4 go-to tips for creating great social media content

4 go-to tips for creating great social media content

Stuck in a content rut? Creating content that keeps falling flat? 

Social media management can be a tricky job (speaking from experience here!) You need to constantly feed the hungry social media beast (read algorithm) with content. But creating content just for the sake of posting every day? It just doesn’t work. Particularly when you’re posting as a brand. Your content needs to have purpose and really resonate with your audience. 

Easier said than done right? Well, to get you started, here are a few tips from our team on creating content that WORKS in 2023.

Here are our 4 go-to tips for creating great social media content this year.

  1. Be clear on your objectives

Every piece of social media content that you create should fit within a greater social media strategy, rather than creating for content’s sake. What are you try to achieve with your content? Be clear with your purpose and create with this in mind.

  1. Know your audience

Who are you speaking to on social media? Different audiences have different content preferences, and it’s important to create content that your audience will really resonate with. Figure out who you’re speaking to first, and then create content that suits.

  1. Create with authenticity

In 2023, authenticity is TRENDING. If your brand doesn’t have an authentic voice and content style, you’re likely to be left behind this year. Create content that really speaks to your brand and it’s values. Use a conversational tone and engage engage engage with your audience.

  1. Play to the platform

No more cross posting the same content across every platform guys! Look at each platforms’ specific algorithm preferences, and tweak your content to suit. 

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Here are our 4 go-to tips for creating great social media content this year.
Here are our 4 go-to tips for creating great social media content this year.

A Guide to User Generated Content

A Guide to User Generated Content

A Guide to User Generated Content
A Guide to User Generated Content

What is User-Generated Content?

User-Generated Content (UGC) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by people, rather than brands, featuring or discussing branded content. In its most organic form, UGC isn’t paid for by a brand, it is a genuine and honest recommendation being shared by followers and fans.This not only exposes your product to their audience; it provides a source of content to post on your page, website or other marketing channels. Being mentioned or having content shared by a brand is often fun and exciting for consumers or a source of income and products for influencers. It is a symbiotic relationship, a win-win for both parties when done correctly.

Why is it important? 

When it comes to social media marketing, UGC is becoming increasingly valuable to brands. It promotes authenticity and trust, as consumers are more likely to perceive user-generated content as authentic and trustworthy, over brand-created content. Seeing another consumer enjoy the product or service eliminates risk in the minds of consumers – it’s a visual positive review. Increasing trust and authenticity greatly influences consumers’ purchase intentions; the more trust a consumer has the more likely they are to purchase the product. As UGC increases awareness, it reinforces the products’ different applications, stylings, adaptions, and uses in “real world” situations and increases the viability of consumers of making that final purchase. 

How to Use It Successfully?

Now that we know why it is so important – how can your business be successful in using user-generated content? Let us tell you. 

Bring Purpose and Value to Your Customers 

All content you post must have a purpose, especially user-generated content - whether that’s being inspirational, showcasing how to use a product, sharing in-real-life reviews, or helping your followers decide on their product choices. UGC isn’t a sales pitch, you need to think of it as a stand-alone piece of content that can really be of benefit to your audience. 

For example, if you were a make-up brand you could use your USG posts as an opportunity to educate your customers on what products were used in the look to showcase what your products look like in action.

Create a Sense of Community 

What do all your followers have in common? They follow you! User-generated content is a great way to create a sense of community amongst your followers by stimulating discussions and connecting with your current and future customers. This is best illustrated by camera brands,who set challenges for their followers to take a photo with a set brief. The camera brand then shares entries, showcasing what their products can do and stimulating discussion and creativity amongst their followers. By sharing tricks and tips from on a post to get that photo - what camera did they use, which lenses, which settings – can stimulate discussion and provides value to your followers. This is a great way to engage with your followers and create brand loyalty as a bonus. 

Create an Incentive

It is important to encourage and remind your followers to create and tag you in content that features your products. The incentive you pick depends on the type of followers you have, for example: if you’re a company that sells art supplies, then sharing followers’ art is incentive enough. Whereas, other followers may need more of a push. For example, to get followers to showcase your product in their posts you may want to offer a gift or promotional code.Whichever method you choose, it’s important to acknowledge the original source, and thank the creator to make sure they feel appreciated. 

Need help?

Do you want some help creating an amazing user generated content campaign for your brand? Get in touch with our team today!

Want to learn how to become a digital marketing pro? Check out our social media masterclass.

Written By Ebony Jones

A Guide to User Generated Content
A Guide to User Generated Content

Four Ideas To Inspire Great Content - By Melbourne Social Co

Four Ideas To Inspire Great Content

This Week We're Sharing Four Ideas To Inspire Great Content

Content is the driving force behind all aspects of communications. Whether it be social media, public relations, marketing campaigns; content is at the heart of every strategic approach. Coming up with content ideas is so important, but it’s no surprise that coming up with new ideas all the time can sometimes be a struggle!

Don't worry, we're here to help! This week, we've put together four helpful ideas to help inspire and stimulate your content ideas.

Check out what your competitors are doing and find opportunities to create even better content

Cut down the time you spend coming up with new ideas and look to your competitors, because they’re handing them to you! They’re your competitors for a reason, so sift through their content and find some content opportunities that you could do better!

Review what you’re currently doing and improve upon it

There is always room to improve, so be sure to always review your current and past content to see where there is room for improvement.  Making sure you’re always refining and tweaking your content will keep it fresh and the best it can be.

Look at your analytics to see what content is doing well and then create more of it

This tip is important; statistics don’t lie, so trust in them and use them as a guide for what is working and what isn’t. Review the content that has done well statistically, assess why it’s been successful and apply this knowledge to future content, this will in turn ensure that your future content is engaging and well received by your audience.

Make sure you create content of significance for your audience

An obvious one, making sure your content is geared towards your audience will help your content to be valuable and specific. Keeping your audience in mind at all times will help spark idea that your audience will love!

Repackage your existing content

Make the old new again by revamping some past content! There’s no rule that says you cant reuse content, so when your lacking inspiration, sift through the archives and repackage some vintage content.


Would you like to know more about our Content Creation services? Contact us today.

Four Ideas To Inspire Great Content
Four Ideas To Inspire Great Content

Melbourne Social Co Junior Account Manager

Five Common Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Making Them

Nobody’s perfect in the world of social media, and it’s fair to say we’ve all made mistakes! We’re here to help identify the most common social media mistakes and how to best avoid making them.

Mistake #1 – Posting quantity over quality

One incredibly commons social media mistake is choosing to focus on quantity over quality. Posting too much is overwhelming and counterproductive; it doesn’t allow users to truly take in the content before being bombarded with another post from you. Quality content as opposed to a higher quantity of it will resonate far better with an audience and benefit you in the long run.

Mistake #2 – Trying to master EVERY social media platform

Social media has a lot to offer, many different platforms for one to choose from. Just because you can have several different social’s doesn’t mean you should. Don’t make the mistake of trying to spread yourself across too many different platforms because you will only end up diluting your message and content. Focus on the platforms that bet suit you, and eliminate those that aren’t as beneficial.

Mistake #3 – Not using hashtags

There is a common misconception that hashtags look spammy or they clutter a post and should be avoided at all costs, don’t make the mistake of believing that. Hashtags are so beneficial, not only do they help categorise your content, and make is easier to find, they generate increased engagement and exposure. Failing to use hashtags takes away a users chance to capitalize on engagement, hashtags should not be an oversight.

Mistake #4 – Ignoring you followers

One of the biggest social media mistakes you can make is neglecting you followers.  The statistics surrounding response on social are overwhelming. According to Sprout Social, 70% of people are more likely to use a brands product when they respond on social. Additionally, they reported that 65% of people have more brand loyalty. If you ignore you followers, it will impact you negatively. To avoid making this mistake, you must make your followers a priority, and always try your best to acknowledge and respond to them.

Mistake #5 – Not measuring your success/downfalls

Choosing not to measure your social media activity through some form of social listening tool is a huge mistake. If you don’t measure and assess what’s working for you and what isn’t, you could be wasting time, money and resources as well as missing out on other opportunities that measuring can afford you.


How many of these social media mistakes are you making? Want to chat to our team about the latest social media trends and how you can turn your blunders into wins?

Or perhaps you need some assistance creating amazing content for your social media feeds?

Get in touch with our team today!


Our Senior Content Creators' top tips for creating social media content

Our Senior Content Creators' top tips for creating social media content

Every brand wants to be seen on social media, but  the key to really being heard lies in how attractive and engaging a brands' social media content is.

This week, we're chatting to our Senior Content Creator Bree Munro, to get her top tips on how to create engaging social media content that will result in success.

How important is hashtagging when it comes to engaging social media content?

Hashtagging is essentially a way for prospective customers or clients to find you on social media. If you’re just starting out, a hashtag strategy is an essential part of building an audience around your page. Posts with at least one hashtag receive 12% more likes, shares and comments versus those without them! You can have up to 30 hashtags on Instagram, but the verdict is still out on whether you should use as many as you can. I would recommend a mix of branded and relevant engagement hashtags in the 10-20 range when starting out, to avoid looking too spammy, but still ensuring your content is getting the love it deserves.

What have you found works well when trying to create engaging content?

It’s all about video! In the last year we have seen the rise of the Youtuber, Instagram Stories, and now IGTV, with content ranging from behind-the-scenes, to Boomerangs, to engaging tutorial videos and everything in between. People don’t just want highly polished and curated feeds, they want to see what is happening behind the brands. Other than that, there has been a trend towards crisp and clean studio images, and we have been incorporating a lot more edgy graphic design elements into our content.

Is there anything you’ve found that doesn’t work so well?

When we are building a strategy for clients we like to remind them that it is ‘social’ media, not ‘sales’ media. Making every post about selling your product is the equivalent of putting pamphlets in someone’s mailbox every single day! Eventually they will get a “no junk mail” sticker (or unfollow you in this case). Build a community around your product or service, encourage engagement and conversations, and this will result in long term return customers, sales, and followers.

Are there any techniques out there that people use to generate content that you don’t agree with?

Sharing content and crediting its source is part of networking on social media, but there is nothing worse than an entire feed of re-grammed images from other people! Original content is key.

 When creating content where do you start? / What’s your first step?

The first step in creating content is identifying the targetaudience and putting yourself in their shoes. What do they want to see? What will they engage with? What will encourage them to act? Every market is different, and a digital content strategy should be adjusted accordingly.

 How important is variety when it comes to content creation?

Extremely! While it is important to have a consistent brand and theme across your social media channels, there is nothing more boring for a consumer than the same repetitive content. Not only that, but social media is an everchanging landscape and it is important to keep up with the trends. Mix it up, put some personality into it, and most importantly – have fun!


Would you like to chat to Bree and our team of social media content creation specialists at Melbourne Social Co? Get in touch with us today by emailing [email protected].

Want to check out our social media visual content monthly package? Click here.

Our Senior Content Creators' top tips for creating social media content


Finding Royalty-Free Stock Images for Content Creation

Finding The Best Stock Images for Content Creation

If you’re running a social media page set up for success, we understand that you want everything you post to look amazing. We also understand the struggle achieving this if you don’t have access to a photographer or stylist, or content readily available. Here is a list of our favourite royalty-free stock image sites, as well as a summary of the Copyright Act for Australian content creators, to help you create stunning posts for your business or personal pages.

Social Files

Created by yours truly, we have a collection of styled and edited photos available for purchase, which you can adapt to your brand’s needs. Take a browse through everything available here. These photos are particularly tailored for lifestyle, business, blogging, decor and design.

Shop now.

Finding Royalty-Free Stock Images for Content Creation

Pexels

Pexels have a variety of photos and videos, which don’t require any attribution. They have a wide range of images, with some premium options available for purchase. There is no login required, so download is convenient and easy!

Unplash

Similar to Pexels, Unsplash has a variety of artistic photos available for free download, however this site does not include stock video. The creators also don’t need to be credited, and best of all, everything on the website is free.

Stocksy

Unlike some of the free sites, Stocksy includes several less traditional image options, such as prints and animations, photos of families, workplace and site photos, photo collections and a range of videos. These pieces require an account and payment, and the site includes the ability to search with JPG files.

SC Stockshot

Another paid site, SC Stockshot provides stylised images which have been used by Vogue Bridal and a wide variety of wedding sites. You can also access 20 images for free by signing up to the newsletter, and the site is unique in categorising various images by colour palettes, along with traditional category groupings.  

Copyright law

Understanding Australia’s copyright law can be broad and complicated, so here’s a brief summary of how it works for content creators.

Copyright law applies automatically to every piece of work, regardless of where it was made, provided it is being used in Australia. This applies to unpublished content, regardless of whether it has a copyright notice included, including work you find on the internet.

To use someone else’s work, you need to gain permission, and may need to pay for a licence. You are also legally required to credit the work’s creators, unless they have explicitly waived this right. If the work is in the public domain, or author has explicitly denied the rights of use through Creative Commons Licensing, you may use their work without permission, however it is still polite to credit them. Other exceptions for using material without permission are listed under ‘fair dealing’ in the Copyright Act, which primarily applies to educational, legal and journalist organisations.

For content creators, you may use a portion of someone else’s work without permission, provided it is not an important, integral or distinctive part of their work, and the guideline for this is 10% of the piece. The wording on this clause is very broad, so we recommend seeking permission and licenses for whatever you use to avoid infringement.


If youd like to know more about content creation and how we can help, contact us at [email protected]