Content Ideas for Social Media Posts

Everyone's talking about it, everyone says you need it, you get it. You're all set up with Facebook and Twitter, great! ... Now what?

It's time to start posting. But forget your well versed product pitch, the purpose of getting into social media is to interact with your consumers. This is not to be confused with selling to your consumers. Sales may be your ultimate goal, but for now, that's not what people want to hear. So what should you write about?

Before you touch the keyboard you need to keep two things in mind-
1. Social sites are casual. Twitter only gives you 140 characters to get your point across; people aren't trying to read a novel, they want fast information. This means there's no room for long winded terminology or impressive vocabulary normally found on your website. Keep it simple and to the point, i.e. "Check this out, great idea or not? www.link.com", done.
2. You must be interesting. You'll never get followers if you're posting old news or lame company facts. To achieve interesting your posts generally need to be one of three things- new, helpful, or humorous. And that's just the attention grabbing part. But you don't want just anyone following you. Sure, it may make you feel special, but remember the ultimate goal is to turn followers into customers, so keep your information industry related. This will help narrow your following into a well targeted audience.

With these two golden rules in mind, you're read to start posting. Here are some ideas on what you can do with your social media accounts:

1. Update your status regularly. What's going on? Literally. Talk about the pros and cons of a new item/program you tested out, or that last office debate on whether "X" was more effective than "Y", then ask for your fan's opinions.
2. Share the last interesting article you read and give your thoughts. Impress your fans by showing them your industry knowledge base is wider than your own doors.
3. Start a discussion or a pool. People love to share their opinion! Giving others a chance to express their views not only shows respect but builds trust as well.
4. Post pictures of the office or people at work, your last office party, and networking happy hours. Seeing your faces and the office life makes a company that much more personable with the average consumer. Not to mention, more interesting!
5. Retweet and Facebook share. If someone else you're following or reading up on has uncovered something interesting, share it with others by posting an eye catching tag line followed by the info link. *Hint: This is a great way to keep up in the social world when you're limited on time.
6. Link to your blog. You've got something new, helpful, or humorous to say and it's more than 140 characters. Post it to your blog then, as with other articles, put a title and site link in your post. While it's more time consuming to write your own article, links to your blog will bring more traffic to your website.

For more ideas on specific things you can do with Facebook and Twitter, check out these articles:

TWEET IDEAS: 13 Things to Do on Twitter, Besides Tweet
32 Ways to Use Facebook For Business

6 Ways Social Media Can Help Your Business

So you keep hearing that you need social media, but you're still not sure why? Let me explain. The world is in a constant state of change and the internet is no exception. As with everything else, if you don't keep up, you'll be left under the proverbial rock. It's no longer enough just to have a website or to simply be listed on yellowbook.com. Adwords are a start, but people are slowing turning to ward social media outlets, rather than search engines, for information. And why shouldn't they? With collaborative readers like Netvibes, all the information normally requiring multiple site visits is instead, placed on one page, with real-time updates. So how do you continue to reach these consumers? You get into their news feed. Here are the top 6 ways doing just that will help to improve your business.


1. Exposure. Once your business name is recognized by a consumer, your chances of being called upon for a particular service goes way up. Getting your name out in the online social world works the same as advertising for a much smaller price. Plus, you avoid being viewed as another annoying ad.

2. Better SEO. Posting links back to your site will increase traffic and boost your page ranking with search engines such as Google. If you can provide content that requires a minute or two to read or watch, it will prevent bounce hits (people who visit your site then immediately leave) which can bring down overall page rank.

3. Become an Industry Leader. As I mentioned earlier, technology is constantly changing. Thus, being on top of new and upcoming products and events is an important part of staying in the race. Subscribe to blog feeds, tweets, and fan pages related to your field; find out what's going on out side your doors. This will not only keep you well informed, but enable you to be the first to share information with others and attract fans.

4. Watch the Competition. Much like the social window you're creating for your own company, you can keep an eye on your competitors and what they're doing. Find out what they're saying and who they're saying it to, then do it better!

5. Feedback. People are already talking about you and/or your services so get in there and talk back! If someone's given you a poor rating, find out why and offer a discount on their next purchase. You might commend a positive rating in the same way to let consumers know you appreciate their support.

6. Valuable Employees. By displaying your company philosophy through your social media presence, you're more likely to attract potential employee candidates. It might not always be people who are actively seeking employment that are a good catch, so be sure to pay attention to who your fans are as well as their individual skills and achievements.

Michael Jackson Tribute Party

Remember that Rock to the King of Pop party we co-hosted? Well it was a great success and we took pictures!

more pictures

Digital Canvas has submitted a panel for next year's SXSW conference (March 12-20, 2010). Voting closes the end of the day, so be sure to check out it and cast your vote today!

Interactive Agency: GTD For Your Clients
Organized by Digital Canvas

At the heart of every creative agency is their client roster and the work done for these clients. Balancing the client's happiness, your shop's collective creative ego, and your/their budget is a challenging experience. We hope to share our experiences, mistakes, and successes and learn from other panelist/attendees on how to Get Things Done from the agency perspective.

Questions Answered:

1. Should clients choose you, or should you choose your clients?
2. How much is too much for your clients?
3. How do you accurately define your clients requirements and manage QA?
4. How do you get things done within your client's budget?
5. What happens when account management and creative/development clash?
6. When it comes to client changes, when is enough, enough?
7. How do you manage a long-term project with many rounds of changes and keep everyone happy?
8. How do you lose a client on purpose?
9. How do you find or instill your philosophy with vendors?
10. Protecting yourself, what goes in a scope of work?

Level: Beginner

Category: Advertising, Business / Entrepreneurial / Monetization, Career / Work Concerns, Design Thinking, Self-Help / Self-Improvement

Type: Panel

Event: Interactive 2010