I was sitting on my porch earlier, contemplating life. Mostly the question, how am I going to get all of my friends together for a fun Memorial Day weekend. Then I thought, duh, a message system. And then I thought, if I can wrangle all of them up together, I can probably do that with social media and my marketing. So then that got me thinking… how can I share ways to get great social media content… Are you still following me? 

Great social media content is sometimes hard to come up with. Some industries are easy (in my opinion) like a hair stylist or a massage therapist. Their trades are very visual and posting quotes or inspirational thoughts wouldn’t be too left field. However, there are other industries that aren’t too easy to create content. How about a plumber for instance? No one wants to think about having that happen or that it will break one day.

This lead me to think… how can I come up with some great content for people to share. So I decided to make this giant list, well, at least a list of 17 ways to get great social media content. Here it is just for you.

1. Google Alerts: You can set alerts to come to your email about a particular subject. Then when you scan through them, post them on your sites. Much easier when the social media content comes to you. (This is number one for a reason… I LIVE by Google Alerts, just an FYI)

2. Blogs: Some blogs that I love are Inc, Seth Godin and Kim Garst. These two people are industry leaders, and Inc is a mecca of great content from many different writers.

3. Email blasts: Signing up for email blasts from other people within your industry is a great way to keep the ideas flowing.

4. Forums: A lot of time, people go to forums about topics they don’t know much about. If you’re a plumber, it would be a great idea to join a forum about plumbing. Then see what people are posting and add it to your list of topics to research or do a simple tip post about a popular topic people are questioning.

5. Google Analytics: Google Analytics allows you to see what people are searching under the Search Engine section. There you can see where you’re ranking as well as how many times people have clicked on your site.

6. Your website: Your website has a lot of great content (or at least I hope it does.) Get little snippets of content and do tip post from there.

7. Pinterest: Pinterest is an amazing platform that is constantly growing. People post solutions and DIY projects there all the time. Just type what your industry is on the top and see what the topics that pop up are.

8. Facebook: It may seem funny, but look at other people within your industry to see what they’re doing. They may be doing something you’ve never thought of and you can use it for your own company.

9. Big Company Websites: One thing I love is checking up on big company websites. These people are usually innovators and they always tend to have amazing website. Think Coca-Cola, Target, etc.

10. Follow big companies on social media: Like #9, I follow big companies on social media too to see what they’re up to. I really like McDonalds and Nike on Instagram. Which brings me to my next number…

11. Instagram: Start following other people within your industry. Repost their postings while giving them credit for the post. This is a great way to help them out and for you to have great content on your account.

12. Twitter: Start making groups. Groups help you look at things all at once and you can quickly repost and favorite information that you think would be great information for your audience.

13. Simply Search: Search your industry to see what others are talking about and what other companies are doing. See who’s coming up on the first page and scan over their website to see what they’re doing differently.

14. Past blogs: You can bring past blogs back to life! A lot of people overstep this and don’t even consider it. Old blogs are a great thing to reuse because you audience is constantly changing. Some people may not have even known you published a blog because they’re a new follower.

15. Blogs that got a lot of traction: Blogs that got a lot of interaction on your social media sites can be reused, just like mentioned in #14. Repost them a couple days or a week after to expose them to other audiences.

16. Days of the year: A great way to connect with people is to post about a particular day, such as National Cookie Day, or National Hug Day. People don’t necessarily have time to look up these fun days, so if you wish them a Happy National Hug Day, you’re most likely passing along a smile with that post.

17. Quotes: Quotes are the most interacted with post on social media because so many people can relate to them. I love doing motivational ones in particular like, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish,” By Steve Jobs. I’ll post an apple with it and do a hashtag #Inspiration. This can resonate with a lot of people because everyone knows Steve Jobs and everyone has a challenge to overcome or a bad day.

These are my 17 ways to get great social media content for your next post on any of your platforms. Try some testing to see which of these works best for your industry and let us know how we can help you in the future. It’s easy to reach out and we love hearing suggestions!

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