixels for landscape
•500x700 pixels for portrait
•Use these image guides for help:
https://blog.bufferapp.com/ideal-image-sizes-social-media-posts#facebook

11. SIZE MATTERS- TWITTER
•Aspect ration of 2:1 - landscape. Any image with pixels at this ration will work, and will be
scaled to 506x253 pixels. Images should not be uploaded that are smaller than this
•Use Twitter cards - these are great for linking directly to site with a hyperlinked image, but
means adding a pixel to the website

12. ASK FOR THE ENGAGEMENT YOU WANT
Write content that prompts engagement from your fans. According to constantcontact.com, posts
with the following calls to action received more engagement:
Comment = 3.3 more comments
Share = 7x more shares
Like = 3x more likes
Caption this = 5.5x more captions
BONUS TIP:
Games and fill in
the blank
content are
great ways to
prompt
conversation!

13. DON'T BE AFRAID TO TEST NEW FORMATS
There is more to social media than images:
•360 video on Facebook
•GIFʼs - particularly easy and fun to use on Twitter and Facebook
•Interactive videos on Facebook
•Quotes on Instagram and Facebook
•Infographics - people love these (even if they are just visually appealing!)
•Brain teaser puzzles
•Twitter cards
•Podcasts
Learn more here:
•https://pablo.buffer.com/app
•https://blog.bufferapp.com/tools-create-images-for-social-media
•https://dropbox.com/s/3h8fq8ydsothkw8/Twitter%20card%20dimensions
%20PDF%20%20Google%20Docs.pdf?dl=0

14. LOVE THE HASHTAG
As we all know by now, hashtags help to curate content from various
sources and make a particular topic searchable. So using these hashtags,
it goes without saying, helps you (and your brand) to join that conversation.
Hashtags are great for events/ conferences (#Coachella); live news updates, disasters and
social campaigns (#FeesMustFall); holidays and cultural days (#Christmas/ #FathersDay);
general interest/ niche interest topics (#TechNews); fun (#SorryNotSorry); days of the week
(#FashionFriday) but they can also be used to join almost any conversation about any topic
(especially on Instagram). For example, travel; pets; technology; adventure; food; mountains;
wine etc.
#hashtag *Based on analysis of 50 Instagram
profiles with 100 more followers
###

15. THE POWER OF FACEBOOK EVENTS
Whilst not specifically about content, this is a great way of putting
your content in front of your audience.
The benefits:
•Donʼt necessarily need to actually host an event -
if there is an online sale,for example, you can host
an ʻeventʼ counting down to the day the sale starts.
•Can promote them with media
•Each time you post, attendees get notified
•Easy to create

16. SHARE YOUR BRAND STORY
Many companies (especially in the B2B sector) believe they have nothing to
share on Facebook - but actually, the brand story is important for building brand affinity and
generating interest. Deep dive into how the organisation came to be, and share this story with fans.

17. CONCLUSION
A recap of what we have learnt today:
•Keep your content simple
•Write for the right channel, and for your audience
•Use the right size visuals
•Make your headlines stand out
•Test new content formats all the time - innovation is the key
•Ask for the engagement you want
•Use hashtags effectively for each channel and occasion
•Where possible, use Facebook events
•Share your relevant brand story
For more information about creating a successful content
for your brand, visit www.iconicmedia.co.za, or find us on
social media @IconicMediaSA.
Donʼt forget to look out for our next presentation in this
series, “Using Social Media Analytics Effectively”.

18. THANK YOU!