If you often find yourself racking your brain for ideas on what to post, and struggle to come up with something new, then you might be making this common mistake.

A client of ours who owns a Business to Consumer (B2C) company was recently experiencing this exact problem and asked if I could help them brainstorm some content ideas. After a short discussion, it became apparent that the reason that they were struggling was that the only content that they thought they were allowed to post was anything that related specifically to their business, a very common Social Media misconception. While I’m not saying that if you own a Beauty Salon, for example, you should post about the latest release of new Caravans, what I am saying, is that you need to think about your target audience. Think about their interests outside of the services that your company provides, whether that is B2C or Business-to-Business (B2B).

Target Audience Profiling

A great place to start when trying to come up with new content ideas is to think about who it is that you are trying to target. If we go back to the example of the Beauty Salon, what would your typical customer look like? Is your Beauty Salon aimed at both males and females? What is the age range of your regular client? Do they work full or part-time? If they do work part-time, perhaps they have specific hobbies or enjoy having more time to lead a healthy lifestyle? Do they enjoy going to the gym, exercising, walking or healthy eating? As you answer these questions, you’ll begin to get a clearer idea of your target audience, and, therefore, more ideas of topics that will interest them.

On the other hand, if you own a B2B company, don’t only think about the type of business that you are trying to target, but also the industry of your target business. You need to put yourself in their shoes and make sure that you keep yourself up to date with any changes within their industry. What is at the front of their mind at this very moment? Could there be something that is worrying them that your company can help with, or is there a trending topic or some big news that everyone in the industry is talking about? Think about who their competitors are, who are they engaging with on Social Media, and who are the thought leaders within their industry? Then take a look at their content for some inspiration. Also, think about their sources of information, what trade publications do they follow? Then take a look at their website or grab a copy of their magazine and have a look at the current headlines.

Whether you are a B2C or B2B company, thinking about these questions will give you a better idea of the current topics that your target audience are interested in.

We can help

If you haven’t already done so, make sure you download our free e-book, “75 Ideas of things to post on Social Media”, print it off and highlight anything that you think might be relevant to your business, your target audience or their industry. The main thing to remember is to think outside of the box. For your audience to see your posts, they need to be engaging with you, so what topics will they engage with?