You post a picture of yourself and your friends at a social event in Lagos. Even though it’s throwback, you all look peng. Suddenly, that post is getting hits. 4 hours later, you see 500 likes on it. “Mama, we have made it”, you tell yourself. 2 days later, you post another picture, this time maybe of you reading and then nothing. Nobody is liking it or making comments. The post struggles to get 10 likes.

Now imagine you are a business or a brand and this happens. First, you wonder whether your network connection is at it again (Hello, Nigeria) and when you realize it’s not, you turn to village people. At this point, you are worried.  You wonder, confused even, why do some of your posts do great or at least, okay, while others struggle?

Creating content for social media is easy. Anybody can do that. Creating ENGAGING CONTENT for social media? That is a different ball game. It is complex, requires patience, good listening and great skill, especially for business and brand accounts.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to winning on social media, however content and type are very crucial as social media success is most often measured in engagement. Engagement means getting people to comment on your post, share with their friends and/or like them as well. The best social content creators know that the metrics of success on social media are beyond the number of likes. That’s why content creators online charge in the thousands/millions of Naira for skits (cue in your favourite instagram page).

Creating engaging content for social media is complex, requires patience, good listening and great skill.

Likes are good, comments/shares are better. Think of this as a chain. If Taiwo likes your post, Taiwo’s friends will see that post on their feed and see Taiwo’s comment as well (if Taiwo made a comment on the post). When Taiwo’s friends like Taiwo’s comment on your post, their friends also see your post just because Taiwo’s friends liked Taiwo’s comment which she made on your post. This third leg from you are the people that LinkedIn refers to as 3rd degree connections. They are the friends of your friends. Most social media algorithm work like this, from Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn.

Now let’s get to the hard part. How do you create engaging social media content?

Social media is not about doing what you like, it’s about doing what your followers like. If you are able to find a middle ground between both, great. Social media is like being on TV, you have to understand why you are there in the first place (objective). Is it for people to see/hear you (awareness)? Is it for them to call in or talk to you (engagement)? Is it for them to buy your idea/service/product (conversion)? Is it a mix of one or more?

Social media is not about doing what you like, it’s about doing what your followers like.

Once you have decided your reason for being on social media, then it is time to look at your content because content will/can only help you drive your objective. Creating better and engaging content lies in knowing what the sentiments around your brand/business are. You have to be deliberate about listening. You must listen. Ask yourself, when people comment, what are they saying?

Observe your audience. Who are your followers? Why are they following you? When you post content (image, text, video), what kinds do they readily interact with? Understand the culture around your brand. Understand your business environment too and your competitors. This is called a social media audit. Then go ahead and start creating content.

Creating content for social media is an ever-evolving process. Be open to evolving with it.