Different Ways to Make Your Social Media Content More Contextual

When you're managing social media, the importance of context can't be overstated. Social media content gets shared, commented on, and liked based on what the audience thinks about it, not just how well-written or designed it is. That's why it's so important to ensure that your social media content provides enough context to help your audience understand what they're reading before sharing it with their friends or followers—wondering how to add more context to your social media content? Read ahead.

What does this tell us?

While social media posts are declining in popularity because of the abundance of platforms and content, your customers still depend on these platforms to help them find information about you. This means we need to start figuring out how to reach our audience using platforms that work against us—so part of this starts with the content itself.

We start by adding context. Here's what you can do.

Focus more than just the headline

Instead of focusing on just the headline, you can look at:

1) Quotes:

Quotes can be shared within your content to capture more attention. Quotes can be a great way to tap into what people are feeling and make them feel connected. Quotes also allow for easy sharing of personal thoughts, which makes them even more relatable.

2) Stats:

Statistics are fantastic tools for illustrating an idea or point and usually pique people's interest. Is there a statistic in your content that could capture the reader's attention? Moreover, use statistics in your social media content. The stability of statistics provides credibility for the factual statements you make. Include as many as you can!

3) Challenges:

You should tell your audience what the challenge is and how your content is helping to solve it. This way, your audience will be confident that they are learning something from your post. A company has numerous ways of communicating with the public and answering questions with a quick Facebook post or Tweet.

4) Takeaways:

This is specifically helpful in longer articles where, right after important points, including a key takeaway so that readers don't miss out on anything important. Again, the same can be said for social media posts. Don't hesitate to share key takeaways.

Making the most of Imagery

Images can make a huge impact on social media content. Compared to words, colours grab attention way better than black and white. Here's what you can do.

1) Words on images:

Use words on images to catch people's attention and stay with them for longer periods of time, so make sure to use powerful words that evoke emotions like fear, happiness, sadness, nostalgia, humour and pride

2) Add motion to images:

Adding motion to images will keep your audience engaged because they're always looking for something new and interesting. Plus, it'll create a more immersive experience when compared to just viewing an image in its original form. For instance, GIF videos are fun to watch.

3) Make a video:

You've heard about how popular videos are on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram? Videos provide another level of context that can't be achieved by just text or images alone. You can post videos as a part of your content strategy to generate engagement and increase your posts' reach!

4) Tell a story:

Just like using video, telling a story provides an extra layer of context that engages readers and boosts engagement. It may seem tricky initially, but remember that anything worth doing is worth doing right!

5) Use memes:

Memes have been making their rounds on every platform, from Twitter to Snapchat. The best thing about memes is that they're short and shareable, making them perfect for marketing content between other tasks.

Use those whitespaces

Create expanded updates and make the most of the available space. Here's what you can do:

1) Make use of emojis:

Instead of spelling out a feeling, like I'm so excited! Try 💗😍. It's still clear to people who don't know how to read emojis that you're expressing joy, but it also helps those who can't see your post as clearly because it gives them a visual.

2) Know the network:

There are different social media networks for different purposes. A tweet is meant for rapid-fire content with a 140-character limit, Instagram is more about pictures than words, Facebook is for casually connecting with friends and family, etc. Keep this in mind when writing posts for each platform.

3) End with hashtags:

Adding a hashtag at the end of your post will help others find your update on other platforms and increase its visibility. For example, if you want people to find your story on Snapchat or Twitter from an Instagram post, adding #Snapchat or #Twitter will also show up under search results on these platforms.

The bottom line:

People don't live on your Instagram or Facebook feed. They can see it just fine when they go back to those apps. So, if you want to connect with people and get their attention, use those few seconds where they are looking at your profile by saying something that will capture their attention for a few seconds longer than just the visual. This blog is the answer to "How To Incorporate More Context In Your Social Media Content."