Discovering the type of content that gets your followers diving for the Like button is a process of trial and error. While spying on your competition can give you some pointers, there’s no guarantee that what works for their audience will inspire shares from yours. Finding the right fit for your followers can be a challenge, but here are 7 types of content we’ve found to have a consistently high strike rate with brides:
1. Tutorials
It’s easy to take for granted just how much you really know about your industry and skills. Not everyone knows how to choose the best foundation for wedding photography or how to use unexpected but effective colour combinations. These might be part of your daily routine, but this knowledge can be invaluable to your customers, not to mention position you as an industry authority – and increase traffic to your blog.
This Mini Pop Piñata tutorial follows the conventions of a great ‘how to’ blog post, keeping text to a minimum with a concise intro, providing a list of tools and materials required, and showing an estimated prep time.
Not all tutorials will fit this DIY craft tutorial template, but the rules don’t change: go easy on the text, be generous with images, sprinkle hyperlinks throughout to your products/services and other relevant blog posts, and break it down into logical, bite-sized steps for easy consumption.
2. Quizzes
Creating fun and engaging quizzes are a great way for increasing reach, with participants sharing their results with friends who also take the quiz, and the viral affect begins. As Social Media Examiner explains, quizzes can also be used to introduce people to your brand, direct traffic to your website, and even grow your email marketing list, like Bonobos’ have done with their “Chino Fit Quiz”, requiring participants to enter their email before getting starting.
To create your own, check out online quiz building software like Shortstack or Interact. If lead generation is the aim of your game, make sure the software you choose will integrate with your CRM.
3. Lists
From 10 topics every couple should discuss before marrying to 10 top tips to be a terrific wedding guest, the lists that can be written for the wedding industry are literally infinite! Qualities of High-Quality List Posts include…
- solid takeaways – mix up the entertaining fluffy stuff with actionable advice readers can implement and tools they will actually use
- links to more in-depth information where necessary so the post doesn’t get derailed by details
- examples that readers can relate to that mirror their own problem or individual circumstances
- a clear, catchy and specific title – take a done-to-death topic and give it a unique spin: “9 Mind-Blowing Celebrity Wedding Dresses from 2015… That Cost Under $100”
4. Videos
Whether you borrow it from the 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute or you create your own, videos are a social content hit, like this one showing a Maid of Honour rapping her speech to the beat of ‘Ice Ice Baby’ posted on Easy Weddings Facebook Page… 79 likes, 35 shares and 91 comments says this type of video could be a hit with your followers too!
Don’t have a film crew on hand for producing Hollywood-quality footage? Sites like VideoScribe can create animations and whiteboard videos in minutes for a fraction of the cost, and there are plenty of Video Editing Apps for Phones and Tablets for turning your smartphone footage into a work of cinematic art.
5. Controversial topics
This one comes with a warning: if you are going to post potentially divisive content, add a disclaimer clearly stating your brand’s position, which if you’ve profiled and targeted your customers well, should align with their beliefs and values.
Take this post from the Easy Weddings Facebook page for example, with 54 likes, 43 comments and 23 shares; a vast difference to an earlier post with a high-fiving squirrel – yet to clock a single like.
Ok, ok, no more squirrel pics, we promise! But perhaps there’s a lesson here about the power of divisive topics: people just can’t resist weighing in with their opinion and are likely to share the post to start a conversation with their own followers.
Whatever you post, use discretion, make your position clear and avoid no-go topics like religion, race and politics… or prepare yourself for a full-time moderating mania in the hours that follow!
6. Memes
Memes are catchy, funny, ironic content created in response to current affairs, trending topics and challenges which typically convey awkward, undeniable and inconvenient truths. Their viral appeal has also seen them adopted in some high-level international meme marketing.
A good meme has potential to go seriously viral, and while there’s no template for creating a great meme or viral content (which can happen completely by accident), making your own is easy to do with free online meme creators like imgflip and Meme Creator. Here’s one we prepared earlier… You’re welcome to share with your followers!
7. Crowd-sourced content
Inviting your customers to create content for you by uploading pics of themselves to social media engaging with your product (along with a carefully selected hashtag) not only puts them in the spotlight and increases brand loyalty, but also saves you investing time and money in content creation yourself.
While reposting user-generated content may not necessarily send your Like button into overdrive, you can count on the customer’s original post spreading some positive (and free!) brand awareness, with prospective clients feeling reassured by a real-life case study that builds trust in your brand and harnesses the power of social validation.
What’s the most Like button-exploding content on your Facebook page? Is there a particular style of Tweet or Instagram post that sends your followers into a hearting frenzy? Leave a link to one of your popular recents posts so we can check it out!
