15 Social Media Post Ideas You Can Do in 15 Minutes for Your Online Consulting Business
Feb 03, 2020
It's almost impossible NOT to see people recommend "social media marketing" as a way for online businesses to grow their reach, influence, clients, etc. 👍 I dare you to find one online business marketing article written in the last 5 years that doesn't mention social media as a tool for running a work from anywhere business.
I'm not innocent either! 👀 I often recommend social media marketing to clients in strategy sessions as a marketing tool.
That's "all well and good," but what the heck should you be posting on social media? 😩 And how can you use social media effectively for your online business without spending ALL your time on it? 😤
Don't worry. I got you, boo!
Below I outline 15 social media post ideas you can do in 15 minutes (or less!) for your online business. Let's go:
First, context! Lemme tell you the types of posts you should be making.
If you run a digital business, 3 post types are important to you:
- Content to grow your reach on social media – this is content designed to spark engagement, shares, and excitement from your target audience to make your business accounts more discoverable.
- Content to build your brand on social media – this is content designed to brand your accounts, build trust and give your social profile their unique positioning.
- Content to get a sell on social media – this is content designed to prompt a sale or business engagement.
You must have all three and make sure they are effectively balanced. Without "growing" content, your account won't grow as quickly. Without "branding" content, you won't build trust. And without "selling" content your account won't make money.
I've divided our 15 social media post ideas into these three categories: Grow, Brand, Sell
15 Social Media Post Ideas You Can Do in 15 Minutes (or less!) for Your Online Business.
1. Quotes
Type of content: grow your reach on social media
Share your favorite quotes or sayings on social media. These can be quotes you make up, or quotes from quote websites like Brainy Quote, which provides pre-made images you can repost on social media. Grab the images from Brainy Quote or use a tool like Canva to create your images.
View this post on InstagramFirst they call you names. Then they call you for advice. 🤷🏾♀️ Keep at it, boo. They'll see... .
2. News/Public Interest
Type of content: grow your reach on social media
Find and share news or pop-culture that relates to your niche. If it's already trending and it's appropriate for your audience, chances are it will perform well and be easy to share.
3. Questions
Type of content: grow your reach on social media
Ask questions of your audience. Questions allow you to collect information on your audience and improve your engagement ranking in social media algorithms if people interact with your content. A few questions to consider asking or prompting:
- What have you always wanted to know about [your niche or industry]?
- What do you look for in a [your profession]?
- Want to see where you are from! Leave your city and state below:
- What’s your favorite ___________? (season, sport, type of music, book, etc)
- What was your_____________? (first car, last vacation, first job, a favorite gift?)
4. Contests
Type of content: grow your reach on social media
Post a "comment, like or share to enter to win" contest on your social media account. This giveaway could be for a product or service you offer.
5. Request User-Generated Content
Type of content: grow your reach on social media
Ask your audience to send you pictures of them that relate you your business niche. For example, since I teach women how to run work-from-anywhere consulting businesses, I could ask my audience to share a picture of them working at their favorite "non-office" location.
The great thing about this is you can then repost the images people send you as other social media posts later, is long as you have the submitter's permission.
6. Your Perspective
Type of content: build your brand on social media
Share your opinion on something related to your niche. Use these prompts to come up with ideas:
- What's an unpopular opinion you have about your niche?
- What's a pet peeve you have about your niche?
- How do you think about your work differently than other people?
The key to this content idea type is to help people understand the "why" behind what you do.
Want some extra help with your social media posts?
7. Your Expertise
Type of content: build your brand on social media
Share some knowledge about your niche. For example:
- Explain what you do.
- What makes a good [what your profession is]?
- Share how you got started and what training or experiences got you to the point you're at today
The point of this content is to give the user clarity on what you do.
8. BTS of Your Life
Type of content: build your brand on social media
Humans like to do business with other humans. As you feel comfortable – and as appropriate – share behind-the-scenes (BTS) pictures or stories about your life. For example,
- Do you celebrate certain holidays or occasions? Share what you do these days with your audience.
- Have a particular morning productivity routine? Share that.
- Have an adorable spotted Boxer/Australian Cattle Dog mix – like me? Share her!
9. BTS of Your Business
Type of content: build your brand on social media
Show your audience that you're working in and on your business by giving them a sneak peek behind the curtain with behind-the-scenes content. Some ideas might be:
- Post of pic of your next big shipping order
- Share your desk set up
- Have a client meeting? Post a pic of you and your client getting to work.
10. Teach Your Craft
Type of content: build your brand on social media
An awesome way to build trust with your social media posts is to provide value by teaching what you know. Make a short written post or video explaining a tactic, strategy or frequently asked question.
The point of this post type is to teach the user something so they can see you know your craft.
11. Share a testimonial
Type of content: sell on social media
Repost or share a testimonial or recommendation from a previous client
12. Show social proof.
Type of content: sell on social media
This is where you name drop or showcase who you've worked with during your career. For example:
- Have you been featured on any websites, magazines or news outlets?
- Have you worked with any big brands?
- Do you have an impressive number of sales, clients, etc. you can highlight?
13. Share Results.
Type of content: sell on social media
Share some results you've gotten for clients. I used to keep a running list of metrics and results I achieved for clients that I could pop into proposals, social media, emails. Sharing content like this helps people who are new to your brand see how you might help them.
14. Highlight Your New Client.
Type of content: sell on social media
Shout out any new clients or purchasers. This doesn't have to be long content. Just thank them for working with you and, if appropriate state what they purchased. For example, "Thank you Jane Blow for signing as a new website design client! I'm so excited to help you reshape your online presence!"
This content shows you appreciate your clients – and that you HAVE CLIENTS! And you know who gets clients? 🤔 People who already have clients, boo! 🎉
15. Show Your Work.
Type of content: sell on social media
And of course, it always pays to show the work you do. If you make a website, post a link or screenshot. If you help women get in shape, show before and after pictures. Even if you teach via content online, you can show the actual content.
When you show your work, just make sure you have a CTA (call to action) and the link where people can learn more or sign up.
Want some extra help with your social media posts?
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