Types of social media content that drive the most engagement in 2022
It can be argued that social media is one of the best inventions of our times, but it can also be considered the source of a massive headache for any digital marketer. As social media becomes more and more saturated with the content of every shape and form created not only by humans but also by AI, the battle for customers’ attention gets increasingly harder. In the end, though, those who know their audience better, win. Because no matter what’s currently trending on this or that platform, you have to tailor your content to your audience’s needs and tastes, not necessarily to what is popular. But first, you need to have an idea of what social media content gets more likes, comments, shares, i.e. engagement.
1. Videos
Video is one of the most popular content forms out there, and for a good reason. After all, we are visual creatures, and a well-made video can satisfy our appetite for new sights. But more than that, it can also provide information in a more digestible form.
Right now, short videos are the hottest format on social media — they’re enticing and quick to go viral. You can use them for entertainment purposes only, for satisfying the aesthetic taste buds of your audience, for starting challenges, for showing a product, etc. Short videos can also be educational — I’m sure we all have seen a TikTok video that explained something much better than a uni professor could.
Another great thing about short videos is that you don’t have to do much to achieve success — many TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram creators can certainly attest to that. All you need is to exercise your creative muscles a bit, post regularly, and boom! Mission accomplished.
Despite short videos’ domination on certain platforms, longer formats still have their appeal — take YouTube, for example. Long videos can be used to explain or present something, show a product, provide a commentary on a certain topic, and so on. They provide a lot of value for the viewers and thus tend to be more engaging.
So, we can safely say that there are countless opportunities for you to explore with videos. And as many businesses still hesitate to use video format in their content marketing strategy, why not use this chance to get ahead and distinguish yourself from your competitors?
2. Live videos
I might be a bit biased when it comes to video content, so I’ll continue with another way to introduce videos to your content marketing strategy — live streams. They allow your viewers to interact with you directly by asking questions, sharing opinions, and giving feedback in real-time, so it’s as engaging as it can be.
If promoted correctly and done more or less regularly, live streams can boost your brand’s popularity and turn the occasional visitors into dedicated viewers and customers. Just make sure that the topics/themes of your live streams are interesting enough for your audience to tune in.
3. Stories
You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone… It definitely rings true for these fleeting-but-captivating short videos or images that you can share with your followers. They feel more authentic and spark a sense of urgency — if you’re too late, well, you might’ve missed something interesting. Besides, stories often have an interactive element in them: viewers can react to the content they see, and that allows to bridge the gap between content creators and their audience.
Many social media platforms have something similar to Instagram stories, but the latter still calls the shots. Stories get a priority on the Instagram feed, so you can be sure that your followers won’t miss them.
You can add some extra entertainment value to your stories if you add stickers, filters, polls, or quizzes. You can also use stories to give your followers a heads-up about upcoming or current events or a sneak peek of some exclusive content.
Another cool thing about Instagram stories is that they don’t have to vanish into thin air after a brief moment — they can be turned into your account’s highlights instead. That way your top content will always be there for your audience to watch.
4. Images
Despite the increasing popularity of videos, images are still the go-to option for many social media marketers. They can be no less engaging than videos and sometimes can even beat the latter in many regards. First of all, they don’t require as much time to watch (for users) or create (for you). Also, they fit more organically in the newsfeed (remember those annoying videos that pop up automatically when you’re scrolling? yeah) and can raise the awareness of your brand in an instant.
Images can also be informative and creative at the same time, hence the popularity of data visualizations and infographics. Here’s what you can do:
- you can visualize a dataset you’ve collected during your research (this will present an objective picture to your readers so that they can draw their own conclusions), or
- you can create infographics by integrating discrete data visualizations into one coherent narrative (thus data can be made more accessible to readers).
Infographics can also be interactive, and this one made by David McCandless and Tom Evans for Information is Beautiful certainly proves it.
You can also be less serious with your images — for example, you can use memes to connect with your audience better. Don’t post stale memes, though!
5. Texts
We’re not just visually hungry creatures — we’re also starved for new information to consume every day, and it makes text-based content just as crucial for any good content marketing strategy.
Text is a very flexible format that can be adapted to many goals, from sharing your personal experience to offering your readers expertise on a relevant topic. Texts also come in various sizes — they can be as long as New Yorker articles and as short as tweets.
When you write long-form texts for your company’s or your personal blog, your goal is to provide valuable information that’s also entertaining at the same time in as few words as possible. You don’t need to write the second “Infinite Jest” to get your point across. To write a good long-form text, make sure that you:
- Pick only relevant topics for your posts,
- Keep your texts crystal clear and structured,
- Avoid using niche jargon and long sentences,
- Articulate your message in the right tone of voice,
- Do your research,
- Use popular formats like how-to guides, lists, stories about personal experience, opinion pieces, etc.
Keep in mind that plain text won’t be as engaging as when it’s paired with good illustrations. You can add complementary visuals or infographics to your posts to enliven them and make the information more digestible for readers.
You can also use a more concise form of text — short messages. They can be the proverbial stone that helps you kill two birds at the same time. Take Twitter as an example: you can not only share an opinion or a piece of information in 140 characters or less but also interact with your audience directly. It can be great for raising brand awareness and maintaining a well-put brand image, but make sure that your messages and tone of voice fit the platform’s unspoken rules.
If you’re in charge of a brand’s Twitter, you don’t want to see something like that in your mentions:
So keep up with the trends, and learn from those who’ve managed to utilize this short format successfully.
Now let’s move on to the last type of content that you can experiment with.
6. Podcasts
We used to be dreaming about becoming aeronauts when we grew up, but then came the age of the internet and everything suddenly changed. Now everyone and their mom are aspiring podcasters, and hell, you can be too.
A well-made podcast is a treasure trove full of valuable knowledge and interesting opinions, and if you’re ready to commit to it (consistency is very much appreciated), you can not only create something fresh but also acquire a loyal following in the process. Audio content can be consumed easily as a backdrop for everyday activities, so you won’t have to worry about catching and retaining listeners’ attention (something that you need to consider when writing a blog post or creating a video). All you have to do is to provide something valuable.
There are several types of podcasts you can use in your content marketing strategy:
- Narrative podcasts. You can share your (or someone else’s) experiences, stories, or opinions with your listeners. The words you say can have a stronger impact than the words you write, and podcasts like these can help you get your points across much more effectively.
- Conversational podcasts. You can’t deny it: listening to someone talk can be very entertaining, especially if it’s an industry hotshot or an expert. You can do it solo or find co-hosts to join you. Your podcast can also take the form of a free-flowing conversation/unscripted monologue, or a structured presentation/moderated discussion.
Both of these formats can boost engagement rates significantly, so you might want to make podcasts an important part of your content marketing strategy. You can combine longer podcasts that delve deeply into certain problems with bite-sized episodes that deal with the most popular topics of the week.
Here are some podcasts that I follow regularly:
While they are on a more professional/educational side of the spectrum, they’re no less engaging than some true-crime shows I also enjoy.
P.S.
This list contains some of the most popular types of content out there, but you should always think about whether they’ll work for your platforms of choice and will be well received by your core audience. What gets you comments and likes on Instagram might not work on Twitter, so adapt your content marketing strategy to particular platforms.
Also, don’t get overly attached to one specific content type. Use various formats to mix things up a bit and keep your followers hooked. Track your content’s performance to see what drives more engagement, and take advantage of the most popular formats.
Last but not least, remember that content marketing is more about quality, not quantity. Your content should be a) relevant to your audience’s needs and interests, b) well-researched, and c) unique in some way: it can offer a new topic to explore or a new approach to an old topic, provide a fresh opinion on an issue, and so on. If it’s not, you’re wasting your time on creating something that nobody cares about. So, sure thing, post regularly. But do it right, and then you’ll see your engagement rates grow.
