YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, Clubhouse, TikTok… the list goes on! In 2022, there’s no shortage of places to create and publish content. Small businesses have more ways than ever to reach new audiences and stay in touch with existing customers, but who has the time to consistently post to every platform that people are using?
With a plethora of social media channels and posting options to choose from, I wanted to break down the best-performing platforms and content types for retailers to use.
Carousel Posts: Upload up to 10 pictures or images in a single Instagram Post to create one of the top-performing content types on Instagram. Carousel posts help to stop your viewers in their scroll and invite them to swipe through all of the images in your post, keeping them on the app longer.
Reels: Instagram Reels has been gaining popularity with retailers ever since it was first released in August of 2020. I highly suggest that most of the content on your page be a Reel—sharing entertaining and educational videos of you, your team, your store and your products.
Stories: Top of feed, top of mind. This 24-hour content appears both on your profile and at the top of your viewers’ home feed. Daily Stories are great for showing more candid content that’s a little less produced than your feed content. Simply open the Story camera and film!
Guides: Use Guides to organize your Instagram posts into categories, similar to a Facebook Album. Your posts on Instagram can easily get buried under the latest content. Hence, adding them to a Guide gives them a longer shelf life.
Check out our blog post, Is Content Organization Missing On Your Social Media Channels? Here’s How To Fix It. to learn how to use Instagram Guides as a retailer.
Facebook Lives: Live videos are an impactful way to show up and connect with your community in real-time. I suggest going Live weekly to share updates about your store, talk about new arrivals, catch up with your audience and answer comments on the spot!
Facebook Groups: Make your content a little more exclusive by creating niche groups of people who are interested in your category of business or local to your area. Facebook Groups allow you to get to know your community members better and share exclusive events, sales and content with them.
Facebook Reels: That’s right. Reels have started gaining popularity on Facebook now as well. If you haven’t noticed, Short Form Video is what’s being promoted most heavily by social media platforms. If you’re a retailer, this is a good time to increase the amount of videos you’re posting.
Facebook Stories: Similar to Instagram, a daily Facebook Story is a great way to have 24-hour content appear at the top of your viewers’ feeds. Connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts through your settings for easier cross-posting access.
Short Form Video: Short form, full-screen videos are what TikTok is all about. More so, retailers are seeing success by posting several times per day on this platform—sharing more candid and behind-the-scenes style videos with their audiences.
If you’re struggling with how to show up on TikTok, Save These 5 TikTok Content Ideas.
Stories: TikTok has naturally implemented Stories to their platform. This 24-hour content will appear in a ring around your profile image. Pro Tip: When a viewer lands on your page, welcome them with an invite to follow for more content.
Carousel Pins: Upload up to 5 high-quality images to a single Pin to help keep your viewer on your content for longer. Keep in mind that the best-performing content on Pinterest appears to be closer to magazine style quality, so be sure to use clear and visually appealing images.
Idea Pins: Idea Pins are practically a combination of Short Form Videos and Stories. Use Idea Pins to tell a story over several slides in a Pin to keep the viewer tapping through your content.
Rich Pins: Think of Rich Pins as specialty Pins available for business accounts. Pinterest pulls information from your website (that’s linked to your Pin) to update the Rich Pins with the most accurate information and price. So if an item goes on sale, the Pin price will reflect that sale price. How cool!
Keywords: A keyword is a highly searched word on Pinterest, and something viewers are actively looking at on the platform. Adding keywords to the descriptions of your Pins, your “About” section, and to Pin titles helps connect your page and your content with the right audience.
I’ll be going into further detail on how to use each of these platforms—as well as the best practices for each content type—at Social Media Day 2022, happening in-person on June 12th, in Grand Rapids, Michigan! Join the Crystal Media Team for this one-day event (the day before the Retail Success Summit) to feel confident you’re using the most relevant strategies and methods to grow an engaged audience on social media! Only 100 seats available (and going fast) for this can’t-miss event!
What I Want You To Take Away From This Blog:
- Use the best-performing platforms for retailers to avoid wasting time and energy.
- Post consistent, quality content.
- Using a variety of content types can help you reach a wider audience.
Okay, over to you…
We want to know! Which platform is your favorite to use, and which platform would you like to get better at?
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