Even if social media isn’t your favorite thing on Earth, when you run a small business — or manage marketing for a nonprofit, promote a band, or are generally trying to raise awareness for any brand, product, or purpose — then social media content creation is simply a must.
It’s not just that well-curated social media content helps to drive viewers, engagement, and potentially capital: These days, the absence of social media can seem like a red flag to some would-be customers. To that end, I’ll walk you through how to create meaningful social media content that actually connects with your desired audience.
To get you the best advice possible on how to create content for social media, I’ve gone beyond my own long experience with social media and marketing — which includes running social media programs for several companies, writing millions of words of search engine optimized content, consulting on marketing campaigns, and even ghostwriting books on online marketing and SEO — and consulted with nearly a dozen social media industry experts. This includes CEO of Nautilus Marketing, Tom Jauncey, who sums things up nicely: “Creating engaging social media content comes down to understanding your audience and mixing up your approach.”
Before we talk about content, though, let’s talk about bigger picture planning.
What Is a Social Media Content Plan?
Your social media content plan is your overall strategy for growing and enriching your brand’s online presence. (Throughout, I’ll use “brand” as shorthand for your business, yourself as an artist or author, your nonprofit, and so forth.) In broad strokes, a content plan informs your greater thinking about what to post on social media and when to post it, so you can achieve goals like increasing brand awareness, engagement, or visibility, or help grow your sales.
Although, on paper, your social media plan mostly involves thinking through and then writing out what you will do — this many posts per week of this type on this or that platform, e.g. — a lot of its value lies in the fact that it will help you think through your goals. Is the purpose of your social media campaigns simply to grow brand awareness? Is it to promote a given message? Is it to inform people of new products or events? When it comes to a true understanding of how to create content for social media, knowing why you’re engaging in a social media push is every bit as vital — arguably even more so — than knowing how you’re going to go about it.
5 Steps To Building a Social Media Content Plan
1. Know Your Audience
You have to know as much as possible about your target demographic. What age is your preferred customer? Where do they live — in coastal cities, rural regions, the Midwest, or overseas? Only once you know plenty about who you’re targeting can you create content with which consumers will identify.
2. Study Your Competition
Chances are high that others are out there doing something similar to you. Are they doing well on their channels? Then take some notes from them on how to create content for social media, and maybe even allow for a bit of emulation. Is anything they do more cringe than cool? Then avoid it like the plague. Paying attention to what others are doing on social media is often your best bet for jumpstarting your own campaign successfully. Why reinvent the wheel, right?
3. Plan a Budget
Social media can be free, of course, but unless you want to spend years waiting for your brand to grow, spending hours every day actively engaging with other users in hopes of follows and shares, you really need to consider spending some money on your social media efforts. This can range from paid posts now and then all the way to hiring a company to help manage your social media efforts for you.
4. Choose Your Platforms Carefully
It likely goes without saying that the same post that blows up on TikTok may fall on deaf ears on Facebook, or that while Instagram may be great for that quick GIF you created, that longer explainer video really belongs on YouTube. But you also need to think beyond how well-suited a given piece of content is to a platform, and think critically about the viewers with whom you hope to engage.
At last check, the average age of a TikTok user was between 18 and 24, while the average age of a Facebook user is 10 years older than that, with people aged 55 to 64 spending the most time on Facebook daily. You need to know where your people are, so to speak, so you’re not posting to the wrong crowds. Take the time to research your demographic audience and then to see which sites, apps, and platforms they frequent.
5. Make Your Accounts, Then Make Your Plan
You can’t take to the social media scene without accounts on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more, and although making individual accounts may be quick and easy (and usually free), creating a unified presence across multiple platforms can be a challenge, so be ready to spend some time researching this. Search out account names you can secure across multiple platforms, generate a logo that looks great even small, and make sure you can use the same name and imaging everywhere you need.
Types of Social Media Content To Produce
As you set about the business of figuring out how to create content for social media, it’s vital that you understand the options available to you.
“The type of content you need to create really depends on your audience and their needs,” says Ruslan Halilov, CMO at BluedotHQ. “For instance, as a brand, we need to cater to our users who seek educational content on best practices for professional meetings. So, we create content that includes tutorials, case studies, and tips. But for someone who’s an influencer, for example, you will need to make more entertaining content.”
“You need to first research what your audience wants and which platforms they’re using,” Halilov continues. “This means researching how the algorithms on your platform of choice work is also a must. For example, Instagram values visuals and short texts, while YouTube is strictly about videos.”
Short-Form Video
Short-form videos are a great way to deliver brief but loaded content. They’re often only 10 or 15 seconds in length — not long enough to wear out an attention span — and usually feature a person front and center on the screen. TikTok is the leading short video platform, alongside Instagram Reels, and again, the more popular videos often feature a person speaking right to the camera, lots of brief text overlays, and usually music and other effects.
Image Galleries
If you want to feature multiple pictures, be it of products, people, places, or anything else you think your audience should see, a carousel of images is the best way to deliver content. Instagram, naturally, is the ideal platform for this, since it’s easy to search and scroll and it’s optimized for batches of images. Just remember to keep the captions short, as most people won’t read them, and instead focus on content that catches the eye, leading with a strong picture that will draw in audiences.
Long Posts
If you have a longer message to share, you might just get people actually reading it all on Facebook or LinkedIn. Regular users of these venerable social media platforms are accustomed to spending more time reading text than users of video-heavy social media services. Make sure your post has a strong image as well, though, and consider summarizing the content at the end (perhaps with a TLDR, or “too long, didn’t read” approach) and don’t bury the lede: Make it clear what is being discussed at the outset.
Long-Form Video
If you want to disseminate information through longer videos — meaning a minute or so, or even 15 or 20 minutes — do it on YouTube, as people are ready to tune in and watch on this classic video platform. Be sure to create a solid channel with a decent bio on it, but know that video captions will get a glance at best in most cases. Make your videos strong, turn on Closed Captions, and watch the comments that pop up.
Infographics and Charts
There’s no right or wrong social media platform on which to post infographics, charts, surveys, and so forth (TikTok, perhaps, may be a miss there). Instead, it’s a matter of finding the right place for the right content. People on Facebook, for example, gobble up info about the political realm, whereas a graph showing changing trends or social preferences may do better on Instagram.
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Implementing a Social Media Content Plan
Plan Your Social Media Content Out Well in Advance
Forward planning is a massive part of knowing how to create content for social media effectively. Never leave your social media posts and uploads to the last minute — that’s a recipe for stress and even strategic failure. “Plan ahead with a content calendar and scheduling tool,” says Haley Wells, social media team lead at the marketing agency Seoplus+. “They allow you to visualize your strategy months in advance, ensuring your content is cohesive and consistent. Plus, scheduling posts removes the daily pressure of publishing in real-time. Frequency matters in social media, and scheduling tools help you maintain a steady presence.”
Always Be Authentic
“When creating social media content, it’s important to balance your brand’s voice with staying relevant,” says Silvija Kemeraite, social media manager at Omnisend. “Meaningful, authentic content has more impact potential, but trends, including memes, can offer quick engagement if approached wisely. Be selective and choose trends that correlate with your core message and audience. For example, brands that jumped late on the ‘Brat Summer’ trend appeared tone-deaf, just as using the Grumpy Cat meme will probably feel outdated to a Gen Z audience.”
“On the other hand, don’t be afraid of being unpopular, at least with some people,” Kemeraite adds. “Many rely on ‘safe’ content to not trigger anybody, but sometimes a thoughtful stance on certain issues may differentiate you among competitors in a positive way. Ben & Jerry’s comes to mind: While their social commentary draws criticism from some, it also builds stronger loyalty among their target demographic.”
Choose the Right Content for the Right Platform
Ryan Anderson, president of the marketing agency Markiserv, advises that you have to know what type of content suits which platform. “With platforms like TikTok and Instagram, short-form videos (AKA reels) are dominating — short, snappy, and visually engaging videos that grab attention and encourage sharing. Sometimes you should use interactive posts, like polls, quizzes, or ‘this-or-that’ templates to foster audience interaction. As for word counts, for Twitter/X, keep posts concise — under 280 characters, focusing on punchy hooks or actionable insights.”
“For Instagram captions, use 125–150 words for high engagement, but vary with longer storytelling when necessary,” Anderson continues. “For LinkedIn posts, aim for 150–200 words, formatted for skimming with bullet points and short paragraphs. Finally, memes are great for relatability and shareability, but they must align with your brand’s tone. Use memes sparingly and ensure they’re relevant and tasteful to avoid alienating professional audiences.”
Be Consistent, but Don’t Overdo It
In terms of posting frequency, never toss up some garbage just so you posted something. “In terms of frequency, less content and more substance is the way to go,” says Kemeraite. “Highly engaging content, such as a funny, well-targeted meme, or a longer, captivating story once in a while, is far more effective than daily filler. Again, the goal here is to connect with your audience through authenticity, not just chase the algorithm.”
Once you have your posting frequency planned out, stick to it, Halilov says, explaining that, “Being consistent is the only way you can gain a following.”
Make Your Content Work for You
You don’t have to come up with great new material every time you post to social media. “Repurpose your existing content,” says Nikola Baldikov, an SEO and digital marketing specialist who founded the site Inbound Blogging. “When it comes to creating great content, you don’t always have to start from scratch. Take a look at what you’ve already made and find ways to give it a new life. For example, if you have an in-depth blog post, you can break it into smaller pieces for social media, turn it into an engaging infographic, or create a short, snappy video highlighting key points. AI tools like ChatGPT can make this process even easier.”
Pay Attention to What’s Working
Pay close attention to which posts blow up and which fall on deaf ears. And don’t focus all your attention on your own posting — keep an eye on what else is out there. “Use social listening for inspiration,” says iHeartRaves founder and CEO Brian Lim. “Social listening tools let you look at how people engage with ideas around your niche, market, or competitors. Tools like Brandwatch or Sprout Social give you a perfect opportunity to explore the trends, the common problems, or even some latent interests of your target audience. For example, if you notice a spike in festival-goers discussing sustainable fashion, this could inspire educational posts, product highlights, or collaborations around eco-friendly designs.”
Key takeaways
The key to success in learning how to create content for social media, then following through on your plan, is knowing your goals. What are you hoping to achieve and why? When you know that, next research your target audience and figure out which type of media your demographic consumes, and where.
Next, consider what your content will be like (funny, touching, informative, etc.) and then make a calendar, remembering that quality, authentic content is better than a glut of the stuff. Then begin to create content, slot it into the calendar, and start getting your brand out there into the world. And be patient, it can take time!
FAQs
What is the best content for social media?
Content that does three things: Get shared, get revisited, and get remembered. If you can figure out how to create content for your brand that will live on beyond its initial date of posting, you’re doing it right.
Once you know what tends to work, know when it tends to work, too, says Ani Ghazaryan, head of content and marketing at Neptune.AI. “Track engagement to find the best times to post, as this can vary by platform and audience. Posting at optimal times ensures your content reaches the widest audience.”
What is the most popular social media content?
Video content, and short-form videos at that, are the most popular type of social media content. Videos that can be watched quickly on a mobile device get the most eyes, and when your feed is packed with this type of content, it can keep eyes glued.
There are other creative ways to enhance the popularity of your content, such as by doing what publicity expert Stefanie Magness, of Elevate U PR, calls “newsjacking.” “That’s just a fancy way of saying I connect my ideas to hot news stories. If there’s a big story that relates to my work, I’ll jump in and share my take. People love hearing something fresh and relevant, and it helps me (and my clients!) stand out as someone who knows what’s going on.”
How do I create a simple content calendar?
You can start out using the calendar app on your phone or computer or even a paper calendar, but if you’re going to take social media seriously, then you need to turn to a workflow management platform like Trello, Monday, or Asana. These project management platforms have free versions and can help you plan out weeks or even months in advance, allow for reminders and notes, and make collaboration easy for that soon-to-be growing brand of yours.
