Nov 6, 2024
5 mins
Alif Suprianto
Mastering Social Media Content Creation: Your Complete Guide
To reach your brand’s social media marketing goals, you need a plan. You have to create the right content for the right audience and post it on the right channels. In this article, we’ll cover everything from researching followers to choosing formats to writing social media copy. And we’ll recommend top tools for your social media content creation workflow.
What Is Content Creation in Social Media?
Social media content creation is developing content to publish on social platforms. Common types of social media content include:
Text
Videos
Images
Link posts
Livestreams
The content creation process typically starts with researching the target audience and developing ideas. It usually ends with analyzing the results of the content you've published.
Whether you're a content creator or you manage social media for a brand, it's worth investing time in creating relevant, high-quality content.
Great social media content helps you:
Boost awareness of your brand, products, and services
Expand your reach across social media platforms
Cultivate a community of loyal fans and customers
Drive traffic to your website
Generate leads and convert customers
8 Essential Steps for Social Media Content Creation
1. Set Clear Goals
Strong social media marketing goals define what you want to achieve and why. They help you understand what to publish, which speeds up your content creation process. And ensures you prioritize the right tasks.
Use the SMART framework as a guide for your goals:
Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve and why? Provide as much detail as possible.
Measurable: How will you quantify or qualify the results? Identify the metric(s) you plan to use.
Actionable: What steps will you take to achieve the goal? Prioritize goals with realistic steps.
Relevant: Is the goal related to your current scope of responsibilities? Focus on goals that matter.
Time-bound: When do you need to achieve the goal? Set a deadline for yourself or your team.
Here's an example of a SMART social media marketing goal focused on building brand awareness:
Our team aims to get 10,000 YouTube video views (measurable) by July 31st (time-bound). To reach this goal, our team will create and publish one long-form video per week (actionable).
Based on past performance, this number of video views will lead to at least 1,000 new YouTube subscribers (specific). Which will increase brand awareness as we expand to a new market (relevant).
And a goal targeting website traffic might read like this:
We need to drive 5,000 clicks to the landing page (specific, measurable) within the first 24 hours of the marketing campaign (time-bound) to achieve our quarterly traffic goal (relevant). To do so, we will create and publish a Facebook post, an X post, and an Instagram story with a link to the page (actionable).
We will then retarget these website visitors by creating a remarketing audience. And guide potential customers toward making a purchase.
2. Research Your Audience
To achieve your goals, you need to know how to connect with your audience. Research your followers to get social media content creation ideas.
Then, make note of demographic data like your followers' age and gender.
Navigate to the "Socioeconomics" tab to learn about your target audience's household size, income level, education level, and employment status.
For example, Patagonia’s largest audience segment includes households with three to four people. This Patagonia Facebook post appeals to this segment by featuring families enjoying the outdoors.
3. Analyze Your Competitors
One way to get content ideas that resonate with your audience is to analyze the competition. Use Semrush's Social Tracker to see the social media campaigns competitors are running and find opportunities for your brand.
For a platform-specific comparison, select one of the platform tabs. Then, choose which category to compare.
For example, when you opt to compare Facebook engagement, you can see the total engagement for your brand's Facebook profile. And how it compares to the competition.
For example, look for trends or memes your competitors are engaging with. If they’re relevant to your brand, consider adding them to your content plan.
4. Choose Content Formats
Select the right format for your content. Use your goal to inform your choice.
For example, if you want to tell a complex story, consider using a short-form video.
Here are some of the most popular social media content formats:
Text posts
Text posts work well when you want to tell a story, share a lesson, or ask a question. Like this beehiiv X post:
By asking this open-ended question, email newsletter platform beehiiv generated dozens of responses.
Images
Image posts are great for showcasing products or sharing lifestyle content. Like this Mokuyobi Instagram post:
The accessories company uses image posts to draw attention to its colorful products. And encourage customers to tap to browse the brand’s shop.
Many platforms allow you to upload multiple images at once in a grid or carousel format.
Videos
Videos are ideal for sharing more complex ideas and thought leadership. They're also great for educating and entertaining viewers.
Like this Red Bull YouTube video, which has generated over 1.5 million views:
The beverage brand regularly uses video to showcase extreme sports. And create a sense of adventure around its energy drinks.
Link posts
Link posts are best when you want to drive traffic to your website. Like this Semrush X post:
For example, Semrush shares link posts to point followers toward blog posts and other online resources.
Many platforms allow you to add links within image and video posts as well.
Livestreams
Livestreams let you connect with your audience in real-time. They're great for demonstrating products, hosting panel discussions, and sharing expert insights.
Like this Motion LinkedIn Live event:
For example, this Motion livestream is one in a series that shares expert tips with the company’s target audience: creatives and digital advertisers.
5. Identify the Right Social Media Platforms
Theoretically, you can create content for more than a dozen different social media networks. But it may be more effective for your overall social media strategy to focus on far fewer.
To find the right platforms for your brand, start with statistics. The Pew Research Center shares data on the percentage of adults who use each social platform based on age, gender, income, and other factors.
For example, Pew’s data shows that Facebook and YouTube are the most popular platforms for users aged 50 to 64. And X is most popular among college graduates and users with advanced degrees.
Another way to research the right platforms for your audience is by checking One2Target in Semrush. Click the "Behavior" tab to see the number of followers each competitor has on each platform.
In the example above, each competitor has particularly large audiences on both YouTube and Facebook.
The most popular social media platforms include:
X
YouTube
6. Write Engaging Copy
No matter which platforms you use or what type of content you create, you need engaging copy. Even when you post images and videos.
Social media copy is essential for sharing context and telling stories. In many cases, it also includes calls to action (CTAs), which prompt people to take the next step.
Use these tips to write better copy for social media:
Start with a hook. Grab your audience's attention from the very beginning. Start with a line that makes your audience want to read more. Avoid writing clickbait or misleading copy.
Develop post templates. While your copy should always be original, the format and style don't have to be. Use analytics to find what works best for your audience and turn top-performing posts into templates.
Test different post lengths. Don’t assume your audience will always prefer shorter or longer posts. Instead, test different lengths to see what performs best.
Experiment with CTAs. Calls to action don't always have to wait until the end of the post. Use CTAs with different wording throughout the post to prompt the next step.
7. Develop a Content Calendar
Put your social content strategy to work by mapping out a calendar for your posts. With a social media calendar, you can keep track of ideas, draft content, and schedule posts.
8. Analyze and Optimize Your Social Media Content
Review the content you've already published to optimize your social media marketing strategy. And continue to create even better social media posts.
Tools for Creating Social Media Content
Here are some of the top content creation tools for social media.
Semrush
ContentShake AI
AI Social Content Generator.
Social Tracker
Social Poster
Social Analytics.
Canva
Adobe Express
ChatGPT
