The rise of social media marketing has presented a new way for entrepreneurs to engage in content creation for their businesses. Marketing on social media doesn’t necessarily require hiring an external resource to help with production like you may otherwise desire for a television spot or billboard advertisement.

Instead, social media tends to act as a casual, lower-stakes medium where you can find content ranging from highly polished and produced, to at-home productions. But to use social media effectively as an entrepreneur, it’s important to understand the difference between effective and ineffective messaging.

Ineffective Messaging

“Bad content” uses ineffective messaging. Ineffective messaging takes many forms, it tends to be indistinctive and while it may at its core convey a message, it doesn’t drive your target audience to take action.

Content with ineffective messaging lacks focus or a clear goal. It should be obvious to the target audience what type of business you are, and the purpose of the content you share. Visuals accompanied with copy should be cohesive and relevant to who you are and what you’re promoting.

Your audience should be able to immediately identify that it’s your content. Visuals are equally as powerful a tool for storytelling as words, and crafting a strong visual identity that distinguishes your brand from competitors creates a concrete brand image. The more easily your audience can recognize you, the more memorable your brand is likely to be.

If your content is solely composed of these six components, your message probably needs a rework:

Here’s what I offer
Here’s my features
This is why it’s cool
Here’s what I do
This is what it does
Buy now!

This type of content can grow repetitive and isn’t as easy to build upon. It can act as a moderate way to provide a basic introduction to who you are to your target audience, but it’s less likely to be memorable and unique to you. It isn’t the style of content you would want to stick with because it can be challenging to hook your audience and differentiate your brand. You simply won’t be memorable.

You want to look for ways to stand out and creative “you coded” content creation is an excellent way to differentiate your brand.

Effective Messaging

Effective messaging makes for “good content” by providing a more well-rounded image of yourself and your business. Effective messaging keeps your audience coming back for more, and cultivates a loyal customer base.

These 12 types of content are a starting point for effective messaging:

Here’s the challenge you’re facing
This is how I can help you overcome it
This is what sets me apart
Here’s why this solution is perfect for you
This is my commitment to you
This is your problem
Here’s my solution
Here’s what makes my solution unique
Here’s evidence that it works
This is why it’s limited
Here’s my guarantee
Buy now

This content strategy provides a more in-depth explanation to your audience of who you are and how you can help them. It’s framed holistically to show the cause and effect of why your business is right for them. The more information you can provide, the more your audience can develop a concrete idea of the type of business you are.

By sharing your commitment to your customer and what you “guarantee,” you’re translating a more sincere message that helps prevent your audience from simply feeling like a means to a profit. You don’t want your content to feel like a generic ad, you want it to be informative, genuine, and well-rounded.

Building Blocks of Effective Messaging

The bulleted list above is a great starting point for the type of content to create, but there are a few important building blocks to keep in mind to create an impactful message. The first crucial component is emotional resonance.

Use language that speaks directly to your audience. Avoid generic and un-targeted messaging and instead provide content that feels as personalized as possible. Instead of listing off facts try to describe a scenario in which that detail comes across. Appealing to your audience’s emotions, whether it’s joy, sadness, anger, frustration, humor, etc., is more likely to resonate.

Storytelling goes hand in hand with channeling emotional resonance. Using personal anecdotes humanizes your brand and creates a clearer picture of what you’re trying to say. Storytelling is arguably our oldest form of communication, so why not market yourself in a way we already know resonates?

By sharing more about who you are, why you started your business, the obstacles you’ve overcome, etc. your audience can view you as a peer – as a human being – and not just a face behind a screen.

Community Building

Another building block is community building. People like to feel like they’re a part of something, and if you can foster a strong sense of community your audience can feel like they belong to a group of like-minded individuals. This goes along with sharing your brand’s vision and values and staying consistent with those values.

If your business has something it feels strongly about or a core idea that dictates how things are run – share it! For example, if you are passionate about decreasing waste and you offer unique recycled packaging and repurposed materials, then share why this is so important to you and outline how you’re taking action. If your audience can relate to a passion or a brand value, they’ll be more inclined to follow and support those who align with what they care about.

The last component of effective messaging is using multiple elements in your content creation. Don’t only use visuals or only copy. Blend photos with captions, and videos with voiceovers. Look for ways to integrate interactive features such as polls on social media stories or sponsored augmented reality filters.

Brands With Notable Content & Effective Messaging

It can be helpful to look at another brand’s social media to see different levels of transparency and approaches to cultivating brand image.

Poorboy Coffee, a new coffee shop local to San Francisco, is a great example of balanced content. The account posts videos where they crunch the numbers and share how much they’ve made so far, as well as videos detailing how they make their beverages or “day in the life bootstrapping a coffee business.” This shows their audience the challenges and the joys of starting a business and sparks curiosity on whether or not the company will continue to succeed.

The Nitro Bar, a small coffee chain with four locations across Rhode Island, is run by a husband and wife duo who use a similar transparent media strategy. They too share the challenges they face as a small business, including unexpected accidents and surprising obstacles. They’re also known for a series of videos on TikTok where their baristas share the weirdest drink orders they’ve made and their favorite drink on the menu. Again, we see a content strategy that is practical by promoting the product but coupled with an opportunity for the target audience to get a peak behind the scenes.

Click through these two accounts for a few minutes and you’ll get to see content directly from the company’s founders. You’ll see the different brand personalities shine and get a real idea of what running their businesses is like.

The Key Takeaways

If you’re struggling to get started with your social media content strategy, there are a few key takeaways to keep in mind:

The substance of your content should cover a wide range of material, about both you and your audience
Combine content elements
Don’t be afraid to show some personality, and share the highs and the lows with your audience
Be real, and be sincere

About the Writer: Madison Bernabeo is a student at Boston University studying advertising with a minor in business administration. She enjoys spending afternoons reading in the park and dreams of traveling. You can learn more about Madison on LinkedIn.

Good v. Bad Content: How to Make The Most of Social Media Marketing