Having an online presence is one of the key ways to unlocking that coveted international audience and boosting your profile nationally. But you can’t have a strong online presence without posting regular and creative content, and the larger you get, the more your fans want you to post. So, what really goes into creating an asset and how much time should you be investing in your Social Media?
Think about a billboard, it advertises your company, business or production to the general public in a big way. It’s important that it’s perfect and represents you in the best light. Now think about Social Media – 2/3 of people now own a smartphone and there are 2.77 billion Social Media users around the globe. One piece of good online content can be seen by this global audience. It’s important that you’re only posting the very best to take advantage of this. If you wouldn’t be proud of it on a billboard, don’t post it online.
So, what elements go into creating a shareable asset?
1. Before you begin, it’s important that you choose a content creating program that is suitable to your level of graphic design experience. Adobe software is ideal and provides you with the best tools but you also need a fair bit of technical know-how to make the most of it. Other, free-to-use programs, such as Canva are great for beginners and still enable you to create beautiful, shareable assets.
2. It’s also important to consider the sizing of your asset, as each platform requires different dimensions. By making sure your asset is optimised for each platform (the right size), you’re providing the best quality content to your audience. A recent trend suggests that squared content performs well, as it allows room for subtitling and logos, it also fits on Instagram which is an increasingly popular specialised platform.
3. Your content is one of the best ways to reinforce your branding and enable you to be identified easily online. You need to make sure that your assets are consistent and that’s done by having very clear Social Media brand guidelines. This should include your colour scheme, logo, specific layout instructions and anything else you want to be featured on your asset. Consider who will be creating the content, will it be you every time or will other people be in control of your company’s Social Media output?
4. For video content it’s important that you start subtitling, the majority of people who scroll through Social Media do it in public places, this means that more often than not they watch them without sound. Subtitles will dramatically increase your reach and engagement.
5. Your content isn’t complete without a strong caption, this holds all the valuable information and your Call To Action. It is nearly as important as the asset itself. But there are plenty of things to think about, all of which revolve around your tone of voice. You need to stay in keeping with the theme/brand of your business or production and it needs to stay consistent. Use hashtags that are relevant to your post and that are trending nationally, such as ‘#ThursdayThoughts’ to increase your reach. Also consider the use of emoji’s to add another element to your post, this has to be in keeping with your tone of voice and branding.
Other things to consider: is it video-based or image-based? What is your usage rate of each? You want to make sure you’re using a variety of different content types to keep your audience engaged. Take advantage of the unique features that each platform offers, such as Facebook Live or Twitter Polls. Exclusive content always performs better, especially if you’re a production company. Make sure that it’s brand new and never seen before to ensure the best reach and boost your following. You want to make your account the go-to place for new information and this all depends on your assets.
Creating a single asset that is both effective and engaging is hard work, but with practise it comes more easily. Start by designing your style guide and go from there or contact Jo@smms.guru for more help.
Happy Creating!
