Social media is personal. When your customer clicks to follow your page, they are letting you into their living room (and bedroom and sometimes bathroom, eek!) They trust you enough to have you in their personal space, so what will you deliver to them?
Understanding your audience and why they visit or purchase from your business is the first step to delivering them meaningful content. The chart below is a tool that can help you translate audience insights into content that evokes certain mindsets or emotions. It ranges from touchy-feely content to brainy ideas that make you the go-to source for the latest technology.
Before diving into the content ideas below, you will want to remember three important rules for successful social media:
- Focus on storytelling for a strong impact and make sure the story connects well to your brand.
- Always share a clear (not blurry) and intriguing image to support your story. Don’t just snatch it from the internet. Make sure you have the right to use the image.
- If this type of work is vexing, Moxie is standing by, ready to help!
Review this simple chart for examples of how you might think about social media posts in different situations.
| Example Company and Audience | Audience Insight | Content to Deliver | Mindsets or Emotions to Invoke |
| A coffee shop serving local residents. | I love my favorite coffee shop because it is warm, cozy, and has great art on the walls. | • Help your audience get to know your staff. • Show artistic photographs of your space and coffee drinks. • Use short videos to show the coffee shop mood in your stories—warm and cozy environment, behind-the-scenes coffee making, or playing your favorite albums. | • Fear of missing out – I have not caught up on the local scene for a while! • Fond memories – I remember that great chat with my bestie. • Belonging – I want to be where the artists are. |
| A software developer serving engineers. | I love working with my favorite software development company because they have innovative solutions and use the programs I want to learn one day. | • Write a “mini” case study and share in a post. Include an attention-catching photo. • Share posts of team members working together to solve tricky problems. • Write a “how do you solve it?” series, asking your audience to chime in with their solutions. • Don’t forget to update the post with the solution you used. | • Curiosity – I wonder what they are up to? • Fear of missing out – Those guys are learning more than me! • Competition –I have the right answer. |
| A train car repair company recruiting employees. | I’ve always been obsessed with trains, and tons of people in our community work at the train company. | • Show off artsy images of train cars and landscapes—including polished ones and graffitied ones. • Encourage team members to submit cool photos of cars they see. • Become a hub of train information, including old ones, new ones, and everything in between. • Share short videos of welders working on train cars. | • Flashback to childhood – I’ve always loved trains. • First to know – I want to share that cool technology with my friends. • Curiosity – I wonder how far the sparks fly? |
Got questions about your great social media ideas? Contact Michele at michele.jensen@experiencemoxie.com.
