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From the very beginning of my career as a social media consultant I’ve espoused the philosophy of teaching what you know by creating educational content for social media. One of my very first blog posts back in 2011 was tips on how to get into using Twitter. Over the years I’ve written a wide variety of educational content for social media, from blog posts to weekly quick tips, from Facebook Lives and webinars to sarcastic and fun TikToks.
One of the questions I get when I talk about creating educational content for social media is “But won’t my audience just take the information and do it themselves?” I’ll be honest, that is possible. But if they are the DIY type they weren’t likely going to buy from you anyhow, they just would have found a different expert who’s giving the information away. Now you are their expert for this information. WIN!
Think about it this way:
[click_to_tweet tweet=”‘Giving someone paint and a paintbrush won’t make them Van Gogh.’ @AnitaKirkbride” quote=”Giving someone paint and a paintbrush won’t make them Van Gogh.” theme=”style4″]
There are always going to be those who take advantage of your expertise and generosity, but there will be many more people who will see you as an expert and think of you when they are ready to purchase your products or services.
Ways to Create Educational Content for Social Media
Tutorials & How-to Guides:
These are step-by-step instructional pieces designed to teach your audience how to achieve a specific outcome. They can be visual, textual, or both. They may even include checklists or printables to download.
Example: A boutique owner takes this to heart. On Instagram, she showcases how a basic white tee can be transformed into various fashion-forward looks, demonstrating the art and science of accessorizing and layering.
Webinars & Live Sessions:
Live, interactive online workshops or presentations allow real-time engagement with your audience. They can range from Q&A sessions to full-fledged courses.
Example: A mindset coach offers webinars to help you develop your growth mindset and recognize when you’re thinking in a fixed mindset.
Infographics
These are visual representations of information, data, or knowledge. They simplify complex concepts into digestible visual bites, making learning a breeze. Infographics are a great piece of educational content for social media if you deal in a lot of processes or want to share statistics or other types of numbers. I got a lot of mileage out of my recycling and repurposting infographics, social media sizes series, and social media planning infographics. Sometimes it just works to pull a concept together.
Example: A charity, with the help of a designer, condenses the intricate journey of a dollar into an easy-to-follow infographic.
Behind-the-scenes (BTS)
These offer a sneak peek into the unseen aspects of your business or process, making your brand more relatable and authentic.
Example: A local lip balm maker shows how ingredients are measured, mixed and poured in a series. This helps build trust in her ingredients and process and builds a relationship with her clients.
Case Studies & Success Stories
Do you have real-world examples of how your product or service has benefited a client or customer? Sharing these showcases your value proposition in action. Testimonials can help here, but longer case studies are also useful for higher ticket items.
Example: A business coach chronicles the transformative journey of a startup on LinkedIn, illustrating how a change in strategy led to monumental growth.
Animated Videos & Explainers
Animated content or explainer videos simplify and illustrate intricate concepts in an engaging manner, often using humor, graphics, and succinct scripting.
Example: A SAAS company takes this route, producing animated YouTube clips that demystify their software’s processes, turning abstraction into clarity.
Short-form Video
Quick, engaging videos that convey a message or instruction within a brief span, usually less than two minutes. These are famously the realm of TikTok, but you can also find them on Instagram and Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts and Pinterest Stories.
Example: A travel agent crafts punchy Instagram Reels, each sharing sustainable travel tips, ensuring viewers leave with a nugget of knowledge in under a minute.
Tips & Tricks
Brief pieces of advice or knowledge that offer solutions to common problems or enhance existing methods. These are often one or two sentences on a graphic, with details in the text area. Over the years I did many of these on repurposing content, blogging, how to use Twitter and more. Tips and tricks, if useful, can keep you top of mind with your audience while building your reputation as an expert. While many of mine were simple graphics, much of today’s “tipping” is in the form of videos.
Example: On Twitter, a seasoned copywriter regularly shares snippets on transforming verbose sentences into clear, compelling content, proving that every word wields power.
Bonus Benefit: SEO Value of Educational Content
One of the reasons I STILL love blogging as my primary focus for creating educational content for social media is that it’s so helpful for improving my search rankings. I’ve talked about this many times over the years, but making content that answers the burning questions of your ideal clients will help you more than pretty much any other kind of content. And it does double duty by improving your SEO. Once you’ve got the blog created, you simply need to distribute it, promote it and repurpose it.
