6 Tips to Generate Social Media Post Ideas

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Creating a content calendar for your social media presence is a fantastic way to ensure you’re sharing purposeful posts online. However, one of the most challenging elements of developing a content calendar is generating plenty of social media post ideas. Sometimes those creative juices just don’t flow like they should!

In this post, I’m sharing ways to help you get more ideas of what you can share on social media. This way, you can create posts you’re proud of and will attract your target audience.

6 Tips to Generate Social Media Post Ideas

Follow these tips to start filling up your content calendar with fresh ideas:

1. Hop on Market Research Calls With Your Audience

Speaking directly with those in your audience is a great way to come up with social media post ideas. It allows you to learn who they are, both personally and professionally. You can discover their pain points and even ask about the kind of content they’d find most beneficial. And if you’d like, take it a step further and ask them what they think of the content you’re currently publishing. Calls like this can yield tons of valuable information.

One tip though… To make these calls more enticing for those that participate, make sure there’s something in it for them. Think of what you could offer them in exchange for their time. Considering giving them access to a paid ebook or a low-ticket course as a thank you. Or you could offer some sort of service while on the call. For instance, a social media audit if you’re a social media manager.

2. Send Out a Survey to Your Email List

If you’re not feeling up to hosting calls, send out a survey instead. Perfect if you’re feeling a little shy, but still effective at generating feedback from your audience. Use a tool like Google Forms, Typeform, or SurveyMonkey to get started. You can ask any questions you’d like to get answers to.

Questions about their demographics will give you a clear understanding of who is consuming your content. Then, you can ask about their pain points, topics they’re interested in learning about, etc. Those are the questions that will start shaping your content strategy.

3. Have Genuine Conversations in the DMs

Social media is a powerful tool to connect with new people, so make sure you’re taking advantage of this. Everyday conversations you have in your direct messages could lead to potential social media post ideas. All you have to do is invite people to connect with you there. Then, pay attention to what they’re sharing with you. Identify areas you can best serve them.

If you find that people aren’t reaching out to you via DM, start the conversation yourself. Find people that you are genuinely interested in and send over a quick message. Introduce yourself. Compliment them on a recent post. And let the conversation flow from there.

4. Keep Track of the Latest News in Your Industry

What’s happening in your industry is always going to be a hot topic for discussion. Staying updated with the latest news could help you come up with social media post ideas covering these updates or expanding on them with your own thoughts. Create Twitter lists with your favorite reputable news sources so you can easily keep track of what’s going on.

For instance, it’s important to me to stay updated with what’s going on in the social media world. I’m often sharing posts about Twitter’s latest features. And algorithm changes are always a hot topic among marketers. Odds are, your industry’s news can provide some valuable content ideas too!

5. Learn From Twitter Chats and Facebook Groups

You can also learn a lot about your target audience through communities that others have already built. Find Twitter chats that are relevant to your niche so you can connect with people who would be interested in what you have to offer. The same goes for Facebook groups. Pay attention to any questions that are being asked because you can create social media content that addresses them later on.

6. Be Mindful of Who You Consume Content From

While consuming content from others might seem like a great way to generate social media post ideas, sometimes it can be a bit stifling. We take in so much content from other creators on a daily basis, creating what is essentially a content overload. Be careful that you aren’t overwhelming yourself and just choose to consume content from your favorite people.

Not only that, but seeing other creators cover topics that you want to talk about can sometimes prevent you from taking action. You may begin to question whether or not you have anything to add to the conversation. You might doubt that your content could be as good as theirs. Instead of focusing too much on what others are doing, focus on yourself.

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