6 Social Media Content Categories To Delight Your Fans

Wondering what to post on social media?

What are the best social media content categories to get more engagement?

And what’s a “content bucket” or “content peg,” for heaven’s sake?

You’ll get tons of social media post ideas by category right here, and you can:

• Pin the reminder infographic to Pinterest.
• Sign up to download the free cheat sheet!

So let’s get started.

What types of social media posts do I need?

Here’s the deal: People don’t follow business social media accounts because they want to be sold to.

Posting interesting content from a wide variety of categories, or “content buckets,” assures that you’ll delight your current fans, while attracting new ones!

1. Entertaining Post Ideas

People love to enjoy themselves!  So entertain (and attract) followers with some fun content.

Buffer says:

Content that entertains is often funny, frequently highly shareable, and often is able to quickly transform a “company” into a “group of people just like me.”

News and Holidays are #1 on the content list over at Business2Community. They say:

The best way to manage breaking news is to grab it as soon as possible and then to give it your own unique slant, preferably with a bit of insight or comment. The newer it is the better, but if you can give it a personal touch it will be more likely to be seen.

I’m a big fan of fun daily holidays, so they’re a major category in my Social Media Content Planner.

Why? Because people love them!

This holiday post blew me away. It was by far my most popular post at the time:

It’s Cat Herders Day! For those who feel their job is impossible. ? Tag a friend who can relate. ? Then tell me what your DREAM JOB is! ????????????? #catherdersday #lovecats #instacute

A photo posted by Graphic Design & Social Media (@louisemcom) on Dec 15, 2015 at 6:47am PST

An added bonus is that current holidays are trending.

You’ll likely see holiday hashtags featured as trending on Twitter. Your followers will see content about them all day (or season) long, and realize that you’re in the know when they see your content in the mix.

About holiday content, B2C said:

It ensures that you get traffic and engagement because it’s simply timely.

Here are 7 entertaining content types. Which would work for your business?

• Fun Holidays
• Memes
• Jokes
• Throwback / nostalgia
• Contests & Giveaways
• Puzzles
• Comics

Kim Garst posts a lot of humorous content that’s a hit. Here’s one of hers from Instagram.

Anyone used Algebra today?   A photo posted by ?Kim Garst – Social Media ? (@kimgarst) on Aug 7, 2016 at 3:13pm PDT

But what about being businesslike?

Remember why people are on social media: to be social, not sold to.

Hannah Smith tells us:

Content which has been created to entertain might not be directly related to your products/services, however in order to do its job, it does need to appeal to your target audience.

So do craft content that has your market in mind.

2. Inspirational Post Ideas

Inspirational quotes are always popular.

But inspiration can go beyond words on a picture. Buffer says:

The best kind of inspiration often comes in the form of case studies, customer testimonials and stories of failures and challenges that successful people have faced along the way.

So there’s a content idea that’s inspiring while being subtly promotional!

Inspirational content ideas for you:

• Quotes
• Trivia / Amazing Facts
• Gorgeous images
• Personal stories of your or your clients’ triumphs

Here’s an inspiring post from Rebekah Radice:

“Only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible.” – Frank Gaines •• See the impossible, do the inconceivable. Dream big, put a plan in place, go after it – EVERY DAY! #entrepreneur #marketing #success

A photo posted by Rebekah Radice ⚡️ Social Media (@rebekahradice) on Oct 13, 2016 at 8:50pm PDT

3. Educational Post Ideas

If you coach, consult, train, or teach, this is an important category for you.

Share small tidbits of your wisdom to build the “know, like, and trust” factor in your fans. Once they get a taste of your expertise, they’ll be willing to invest in more!

One of my favorite content types is Tips Graphics. These do well for me across all social platforms.

For more leads and sales, share educational content that warms people up to your products and services.

Some smart ideas:

• Link to your and others’ blog posts
• Tips & Tricks
• Industry Research
•  Free Resources (reports and guides)
• Answers to FAQs
• Case Studies
• Live Video Training

Jenn Herman has a very specific look for her “new blog post” notifications on Instagram. Check it out:

A new #blog post is live! The topic of social media safety has come up a lot in recent weeks. And while most of this talk has focused on individuals and personal use, I wanted to share with you some ways to protect your business (or brand) and your business profiles online. You can read it all in today’s blog post. ? CLICK ON THE LINK IN MY BIO. #socialmedia #socialmediamarketing #marketing #jennstrends #LearnFromJenn #business #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smm #onlinemarketing #socialmediatips #socialmediamanager #socialmediastrategy #virtualassistant #socialmediaagency #safety #security #onlinesecurity #branding #protips #onlinesafety #safetytips A photo posted by Jenn Herman?Instagram Expert (@jenns_trends) on Oct 12, 2016 at 4:07pm PDT

4. Conversational Content Ideas

Whether your post is strictly conversational or falls into another content category, you should always try to incite conversation. You followers respond best when you don’t just talk at them, but listen too.

Here’s what I mean: Don’t just post a graphic of a holiday or quote. Share what you think about it! Ask followers if they celebrate / have ever heard of it / agree.

You can do similar with educational content.

• Have you tried this?
• Have any more tips to share?
• Which tip is your favorite?

For strictly conversational content, here are some great conversation starters. Create a graphic to go with, and you’ve got a winner!

• Questions
• Polls
• Fill in blanks
• Ask for advice
• “Caption this” photos

Here’s a simple question graphic I made that got a boatload of great comments!

? Opinions wanted! ? Do you like to be regrammed? ? To me this is a controversial topic. Maybe I’m just looking for trouble ? But I always like to make sure creatives’ rights are protected. ? Sometimes regramming is done in an awesome way to promote the other account. ? Sometimes it seems the regrammer just wants free content, and mentions the artist in a minor way. ? You may not be aware: IG says you can only post your own photos and videos, and those you have permission to post. So I always suggest getting permission! ? What do YOU think?

A photo posted by Graphic Design & Social Media (@louisemcom) on Aug 11, 2016 at 7:43pm PDT

5. Connection Content Ideas

People buy from people! It’s a great idea to connect with your followers on a personal level.

As with Conversation, you can add Connection into almost all your posts by infusing your personality in your image choices and captions.

Perhaps because I’m an introvert, I feel that this category can be overdone. Do remember that people who aren’t following you yet (and don’t know you) will probably not be interested in a feed that’s strictly selfies and your personal events.

But there are plenty of business-related ideas here too. There’s nothing quite like featuring others in your niche, or your followers, to create a one-on-one connection!

Try these ideas for “connecting” posts:

• Behind the Scenes
• Product Previews just for followers
• Photos of Your Life (hobbies, vacations, family)
• Stories
• Nostalgia
• Shoutouts of complementary businesses or groups
• Employee features
• Photos from events you’re attending
• Thanking fans
• Share your favorite cause
• Ask for opinions / feedback

Peg Fitzpatrick excels at connecting with fans. Here’s one example where she combines an event photo and a shoutout.

One of the great things about traveling to events is meeting new people. Sunny and I met for the first time and had a blast speaking today. We made a quick video about YouTube and Pinterest on Facebook Live. I’ll share it to my page Facebook.com/pegfitpatrick.author or click the link in my bio to find it. ?➕? equals traffic! She’s amazing and has a kick butt YouTube channel – check it out for sure! A+ speakers at #barkworld2016 #barkworld #regram ? @sunnylenarduzzi   A photo posted by Social media author + speaker (@pegfitzpatrick) on Oct 14, 2016 at 3:16pm PDT

6. Promotional Post Ideas

Finally – what you’ve been waiting for!

YES, you absolutely should promote your business on social media. It’s why you’re spending all that time, right?

It’s generally considered acceptable to spend 20% of your content on promotion. You might get away with more if your free webinars and opt-in freebies are truly valuable. Those would cross into the educational category.

Here are promotional content ideas for your social media:

• Freebies for email signups
• Webinars
• Products / Services
• Client testimonials
• Discounts

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Social Media Content Types: Conclusion

Delight your current fans, and attract new ones, by posting valuable content from a variety of categories.

We reviewed examples for these 6 Social Media content categories:

• Entertainment
• Inspiration
• Education
• Conversation
• Connection
• Promotion

Which ideas will work best for your audience?

Let me know in a comment what Social Media Content Categories are your fans’ faves!