Social media is more than just a communication channel — these platforms can also be used for content creation and distribution to take your brand to the next level.

Creating and distributing content on social media also opens a host of opportunities to share amplified brand messages on multiple platforms.

With that in mind, here are three benefits to creating and distributing content on social media:

1. It helps you promote content 

Considering that 83% of all internet users between April and September in 2020 were engaged in social media, where better to promote content than where people spend most of their time online? Now, this is not to say that you can post just anything. Don’t worry though, we have some tips to keep in mind: 

Tip #1: No matter your content type, your headlines matter. It's the first impression, as most readers will read your headline but only a few will read through till the end of your post — especially if your post isn’t exactly the most catchy thing in the world.

Tip #2: When sharing content, you need to include the customisable features for each social platform. This includes your headline, image and caption of what you are posting. The more optimised your post is for a certain social channel, the more effective your messaging will be.

Tip #3: Sharing content at the right time may be overlooked, as it sounds like common sense. But the truth is, knowing when people will view your content will help you reach as many people as possible and give you more engagement. Knowing when you can post content on any day is crucial, as people are not online 24/7. You also need to consider that all platforms have different peak times.

Tip #4: Making use of engaging content, such as visuals, questions that compel readers to respond, and captivating topics enables you to create a human connection with your followers.

2. Your brand can source content

There are two ways brands can source content on social media. The first is to source ideas. You can do this by conducting social listening, which is the process of monitoring social media platforms for direct brand mentions, allowing you to view customer feedback and conduct a competitor analysis.

By utilising this tool, you can actually create the kind of content your readers want — and you also come up with new ideas as you'll be able to spot the latest industry trends. 

This will also help you interact directly with your audiences to improve customer experience. You can also keep track of your brand’s growth to see if it's on the right track or improve on what’s needed.

You can also ask your followers what they want or engage with them by asking them questions on what they would like to see more of. This will allow you to come up with ideas that you can implement in your social media marketing strategy. If you give people exactly what they asked for, they will be more likely to read and share your content.

Secondly, you need to source material for posts. This can be done through hashtags to source user-generated content, which includes text, videos or images, which are created or shared by social media users, not other brands.

This means, whenever audiences create or share posts that feature your brand, you can share that with your own followers to boost your credibility. You'll often see this on Instagram where brands share content posted by normal people on their pages to increase exposure and to get their audiences involved.

3. You can cover industry trends in real-time

Social media enables you to have unfiltered, real-time conversations with your customers. Take, for example, live streaming on Instagram: This is when audiences are able to watch a video that is not recorded and edited. By doing that, you are creating eye-catching and authentic content that might allow your brand to get instant feedback.

When your brand is live, things don't always go according to plan, but despite this, that intimate connection is what your audiences like as it gives them a chance to see your brand on a more personal level.

We have seen this mostly in level one lockdown, where Facebook and Instagram numbers doubled in a week. The increase was due to the fact that brands were forced to live stream with their audiences due to Covid-19 lockdown regulations.

What other benefits do you think social media has that will allow for your brand to flourish? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Now that you know the benefits of social media, you can read up on How to refine your brand’s social media presence for further insights. 
*Image courtesy of Canva.