4 Timeless Strategies For Creating Effective Social Media Content

Prepare for the next “Thanos Snap.”

Photo by jom jakkid on Unsplash

Your prospects hang out on Social Media so, of course, Social Media is part of your content strategy.

But these social platforms can “Thanos snap” at any time, wiping out the effectiveness of your current tactics.

To prevent this, let’s look at four timeless strategies to protect yourself when these social platforms snap their fingers, turning your strategies and results to dust.

1. Know The “Who” And “Where”

This comes from Russell Brunson’s “Secret Formula,” which he shares in his book Dotcom Secrets.

Many social platforms exist. And although your ideal customer may use five or more, they probably use one or two the majority of the time.

If your ideal prospects use Pinterest 1% of the time, then you wouldn’t want to focus there.

And that’s why this strategy is important. It helps you focus on where your ideal prospects hang out, instead of wasting your time on platforms your prospects don’t use.

First, let’s start with the “who.”

This is our customer avatar.

I know you’ve heard this before — but, it’s important.

List out both the psychographics and demographics.

• Psychographics reflect your audience's emotions and psychology — fears, frustrations, wants, and aspirations.
• Demographics divide your audience into categories where each group shares common attributes — common examples include age, gender, income, and occupation.

These two aspects will help you create a well-rounded avatar.

Second, let’s look at the “where.”

Humans are social creatures — we crave love, connection, and community.

In Russell Brunson’s words, we all “congregate” somewhere.

We join different groups, tribes, and communities. In-person and online.

We’re members of different Facebook groups. We follow various Instagram pages. Maybe you participate in an online forum or follow different Youtube channels.

Where do your prospects hang out online?

Your customer avatar helps you determine this.

Their psychographics reveals their current challenges. And they’ll seek content to fix them. If you’re a health and wellness coach, maybe your prospects have a problem finding the best superfoods. Which social platforms will they use to find this content?

Also, their demographics place them on social media platforms where they share attributes with other users. For instance, if your primarily B2B audience is between the ages of 46–55, LinkedIn would be a great place for your content.

2. Contextualize Your Content

Master the skill of contextualized marketing, as it’s a crucial skill for Social Media. Contextualization caters your content to each platform’s unique culture, dynamics, and context.

Why do this?

Different social media platforms have their own culture, norms, and conditioning. For instance, Americans prefer watching videos on Instagram versus Twitter.

It’s similar to social intelligence. Norms and expectations differ depending on the social environment you find yourself in. Would you behave in a fancy country club the same way you would in a run-down dive bar? I doubt it.

And this means engaging content will be different on each platform. The best type of content depends on which platform you’re using.

So, to start leveraging the skill of contextualized marketing, first, choose the platform you want to market on (strategy 1 helps you identify this).

Then, begin researching the platform. Follow the top thought leaders in your space. Look at the best-performing content.

What patterns do you see?

To take this to the next level:

• Begin engaging on the platform.
• Start creating content.
• Comment on someone else’s post.

Engaging on your platform of choice will reveal what content works, and what doesn’t.

3. Create Movie Trailer Content

What motivates someone to dig through their pocket, grab their phone, and begin scrolling on social media?

What keeps them hooked, consuming endless content?

Entertainment.

Social media users want to relax and be entertained. We do this throughout the day on our breaks. We use it to decompress after a long day. Heck, we even use it to procrastinate from working — don’t worry, no ones perfect.

Users gravitate towards entertaining content on social media — eliciting feelings of inspiration, happiness, excitement, humor, or motivation.

You could call this “movie trailer content.”

A movie trailer showcases the most exciting scenes. It elicits excitement with its action-packed content. Also, it motivates the consumer to take action and watch the full movie.

Great social media content works the same. It’s action-packed. It showcases the main idea in only a few seconds. And over time, users want to invest in longer pieces of content.

4. Move Your Followers “Off-Platform”

It’s ideal to move your followers off social media and into digital assets you own.

Whoever owns the social platform owns your followers. And one algorithm change can hurt your current social media strategy.

So, leave room for investment on your social profile. Use appropriate CTA’s for opting into your email lists. At the very least, leave outbound links in your bios, giving users the option to consume content elsewhere.

Final Takeaways

Social media platforms will always be changing. Future “Thanos snaps” are inevitable. But you can prevent them from turning your brand to dust by using these 4 strategies:

1. Craft a customer avatar to find your audience online.
2. Contextualize your content for the platforms your audience use.
3. Create action-packed “movie trailer content.”
4. Move your followers to digital assets you own.

These timeless content strategies can help you thrive when other brands are stuck.