Tips On How To Create Stellar Updates For Each Social Media Platform

The number of people active on social media is astonishing. According to Statista, “In 2020, over 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in 2025.” That is a lot of people. With the large number of individuals using social platforms, there are many potential customers for your brand to engage with on social media.

As a business, it’s important to have an online presence, whether you are selling products, offering services or trying to promote your brand. Investing in an active social media presence is a fantastic way to meet your target consumers on platforms they browse in their free time.

How To Create Content For Specific Social Media Platforms

What goes into a social media post? If you use social media personally, you know that each platform is different. As such, how you write for them should be different, too. As Falcon.IO states, “Social media platforms have different audiences and work in different ways, and content strategies should reflect that. This is especially important when you consider that irrelevant content is one of the top reasons why consumers unfollow brands on social channels.”

The content you post on social media should be specifically tailored to each platform.

As a general rule, prior to posting on any social media platform you should first gather some data. Falcon.IO shares that this can include:

• Checking the performance of different types of posts.
• Reviewing hashtags and commonly used words.
• Checking the demographics of your audience.
• Checking what your competitors are doing.
• Using social listening to learn what people are talking about.

Once you have data in place to guide your social media posting, it’s time to determine the best practices for working with each social media platform.

Social Media Posts For Facebook

According to Statista, Facebook is still the biggest social network worldwide, with over 2.9 billion active monthly users. With this number of users, it’s a platform that definitely should not be ignored. Specific advice for social media posts on Facebook are as follows:

• Focus on visual content. Visual content, particularly videos, live streams and stories performs the best on Facebook, as with many other social media platforms. Also included in this, however, are static images. Research shows posts with images receive higher numbers of interaction than those that do not; ideal sizes vary based on the type of image you’re posting, so refer to a cheat sheet as you create your graphics.
• Share summaries of blog posts or posts from other places. Summaries of content from either your own website or another also perform well on Facebook. These types of posts can be repurposed to share on other social media platforms as well.
• Consider using Bitly links. Links are important. If you want to track how many are clicking from Facebook specifically, however, one option is to use a Bitly link.
• Remember mobile users. Facebook users increasingly access the social media site on their phone. Make sure your updates, images and videos are mobile friendly to reach that audience effectively.
• Timing is key. Share important information when users are online, not just during your working hours.

Social Media Posts For Instagram

Instagram is also another incredibly popular social media platform that businesses should utilize. Ideas for sharing content on Instagram are:

• Use aesthetically rich visuals. Instagram is the social media platform to focus on high-quality imagery and videos. This includes photos, stories, videos, and reels. All types of this content are among the most engaging options for Instagram.
• Remember the rule of thirds. This classic rule of photography applies to Instagram images as well. Placing the subject in only two thirds of the screen makes the image more appealing to the eye.
• Use editing features. How an image or video looks on Instagram is everything. Use Instagram itself or third-party apps to create the perfect images for your updates. Don’t be afraid to create your own graphics for your Instagram page, either!
• Craft captions carefully. While this social media platform is visually focused, you should also write captions that are compelling to encourage comments.
• Hashtags. Hashtags are incredibly important on Instagram for engagement. At Three Girls Media, we recommend using 25-30 hashtags in each update for greater visibility – just make sure they are relevant to the update.
• Be aware of the shadowban. Make sure your posts don’t look like spam. If they do, Instagram may make it harder for followers to see your posts.
• Reply. Keep lines of communication open by answering questions and replying to a comment with a simple “Thank you.”

Social Media Posts For Twitter

Twitter is the place for news and articles that are interesting and relevant to your brand. It’s also a platform where you can easily reshare content and post your company’s blog posts. Some things are to keep in mind when posting on Twitter are:

• Keep it short. Just because you can use 280 characters doesn’t mean you should. The platform’s users continue to opt for brevity, so aim for as close to 140 characters as possible.
• Include a call to action. On Twitter be clear about what you want your followers to do. Do you want them to respond to a question, retweet or like your update?
• Use proper punctuation and grammar. Be careful of abbreviations and don’t sacrifice grammar just because you have a text limit.
• Mention other users. Use mentions to engage with social media influencers and grab their attention for your brand; this is great for building high-profile relationships. According to Brooke Koster from Three Girls Media, “Influencer marketing has been on the rise in the online marketing world and continues to gain traction.”
• Retweet other updates. Sharing information from other sources is encouraged on Twitter; just remember to leave a few characters so you can provide your own insights for your followers.
• Use hashtags. Twitter is a social media platform where you can wrap hashtags into the updates themselves, but don’t go overboard. We recommend sticking to one to three hashtags per update.

Social Media Posts For LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a much more formal and professional type of social media platform. As such, the types of social media posts you create for this platform should be quite different than others. Falcon.IO shares useful tips for this social media platform:

• Share professional information. As LinkedIn is a professional network, the type of content you share should be professional as well. This could include company news, job opportunities, blog posts or product information.
• Provide in-depth information. While you can include images in your posts, the main focus on this platform is on in-depth information. Industry articles, blog posts, data and similar content are all excellent content ideas for LinkedIn.
• Share infographics and videos. Infographics and videos also perform well on this platform and are great content to include.
• Interact with comments. If someone asks a question or responds to your call to action in the status update, it is imperative you respond. Followers and customers expect interaction with the brand and businesses they are following. After all, being social is the whole point of social media.
• Add hashtags at the end. Although most users don’t include hashtags within the body of their updates, many do search or follow different hashtags on the platform. For each update, include 1-5 relevant hashtags below the link to get the value of them without clogging up the posts themselves.

Social Media Posts For Pinterest

Don’t miss these best Pinterest practices for your social media strategy!

• No faces, please. This might sound counterintuitive, but on this social media platform images without human faces get 23% more shares than those without them. This is the perfect opportunity to share your products or behind-the-scenes images of your office.
• Carefully pick your image’s colors. When uploading images, dominant colors (red, dark green and pink) get three times more likes and repins, while orange images get two times the number of repins.
• Remember the background. Watch out for how much space your background uses. Make sure it doesn’t take up more than 40% of the image.
• Opt for portrait style. Post vertically orientated images over horizontally orientated ones. The ideal ratios are 2:3 and 4:5.
• Plan out your boards strategically. Before you start pinning social media updates, think about which boards would be most relevant to your brand. Don’t only make them self-promotional; include boards that are related to your industry as well. For example, if your brand is a restaurant, you could include boards that have to do with health, nutrition, recipes, ambiance and more.
• Add hashtags. Include a few relevant hashtags in your Pinterest updates to make them easier for readers to find on the platform.

Social Media Posts For YouTube

Using YouTube strategically can be an effective component to your social media campaign. Some ideas when posting content to YouTube are:

• Name the file strategically. When you upload your video, don’t leave it with a generic title like Movie.Mp4. Use a keyword in the file name of your video to increase searchability.
• Use a catchy title. When users scroll through YouTube, an intriguing title is often the reason someone will stop and watch. The title should also include some information about the content in the video.
• Write a clear description. Provide even more information about your video content with a detailed description and include links to your website and other social media channels for viewers to follow you.
• Use hashtags. By using quality keyword hashtags, your video can appear in more searches and in front of more eyes.

The Best Times To Post On Social Media

The best time to post on social media will vary depending on the platform.

It’s important to post your social media updates during peak traffic times, not just when your business is open. Additionally, Hootsuite has also put together some research about the best times to post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Facebook

Ideally, look at your Insights to discover the best times for your brand. However, in general, research shows:

• The best time to post on Facebook is between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This time period catches people first thing in the morning as well as during lunchtime.

Instagram

These days and times tend to perform well:

• 11:00 a.m. on Wednesdays is the best time to post on Instagram.
• Anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. or 4 to 5 p.m. is also a great time to post.
• In general, posts in the morning, at lunchtime or in the evening perform well.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn users are often on the social media platform during lulls in the workday: before it starts, around lunchtime and at the end of the day. Because of the nature of the platform and its professional focus, we recommend only posting Monday through Friday, as most people do not think about their professional life during the weekends.

The best times to post on LinkedIn are:

• 9:00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
• In general, posts between 8-11 a.m. on weekdays perform well.

Pinterest

Pinterest users tend to be on the platform later in the day:

• 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• 2 a.m.to 4 a.m.

The best day depends on the topic:

• Sunday: Food and crafts.
• Monday: Fitness.
• Tuesday: Gadgets and technology.
• Wednesday: Quotes.
• Thursday: Outfits.
• Friday: Gifts and humor.
• Saturday: Travel.

Twitter

Twitter is an active social media platform throughout the week, but in general, the best times to post on Twitter are:

• Mondays and Thursdays at 8:00 a.m.
• On weekdays between 6 and 9 a.m.

Are You Ready To Up Your Social Media Game?

As you can tell, a lot goes into an effective social media presence on any platform. Do you need help creating a strategy for your brand? We’re happy to provide recommendations to get you started, completely manage your social channels or some combination that fits your needs. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation to find out how we can help!