5 Shareable Social Media Content Ideas to Add to Your 2024 Calendar
Keep your content calendar populated with social media ideas that are optimized for sharing. Watch your followers grow as you implement these content types.
August 17, 2023
9 minute reading
Social media is a core component of any small business owner’s marketing strategy. Some of the biggest challenges to maintaining a successful presence on all platforms are consistency and growth.
By populating your 2023 content calendar with these shareable social media content ideas, you can tackle these problems at the same time.
What makes social media content shareable?
With the right social media strategy, your social media followers will be adding your posts to their Instagram stories, re-sharing your TikToks, showing Facebook posts to friends and families, and more.
Optimize the success rate of users sharing your social media posts by following these tips:
Publish trending content
Make content relatable and funny
Utilize storytelling methods
Include high-quality imagery
Create aesthetic infographics
Add value to the conversation
Be original
Use social media analytics tools to track progress
The following five types of social media content are perfect for sharing, especially when you apply the above tips.
1. Educational content
Don’t make the mistake of limiting yourself on social media. Not everyone is on social media to shop, browse their friend’s content, or entertain themselves. Many users are happy to learn while they scroll through social media.
Educational content is a powerful tool for businesses looking to engage their target audience, build consumer trust in their brand, and demonstrate expertise in their field. Popular shareable educational content includes:
FAQs
Tutorials
Podcasts
Listicles
Make sure you’re creating content applicable to your space. If you own a camera company, try publishing YouTube videos or TikToks about camera maintenance or a tutorial on how to properly clean your camera. Don’t stray too far from your products/services otherwise, the audience interested in your social posts won’t be the same audience as your customers. And check out these Chrome extensions to boost your YouTube productivity.
When crafting educational content that’s optimized for sharing, keep the following tips in mind:
Keep the language simple. Avoid industry jargon or overly complex terms that may confuse your audience.
Use visuals whenever possible. Images and video content are more likely to grab people's attention than long blocks of text.
Offer multiple formats. Some people prefer reading, while others prefer watching videos or listening to podcasts. Offer a variety of formats so everyone can access your content in their preferred way.
Showcase experts. Have experts within your field explain concepts in detail using visual aids and helpful resources such as case studies or testimonials as examples.
Focus on practical applications. Give actionable advice that readers can use in real scenarios rather than giving theoretical explanations which they may not be able to apply easily.
“Our best performing social media content is when we create tutorial videos on how to breed your own insects,” says Jeff Neal, owner of The Critter Depot. “This may seem counterintuitive to our business. However, it's done a great job creating ever-green content for our business. Now, when people search “how to breed crickets,” we are the top result, and visitors then buy crickets from us to get them started.”
The Critter Depot’s YouTube video on breeding crickets has 760k likes and almost 1,700 comments.
2. Interactive content
Interactive content is a big hit on social media because it tends to boost small businesses’ engagement rates. Whenever possible, add interactive elements to make your content stand out from the rest and build a sense of community around your business.
Popular interactive social media content ideas include:
Polls
Quizzes
Q&A sessions
Ask me anything (AMA)
Consumers are more drawn to small businesses that feel human—and the best way to showcase that is to get in front of the camera. Sixty-five percent of consumers say that when a brand’s CEO uses social media, it feels like real people run the business. Shoppers love to buy from businesses that display their positive company culture.
Follow these tips to create shareable interactive content:
Add hashtags to your post. For optimal engagement, use relevant hashtags—or create your own.
Tag influencers who might take part. Research influencers in your space and tag them in interactive content. If they decide to participate, it’ll improve your visibility significantly.
Provide space for conversation. Encourage users to discuss the content in the comment section or wherever relevant. Create a space for real-time dialogue and conversation.
Engage with your community. As the owner, get comfortable showing your face as part of your social media marketing strategy and talk with your shoppers. Host authentic AMAs and showcase your personality.
“Content where me as the founder is displayed gets much higher engagement, people are interested in following the life of a small-business owner, since they can see themselves taking that step, or at least wanting to,” says Behrang Bandali, founder of Freaky Sauces.
Freaky Sauces sees more engagement and impressions on social media posts that feature the founder.
3. Promotional content
There’s no shame in promoting your products—it’s something you need to be constantly doing as a small business owner in order to generate sales. It provides a way to introduce products and services to your target audience, as well as build brand awareness. There are a few different ways you can make your promotional content more exciting and unique so that shoppers don't even realize it’s promotional material.
Common examples of promotional content include:
Giveaways
Contests
New product launches
Trendy videos
When you make promotional content exciting and get customers eager to participate, a lot of the marketing gets done for you.
Here are some tips to create stand-out promotional content:
Include desirable prizes. Free stuff is one way to grab consumers’ attention. Make sure prizes for giveaways are desirable and relevant.
Come up with a unique hashtag. Unique hashtags help people find and share your post and increase its visibility on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter.
Pay attention to trending topics. See what types of promotional materials are gaining traction and add that to your content strategy.
Think of new ways to talk about your product. Constantly be brainstorming new ways to position your product and get consumers excited about it.
Make it easy to participate. If you’re running a social media giveaway or content, keep it simple. Have followers tag a friend or re-share your post on their story—but don’t have a whole list of requirements.
“I read some case studies about brands approaching people in the streets and asking about their product, so I created this video,” says Jordan Wenck, co-owner and operator of Rice Love. “I made this on a day that I was having coffee with a friend and asked her if she'd be willing to spend 10 minutes with me creating a video. Sometimes we only get 1500–2000 views for a video, so this one with 50,000+ views is a lot.”
Another way to promote your products naturally is to tap into human emotions. Storytelling elements are vital for viral videos, especially stories that tug at consumers’ heartstrings.
“One viral video (6.9 million views) happened completely organically when I spotted one of our interns crying in our production room. I asked her why she was crying and it turned out it was over one of our orders for a custom hoodie of someone whose partner had passed away,” says Keida Dervishi, owner of Soulmate Customs. “We filmed the story and it was so real and authentic people connected so much to that raw moment. It played on the emotion of our business which comes from our customers’ genuine stories.”
4. Newsworthy content
Newsworthy content is essential for any successful social media calendar. It requires more resources than other formats since trending topics are constantly changing and facts need to be checked. But, newsworthy content doesn’t mean you need to gather your own data or conduct a bunch of research.
Popular newsworthy social media content includes:
Chart/graphs
Infographics
Videos
Curation of data
As long as you’re staying up-to-date with the changing news in your industry, inserting your own expert commentary is an easy way to enter the conversation.
Follow these tips to publish newsworthy content that users will want to share:
Discuss news specific to your industry. Don’t waste resources producing content that focuses on broad news or global news. Only post relevant content and focus on news stories your target audience will care about.
Present in a visually appealing format. When not presented properly, content centered around news can come off as dry or boring and cause users to scroll by. Turn infographics or charts into stunning visuals that users will want to re-share.
Invite discussion. Foster community by posing a question at the end of your video or caption. Monitor discussions on all social media accounts and ensure the conversation keeps going.
Ensure your content is factual. Newsworthy content is a great way to boost credibility and trust in your brand—but only if you’re publishing accurate material.
“I knew people looking to hire would be interested in how AI could possibly replace VAs. But once you watch the video, you actually see how important it is to have creative minds doing your work,” says Brittany Verlenich, owner of Verity Media Marketing. “My goal is never to go viral. I'd rather have the right people seeing and responding to the right content—with DMs, click-throughs, or booked calls.”
5. User-generated content
Many content marketing strategies rely heavily on user-generated content (UGC) because it’s a cost-effective way to market products and grow your community. Content creation doesn’t have to be a solo venture, especially when you have an entire base of happy customers willing to show off their purchases. Plus, UGC is the most trustworthy type of content according to consumers.
Brands share UGC in a variety of formats:
Testimonials on website
Marketing materials
Social media posts
Product images
Encourage your customers to share their feedback and make it easy for potential buyers to see this as well. UGC is great for humanizing your brand and forming a level of trust and transparency.
Here are our top tips for using shareable UGC:
Create a dedicated hashtag. Much like contests and giveaways, create a personalized hashtag for customers to post their UGC under.
Feature reviews on your social media platforms. If you want consumers to share your content, share theirs. Highlight high-quality success stories.
Thank customers for sharing. Gratitude can go a long way, so make sure your customers know you appreciate their shoutouts.
Reward UGC. Create contests around UGC and send freebies to the best social media posts.
“We include a flier in our packaging that says, "We'd love to see your sign in action! Tag us on Instagram @customneon or hashtag #mycustomneonto be featured,"” says Clare Jones, outreach manager for Custom Neon. “Once tagged, we always respond by congratulating them on their event and signage design. We'll then ask if they'd mind if we used their stunning imagery on our site, social or other relevant PR, and most people are happy to oblige.”
20 effective social media post ideas to fill in your content calendar
Looking for some specific ideas and social media campaigns to add to your content planning template? Incorporate these 20 ideas into your different social media channels. Remember to take a look at your social media analytics and use monitoring tools to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Share GIFs
Create your own memes
Repurpose blog posts
Offer a sneak peek into running a business
Post content around holidays
Publish snippets from webinars
Comment on industry news
Share company news
Run a challenge
Host a giveaway
Collaborate with local businesses
Start a how-to series
Clip podcast snippets
Do a social media takeover
Share a day in the life
Do a weekly AMA series
Use trends to promote your product
Create an Instagram Reel of BTS content
Do live videos and interact with viewers
Create infographics
Partner with freelancers to generate high-quality social content
Running a small business while simultaneously trying to run a successful social media marketing strategy is no easy venture. Most of the successful brands you see aren’t a one-person show, and many small businesses leverage AI for content creation and use tools like schedulers to boost productivity. Even if you don’t have the capital for employees, freelancers are the perfect solution to scaling your digital marketing.
“I have freelancers that create videos for us that are paid per video but also given bonus incentives if their videos go viral, that way both parties are invested in creating videos that perform,” says Wenck.
Join Fiverr and access a marketplace of talented and specialized freelancers. Bring freelancers on as team members to assist with everything from content creation to community management to video SEO. Watch your re-shares and re-posts skyrocket and enjoy a boost in revenue and sales.
“One of the biggest benefits we've experienced with working with online job platforms like Fiverr is the flexibility it provides,” says Matt Haycox, founder and CEO of Funding Guru. “We can bring in an expert for a specific project without the long-term commitment of hiring a full-time employee.”
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About Author
Michelle Newblom B2B SaaS Writer
Michelle Newblom is a B2B SaaS writer with a knack for creative storytelling, which she artfully applies to all of her content. Her expertise lies in creating compelling copy for blogs and guides, which help businesses generate conversions and attain their goals.
