In an increasingly social world, we often try to occupy space everywhere. This can be time-consuming and irrelevant, as not all social platforms suit every business model.

It's also very difficult to devise content for every social stream!

Many businesses simply share the same content across all their social platforms. This doesn't work.

You need to give people a reason to follow you on various social platforms. Why would they if you post exactly the same content across all your platforms?

Sure, you can post a photo on your Facebook and Instagram pages, but maybe leave it off Twitter… do you have a link to share instead? Maybe Twitter and Google + are the best platforms.

Consider what type of content you want to share and the best platform for it.

How do I create good content for social media?

Here are six quick tips to help you in those ‘I have nothing to post!' moments.

1. Develop themes or topics

Develop some topics of themes that you would like to post on. For example, if you are a gym or in the fitness industry, your themes may be something along the lines of exercise, health, gym gear, healthy recipes, motivational quotes, etc.

If you are a travel agent your topics may be destinations, travel tips, cultural information, international food and so on.

You can then plan your posts around these topics. It makes it a lot easier to devise content if you’ve got a wide range of topics to select from.

2. Plan, plan, plan!

Planning is key. Too often we find ourselves overwhelmingly busy. We plan to post ‘later’, but later doesn’t always come.

I always have my iPad, my phone or pen and paper close by so I can jot down ideas as they come to me. I also use tools like Feedly for when I spot articles I like.

Take some time out and schedule your content a few weeks in advance using Hootsuite or Sprout Social. Be flexible and understanding that sometimes posts will need to be moved around if breaking industry news occurs. 

You will often find if you set time aside to develop posts they are of a higher quality and will typically have more meaning as they aren't rushed.

3. Variety is the spice of life

Mix up your content. Share tips, images, articles, Infographics, videos, blog posts, anecdotes and more.

There is such a wide mix of content out there available, yet people often only share text or images. Experiment and see what your audience responds to.

4. Ask your audience 

You are struggling for content ideas. You aren’t really sure what it is your audience wants. So ask them!

Every now and then when I’m updating my blog schedule for the coming weeks I through the question out to my social audience – what do you want to hear from me?

I generally always get a few really good responses that my audience has indicated they want to know more about and that’s really the key to social media – providing value.

5. Blog

Blogs are a great way to share your expert knowledge in your key area. They also provide key fodder for social media posts.

While they can be time-consuming, its important to remember that not all blog posts need to be really long. If you want to start your own blog take a look at this post for a detailed ‘how-to’ on setting up a WordPress blog.

6. News

Look at industry news and websites frequently. Often you will find daily articles there you can share. To personalise these news articles share a little commentary - your views on what the article is saying. 

How do you develop a regular stream of social media posts?