Ever take a look at the social media content you’ve planned and scheduled, only to feel too repetitive? Or perhaps your Facebook page, Twitter feed or Instagram account is in a “funk” in terms of engagement and participation from your fans. You may want to consider mixing up the type of content you’re sharing to appeal to different audiences. Here are seven types of creative social media posts that will help fresh produce marketers get lucky and keep your posts FRESH!
1. Host a caption contest.
Post or tweet a photo of your company in action or a recipe snapshot that makes your audience want to take a bite out of the computer screen! Then, ask your fans or followers to caption it for some virtual praise. To really spice it up, offer to ship some of your product to the fan or follower with the best answer. If you use Facebook for this, we recommend adding a little “boost” to your post to help it reach more of your fans. $25-$50 may be all you need to budget to get stellar results.
2. Create your own meme.
A meme, or an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture, is a great way to be trendy but still share a unique message. Plus, memes are funny and humor travels a long way. You can make your meme using quickmeme.com. These work great for not only Facebook now, but visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are ideal for meme-sharing.
3. Tell a joke.
Again, don’t underestimate the power of humor. Try telling a short one-liner joke. Either tell the whole joke and respond to fans and followers who like, share, favorite or retweet the joke, or tell part of it and let your audience guess the answer.
4. Ask trivia questions or share trivia.
Social media can help you learn a lot about your audience, but it can also help you teach your audience what they need to know about your company. Asking trivia questions is a great way to get them to engage, for example: share a farm photo on Instagram and ask your audience to guess how many pounds of your product is harvested in a month. You can also simply share nutrition or farming trivia to teach your audience something they may not have ever known otherwise.
5. Share someone else’s idea and give them credit.
Whether it’s a blogger’s recipe that uses your products or a craft idea from Pinterest, post about a piece of content that was published by someone else. And don’t forget to give them due credit by tagging them! They’ll appreciate the social media love and it’s a great way to practice positive engagement – involving others in conversation.
6. Start a sentence and let your fans finish it or prompt them on a topic.
Your audience will feel appreciated when you let them share their input. Keep the topic relevant by asking about their favorite products and ways to use them or by asking about a current event. And always include a photo on Facebook, Twitter and of course Instagram or Pinterest!
7. Ask questions.
What do you want to know about your audience? Trying to decide which product is more popular? Ask your fans and followers questions about their likes, dislikes and habits! You could even send a link to a survey on SurveyMonkey and offer a prize like coupons or free product to fans who fill it out.
Adapt these ideas to fit your brand and meet the preferences of your audience, whether they’re on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Linkedin. And remember, updates with photos garner more engagement than those without photos.
Want to stand out even more in a stream of dreary and monotonous updates? Download any of these social media guides or tools to create strategic, organized and relevant social media content in 2015.
