Posted by The marketing paradigm is constantly changing, but one thing remains constant — content is king. Any business that intends to maintain a strong presence on social media needs to publish content that’ll allow them to connect with the audience. The competition on social media is no joke, with companies of every scale working to build their brand. This is where creative, interactive, and immersive social media content comes into play.
Interactive social media content — the secret to higher engagement
There’s a reason why we keep emphasizing interactive social media content. For the content to stand out to the audience and grab their attention, it needs to be engaging. That wouldn’t be possible unless you create the content in a way to interact with the target audience. Both written and visual social media content can be interactive and make a huge impact on human relationships.
Here’s why you need interactive social media content:
- Interactive social media content promotes the brand voice and helps the audience grow more familiar with the brand.
- By interacting with the audience, you help them feel they’re more in control. It shows them that you care about their experience and opinions.
- As many as 81% of marketers agree that interactive content is much more effective than static content at grabbing the audience’s attention.
- Interactive social media content directly drives conversions by getting people interested in your products and services.
- People drawn to your website through interactive media would usually spend more time on it. This helps the reduce bounce rate and improve other metrics, which ultimately boosts the SEO score.
- According to 88% of marketers, interactive content helps differentiate a brand.
According to the above graph from Ion Interactive, 88% of marketers agree that interactive content has helped differentiate their brand from their competitors.
Certain forms of social media content such as quizzes, presentations, and infographics are inherently interactive. However, even passive channels can be turned interactive if you play your cards right. For instance, a video or a text-only social media post can interact with the audience by asking them questions.
Immersive social media content — What is it and why do you need it?
Immersive content goes a notch above interactive content by allowing the audience to experience it. They’re no longer just viewers — immersive content gets the users to talk, think, or move around at the same time.
While interactive marketing has been around for a long time, immersive social media content has grown popular only recently. With the development of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) programs, these technologies have grown far more accessible and have become one of the major future trends in the eCommerce industry. The incorporation of such technologies on social media platforms is imminent, with Meta’s focus on Metaverse and allied developments.
The 360-degree images that have lately been growing popular on Facebook are a perfect example of immersive social media content. If your resources are limited, you may incorporate simpler solutions like creating a page or a social feed that puts the visitors in a curated space.
6 social media content generation tips for every business
Let’s face it — creating content that will distinguish your brand from the competition on social media isn’t easy. You need to be creative to come up with unique content that the audience would find engaging. Here are X tips that you may follow.
1. Use video content
In a survey conducted on the use of video in marketing, 95% of marketers reported that videos have helped them grow brand awareness. Indeed, videos are far more engaging than text and images. Investing in video content will enable you to grow brand awareness and reach a larger audience. However, the video shouldn’t appear too salesy as that would be annoying to the viewers.
Focus on educating and entertaining the target audience instead.
This graph shows that according to 95% of marketers, video content has helped them improve brand awareness.
2. Go live
Thanks to social media, you can connect with the public through live videos, in real time. Live streaming continues to gain momentum as a popular marketing technique in 2023 due to its obvious perks. Rather than just publishing interactive content, you can directly interact with the viewers. Going live is a great way to showcase new products, announce the latest developments, and address the complaints and suggestions of your customers.
3. Leverage user-generated content
You don’t always have to create social media content entirely by yourself. User-generated content (UGC) can do wonders. According to 85% of consumers, they find user-generated content is more influential than brand-generated content. Naturally, potential customers are more likely to choose your brand when recommended by people who have already used your products and services.
Now this gives way to the question — how do you gather user-generated content? Well, prompting your customers to leave their reviews and testimonials is a good start. You may also host social media contests where participants are required to create and share positive content relevant to your brand. A common example is the kind of Instagram contests that require people to post photos or videos of them using a product, with a branded hashtag.
4. Host polls
Conducting social media polls can help you kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, you can gather information on what your customers want and plan your next move. On the other, the customers will know that they’re playing a role in your brand’s decision-making process too. Polls require direct participation from the users, which helps boost engagement too. Similarly, you may also run social media surveys from time to time.
5. Make use of WebXR
WebXR technologies are revolutionizing the way brands interact and engage with their audience on social media. The XR stands for extended reality, which includes VR, AR, and mixed reality. Immersive content created using these technologies can really set you apart from the rest while getting the audience hooked.
WebXR still has a long way to go, but it’s safe to stay optimistic. The WebXR market size is growing rapidly, expected to cross USD 250 billion by 2028 (up from USD 27,96 billion in 2021). It’s advisable to keep an eye out for new developments and grab new opportunities the moment they arise.
The above graph shows the projected growth of the global extended reality market from 2021 to 2028.
6. Develop a well-planned content strategy
Ultimately, you need a comprehensive social media content strategy. Publishing new content regularly can help you maintain a strong presence on social media, but only if you plan it out properly. First, you need regular updates on market trends, consumer sentiment, and engagement metrics to strategize your moves. In today’s world, data-driven planning is the key to staying ahead of the curve.
Not every marketing technique works for every company. You’ll have to carefully tailor your strategy based on your current position, intended goals, and competition. Evaluate your options — consider what kind of social media content is likely to deliver the best results. Narrow down your ideal audience and customize the content for them. Only when you’ve worked out all these details, your efforts are going to pay off.
Wrapping up
The competition on social media might be tough, but nothing can beat interactive and immersive content backed by a well-crafted strategy. It all comes down to creativity and savviness. With that said, we hope you found this article useful and will be able to work out the best content strategy for your brand.