For small businesses, social media marketing can be one of the best ways to attract and engage new customers.
But to do that, you'll need to post pretty regularly, sometimes even more than once per day.
Eventually, you'll find yourself running low on ideas.
You'll need something interesting to post, other than links to your latest blog posts and curated third party content that's relevant to your audience.
This is something that kind of happens over time.
After you've been posting to Facebook or Twitter for months on end, you might not be quite sure how to find an idea that you haven't done before.
This is especially true if you're in a decidedly “boring” industry.
How do you keep people engaged with a company that manufactures industrial machinery, or with a local plumbing service?
In a recent article for Forbes, marketing consultant Brian Sutter offers some great ideas that can freshen up your social media presence.
Here are some of the less common and more surprising options you can try out.
A poll.
Interactive content – like polls and quizzes – is very popular right now.
There’s a reason: It gets great engagement and lots of shares. Try to sprinkle at least one poll a week into your feeds.
A sweepstakes or giveaway.
These do require a prize (which usually isn’t free).
But if you’ve got enough time to promote them, these type of posts can do very well.
A caption writing contest.
In a “boring” industry? These are a great way to liven up a feed.
All you need is a photograph (it’s even better if you use one you shot yourself).
A how-to tutorial that’s not related to a product.
Be useful. Then be even more useful.
Entire companies have been built on this principle.
User generated content.
You’ll know you’re really building an audience and goodwill when people send you their photos with your products (or using your services).
Get their blessing first, but then re-share this content.
It’s some of the best advertising you’ll get.
Photos of people in your company.
This is a great way to show company culture. It’s also excellent for recruitment.
Previously published posts.
I saved the best for last.
It’s AOK to republish your older posts – especially if they got a lot of engagement.
I’d recommend republishing one older, high-performing post at least every few days.
You can find more great social media ideas over at Forbes.
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