50 ideas for when you don’t know what to post on Social Media
Writing an amazing social media post takes creativity and dedication. You need posts that will attract your viewers’ attention so that they follow you and hopefully engage with your posts.
The biggest problem with social media is that you have to keep creating it! Unlike a project with a beginning, middle and end, social media NEVER ends – you always have to be producing it and publishing it whether your preferred platform is Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, your blog or more.
To save you time, we’re sharing 50 social media post ideas for those times when you’re running low on inspiration.
You can even use these to pre-schedule posts into your content calender so that you have a few week’s worth of content batched, scheduled and ready to go (now THAT is working smart!).
Before jumping into your social media posts, try to learn these basics:
- Which tools will help you accomplish what you need for these posts to be good? Hint: Canva is a great resource for creating graphics quickly and easily.
- When are the best times to post your content on the different social media platforms?
- What do your best performing posts have in common (check your Insights tab)
- Have a plan and strategy for your posts (schedule, topics, etc)
- Keep your audience in mind
- Be consistent with your posting
50 Great Social Media Posts to try next:
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Add a personal touch
People love the personal approach because it transforms your “business” into something far more relatable to the average person. There’s nothing wrong with editing pictures to look more aesthetically pleasing (hello filters and Photoshop!) but always strive to be sincere and genuine in a sea full of fakeness. Adding a personal touch makes you seem like a real person behind the screen and allows your followers/audience to relate to you even more.
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Go behind the scenes
We hardly ever get to see what goes down behind the scenes of movies and concerts or shows. Still, those bonus behind the scenes clips are always rewarding and appreciated by fans. Even if all you do is film some Instagram or Facebook Stories and share a “day in the life” or “new stock just landed” type of post, it will entertain and enthral your audience.
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Add a blooper real
In the spirit of creating some humour in your posts, why not add bloopers too. This is great for your videos/IGTV/IG Stories.
These days with editing tools and software, you can do almost anything. Show your viewers some of the bloopers because hey, nobody gets it right the first time and it’ll be a good laugh too. It’s a great thing to use at the end of a YouTube video for comedic effect.
Pro Tip: Remember to keep your brand voice in mind though, because sharing bloopers might not suit your brand at all.
If you are a high-end brand selling luxury goods or services, then this tip is probably not the right fit for you.
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Share your why
When it comes to social media posts and gaining the trust of your audience, talking about what motivates you to do what you do is important. People would appreciate knowing the story behind why you created your business and who you are trying to help.
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Make your fans and followers proud with a repost
It’s not only your followers that should repost tweets and other social media content, but you can too. Reposting your followers’ posts shows that you are listening and that you see what they have to say as well. Simply put, it shows you care about them too.
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Keep the views coming in and tag a friend
You can enhance the engagement by encouraging your viewers to tag their friends in the comments of your post. But, not any post is worth tagging a friend, so make it worth their while and interesting enough to do so. Offering a free webinar or training on something is a good strategy.
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Create a poll
Another way of showing that you care is by allowing your audience to voice their opinion through a poll. Polls can be created on many social media platforms and are the perfect way to encourage engagement and appease the Almighty Algorithm.
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Update your profile picture
We can change our look on many occasions but this means that people won’t be able to recognise what’s new. It helps to update your profile picture so that your audience knows what you look like with your new haircut or dressed in line with your brand colours.
If you are a business that is more professional in nature, then show off your brand’s logo in the profile picture spot. You can also include your logo on your images, especially if they are proprietary.
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Go with “viral energy”
Viral posts are amazing stuff, they reach a large number of views and engagement in a short space of time. If you’ve come across a viral photo online, then take the time to repost it.
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Express your emotions through pictures
Again, when it comes to interesting social media posts, you have to consider pictures to help you express your message. The famous “a picture says a thousand words” is not just a saying, but it really has a deeper meaning. Besides, it’s way faster to read a picture than reading a text when expressing something, so make sure your images and graphics are on brand and on point. Always.
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Reminisce and share your adventures (AKA Throwbacks)
Social media posts are oftentimes the highlight reels of people’s lives and/or business. You can use this to your advantage by posting an adventure you’ve enjoyed some months past. Or post about a special launch you did as a “throwback” post.
Even though in the midst of a pandemic, you can share some happy and positive vibes. Relive and share your happy memories of adventures with your followers through a social media post.
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Share a meal post
Yep, you heard correctly. A “meal post”. This is basically you sharing with your viewers what you had to eat in the morning, afternoon or evening. If you could add to the post say how easy it was to make and maybe leave the recipe and encourage comments from your viewers. Foodies would appreciate it. This is great for personal brands, but assess your brand and decide if this is something your audience would want to see before doing it.
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Give them a sneak peek into your work-related stuff
By now you’ve probably got a workstation or study nook setup in your home. You can take a picture of this and post it to help inspire your followers to be more enthusiastic about their Mondays and other days of the week for that matter. Another form of “behind the scenes” that most people enjoy seeing on social media, especially in the “Stories” tab.
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In your social media posts, you could talk about trends in your industry
Share that you are a ninja in your field by sharing the latest trends and insights in your industry. You don’t have to go into full research mode and bore the living daylights out of your audience (after all, they might not be as passionate about your industry as you are). But from time to time, go ahead and share the top highlights, tips and insights into your field because this positions you as an expert.
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Talk about your mentor or someone that inspires you
In business, it’s always good to learn from the wise and experienced. You could take this opportunity to write about who inspires you in the realm of business. This is why it’s so important to network and forge connections with other successful entrepreneurs.
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Spark even more engagement through questions
Dedicate some of your social media posts to asking your audience questions. This will not only give them a chance to voice their opinions and ideas, but also for you to create organic engagement for your business.
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Post about trending topics
Trending topics just like pictures are a hit in social media and news in general. Dedicate some of your social media posts to topics that are trending.
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Give your viewers a promotion
Many people love promotions and freebies. You could take the liberty to create a social media post where you give your viewers something for free. This can also be a discounted offer on your services or products, which will help to boost your sales too.
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Make a social media post dedicated to a customer
People can relate to customer reviews and experiences and this is all the more reason why you should post about a customer. Whether you do it in an interview or you allow them to give feedback about their experience in a video, this will help.
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Don’t be short on tips
When it comes to hacks or tips, people are often eager to learn. This is the ideal opportunity to create several social media posts that will help your viewers with valuable tips and hacks.
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How to…
Don’t underestimate the power of a tutorial. Work on some posts that are tutorial-based and that will help your viewers to learn something new. Give them an easy way to achieve a goal. For example, simple ways to create engagement. Or steps on how to use a social media application.
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Inspirational quotes
Not all social media posts need to be lengthy. You can inspire someone with an uplifting quote that they might choose to save or share.
- Give your audience a heads-up about your blog
Another good way to get things going and to help keep your viewers in the loop of your content is to remind them about your blog. This is a great way to draw organic traffic to it.
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Share your thoughts about the latest book you’re reading
There are millions of book lovers out there so why not create a social media post about a book that you’re reading or a book review about it? And then ask your audience for their opinion.
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Give a shout out to your viewers
As another way to let your viewers know that you care about them is to acknowledge them. So share something nice like a simple “thank you for the support.”
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Which tools helped you?
You can share a post that mentions the tools that helped you to get your work done.
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Statistics speak volumes
There are many interesting statistics about nearly everything online. You could share an interesting social media post with one or some of these stats.
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Share what didn’t work for you
This can be a lengthy post or a short one, but in it, you can share the things that don’t work for you, or a valuable lesson you learned. The point isn’t to try to get sympathy, but rather to illustrate how the lesson can be applied to their lives. Always ask yourself: “How will this post help, entertain or educate my audience?”.
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Promote something
You aren’t posting on social media for fun – you run a business! So don’t forget to actually promote what you’re selling! Don’t do this too often otherwise you look spammy.
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Stay true to you
Being original and staying true to yourself is very important. Viewers appreciate that and more so appreciate people who are sincere.
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Keep the posts rolling in
Not to be confused with posting at random times, instead, you want to keep your posts frequent but also at the best times. This will keep your name on search engine radars. Consistency is key.
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Advertise your brand
If you’re a retail store, then it would help to post about your store’s products. People would appreciate being able to view the stock online. It’s a good way to advertise too.
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Keep the energy positive
By no means does anyone want to indulge in negative talks and news, but there’s always more than enough negativity out there. Be a breath of fresh air and keep your upbeat and positive. This doesn’t mean you can’t talk about challenges, but ensure that there is always “light at the end of the tunnel” and a positive takeaway for your reader/viewer.
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Talk about events to happen
Make it known to your viewers that you have things planned for them and your brand. Keep them updated and in the know of events and anything relevant.
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Use videos in your social media posts
You don’t have to have a dedicated YouTube channel to post videos. With Facebook and Instagram, you can post videos such as Reels and IGTV. Videos are more frequently checked than reading material.
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Be generous
Create an opportunity to host giveaways or competitions. This is another way to reward your followers. Post about your competitions on your social media networks.
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Share a testimonial
Sharing testimonials from happy clients is a great way to build credibility. Be sure to have their written permission before posting their words, names and/or faces on your social media.
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Use memes and gifs
Both memes and gifs are some of the best things to use in digital communications of late. They are not only funny, but also well thought out and clever reactions to certain situations. Use it in your social media posts if it fits your brand or message.
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Special holiday or seasonal posts
The holidays are special days and celebrated by many. You can use this opportunity to dedicate some posts especially for these unique occasions and months. Even better, you can schedule these well in advance!
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It’s free, so share it
When it comes to online resources your options are plenty. You should share where you found these useful free sources and help others get ahead in their game too. This is a thoughtful gesture.
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Introduce the new members of the team
You can introduce the newest member of the team on your company’s LinkedIn page, Facebook Business page and other social networks. People would appreciate that.
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Twitter chat to engage
Yet another way to engage your audience is to get people talking. With Twitter, you can host chats and keep the engagement going.
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We’ve only just begun….
Yes, like the famous sibling duo The Carpenters sang, you too can share about your business began. People love a backstory and humble beginnings, so win them over and cement that relationship and trust factor.
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Reviews about your products
Product reviews are a good way to highlight your goods on offer and provide details that would be valuable to your potential customers. Statistics show that people tend to buy items based on online reviews. The more good reviews the better the chances for sales for those particular products.
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Your morning routine
One of the things to help you master success as an entrepreneur is to have a good morning routine. If you follow it with consistency, it will help you to be more productive and to get ahead of your day. Do post on your morning routine for your viewers.
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Highlight your team
Since you might not be winging it alone, it’s time to show some appreciation for the team.
You can take this time to highlight the importance of your team. Do this by dedicating special posts to team effort. Don’t forget to add their picture (if they agree to it) to show that it’s a genuine post and not just staged.
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Post photos of events
If your company hosts an event, you could also use this opportunity to create a social media post dedicated to the event. Post lots of pictures about the event, showcasing the behind the scenes and memorable moments.
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Refer websites and useful pages
Share some useful websites and pages that would help your audience.
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“Flatlays” are ever-popular these days
Another interesting post is by simply deconstructing the equipment that you use every day and lay it flat for a beautiful photo. Google “flat lay ideas” for creative ways to take photos on a flat surface for maximum interest and impact.
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Reflect on your goals
This could be seen as personal point-of-view but it’s a nice way to share what you’d like to achieve. You could do a morning Instastory working this angle or share a few tips on how you plan and achieve goals.
The takeaway on creating great social media posts
There you have it! 50 unique social media post ideas to keep you busy for some time.
You need to create content that aligns with your brand, message, products, services and (most importantly) your audience. Keep it real and stay consistent. It takes a ton of hard work to create a successful following, but once you’ve achieved this, you must keep the momentum going.
People love social media and it’s a great way to find new clients. So instead of flying blind, use these tips to create an interesting feed for your business that provides loads of value to the viewer.
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