23 social media post ideas for your brand

Marketers are expected to juggle multiple social profiles and keep them up-to-date with fresh posts. It’s tough. Your followers are hungry for new content and you’re expected to deliver consistently. But when you constantly recycle the same posts again and again, your social feeds start to feel like Groundhog Day.

That’s why brands need to have multiple social media ideas in their back pocket. Below we’ve broken down 23 social media ideas for brands both big and small. Each of these types of posts is fair game for those looking to keep their social feeds from growing stale.

If you’re looking for quick inspiration, watch the video below for nine ideas. We also share three methods for brainstorming social media ideas year round.

If you’re already in a content rut, or just want some new ideas, download our content strategy checklist—this piece walks you through how to identify the issues and start producing creative, high-performing content.

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1. Plan social media posts for every day of the week

Want to make your social feed feels more like an event versus a laundry list of random posts?

Start a series for each weekday to create an opportunity to interact with your fans and followers on a regular basis. By providing relevant content at a consistent clip, you can build a habit among your audience to look forward to seeing specific content from your brand.

A regular schedule shows your community what to expect and even offers something to look forward to. Plus, it gives your team a template to follow, so it’s relatively quick and easy to produce.

You can use Sprout’s best times to post tool to help you identify the right time to publish your content too.

Here are a few social media posts ideas to fill up your content calendar from Monday to Sunday:

What to post on social media on a Monday

Help your followers start the week on a high note with some Monday inspiration. You can share a motivational quote or video that’s relevant to your audience.

For example, on our Sprout Social Instagram, we published a Stories series called Sproutouts. Every Monday, we would share inspiration and helpful social media content for the week ahead.

You can also post an aesthetically pleasing photo or video. Basically, use Monday content to share something positive!

What to post on a Tuesday

Tuesday is for #TransformationTuesday. Post a before-and-after photo or video to show how your brand helped a customer transform. This idea is great for salons, personal trainers, contractors and other industries that provide a service, but almost any brand could implement it if you think outside the box.

For instance, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust posted the journey of a orphan warthog:

What to post on a Wednesday

Everyone loves some good hump day content. Think of Wednesdays as an opportunity to provide a mid-week social pick-me-up.

What to post on a Thursday

Use Thursdays to inform and educate your audience with helpful tips and tricks. This content can focus on your brand, but you can also offer general advice that’s relevant to your industry.

What to post on a Friday

Bookend the work week with engaging posts. The weekend is near, so give your followers the opportunity to interact with some fun content. Include a call to action in your caption or a sticker on your Instagram to get your audience engaged.

What to post on a Saturday

Staying on the weekend trend, use Saturday to post light-hearted, entertaining content. Show how your brand can help customers enjoy their weekend by showing product imagery or sharing how your social team enjoys their time off.

What to post on a Sunday

#SelfcareSunday is a popular hashtag for good reason. Help your customers relax, unwind and reflect before the week ahead by sharing inspirational content like a quote or a link to a resource.

2. Ask your audience questions

Asking your audience questions is a surefire way to boost your engagement. An example of a popular Instagram post idea is using question stickers in Stories. You can also ask a question in a caption, like Crumbl Cookies did below–anything is fair game.

3. Share influencer content

Consider working with influencers to create sponsored or collaborative content. But how do you find the right influencers for your brand? Authenticity is the second most important qualification for creators working with brands, according to The Sprout Social Index™, so focus on influencers who share a similar audience with your brand.

Also, if you find any videos that mention your brand from influencers, ask permission to re-share the content on your brand’s profile. It’s a quick and easy way to show your audience who else enjoys your brand.

4. Support a cause

Demonstrate your brand values by posting your support for a cause. For example, the North Face posted this Tweet about their 15-year-long partnership with several breast cancer prevention organizations:

The tweet also shares a link to their Pink Ribbon Collection, which is supported by North Face’s Explore fund. Showing support online is a great way to help build your brand authenticity, so don’t shy away from the causes that are important to your business.

5. Run a contest or giveaway

People can’t resist the power of free stuff. Social media contests are one of the most impactful social media activities when it comes to potential engagement from followers.

According to data from HubSpot, sweepstakes are the most popular type of contest and brands gain an average of 17,500 new followers when they use them.

Crazy, right? But when you look at how much love posts like this one from Crumbl Cookies receive, those numbers don’t seem so farfetched:

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Crumbl Cookies (@crumblcookies)

Crumbl hosts giveaways frequently, but this post is unique because the cookie brand offered a larger giveaway to celebrate earning three million followers.

But you don’t have to have such a big follower count to run a contest. And you don’t need a third-party solution or service either—all you need is a combination of the following:

1. Something to give away. Ideally, the prize for your contest should somehow be related to your brand (think: free products or a membership). Big-ticket, unrelated items tend to attract freebie-seekers that won’t translate into long-term followers.
2. Terms and conditions. To cover yourself legally, terms and conditions are a must for your contest. This template from Shortstack can clue you in on exactly what you need. Additionally, these points will make your contest seem legitimate and not like a potential scam.
3. A point of contact. On your terms and conditions page, make sure to leave an email address where people can get in touch with questions or concerns.
4. A way to enter. Whether it’s through user-generated content or a branded hashtag, asking followers to post about your brand is the best way to encourage entries. After all, the purpose of a giveaway is brand awareness, not just to give away free stuff.

Oh, and hashtags are by far the simplest means of keeping track of who entered your contest for free. You can use social media management tools like Sprout to help you monitor and identify all the posts with your branded hashtag.

You don’t need to run contests week after week to reap the rewards. Contests can spike your follower count and engagement, but they’re also a great social media idea for campaigns you’re looking to enhance, such as new product launches.

6. Host an AMA

An ask me anything (AMA) series represents an awesome opportunity to educate and engage with your followers. AMA’s are essentially Q&A sessions where you get to share your knowledge, experiences and insight.

From sharing success stories to personal challenges, such sessions can be compelling for audiences and brands alike.

Your audience will appreciate the insight, but also consider how an AMA ticks the following boxes for brands:

• You get to show off your personal side, showcasing the face behind the curtain of your business.
• You raise awareness for your brand without being pushy or salesy about it.
• You learn more about the concerns and interests of your audience.

If you have a large team, you can encourage each member to conduct their own AMA over time to give a sort of big-picture view of your brand.

7. Conduct a social media takeover

Sometimes refreshing your social feeds means letting someone else take over.

Takeovers put the reins of your social accounts in someone else’s hands, usually for 24 hours.

Handing off your social presence to an influencer or celebrity with a massive, active audience is a prime way to get your brand in front of some new faces and inject a new voice into your account if you’re running short on social media post ideas. You can also let someone else in your company take over your account to give your feed some flavor.

Consider business partners and industry relationships that could be good candidates for a takeover. The purpose of a takeover is to get exposure, so ideally choose someone whose audience demographic is relevant to your own.

8. Share, pin, retweet and regram

Don’t be afraid to let your fans, followers and peers do the talking.

Remember, not all of the content on your social feed has to be your own—in fact, it shouldn’t be. Promoting other relevant brands, articles and photos from your followers is a great approach that shows you’re part of your industry’s conversation.

For example, Sprout recently shared a New York Times article about how Gen Z uses TikTok as a search engine because it’s relevant to followers curious about the world of marketing and social media.

As noted in our guide on the best times to post on social media, brands should strive to follow the 80/20 rule of promotion. That is, your feeds should be made up of 80% entertaining and engaging content and only 20% promotional content. This keeps your feed from feeling like a sales pitch.

If nothing else, a regram or Retweet is quick and easy. Lean on user-generated content and add a new caption when you repost like Mejuri did in this TikTok:

9. Create short-form video clips

Video content strategy has become a must for modern brands. Unfortunately, many see the investment in video as being too complicated, expensive or out of their reach.

The Sprout Social Index reports short-form video as the most engaging type of in-feed content. Consumers also find short-form videos 2.5x more engaging than long-form ones.

With stats like that, brands should give some serious thought to creative social media ideas that incorporate video.

Of course, short-form video clips are the bread and butter of TikTok and Instagram Reels, but they’re also perfect for Twitter and Facebook. You can even try out YouTube Shorts. These bite-sized clips usually require minimal editing, can be shot quickly and are prime for sharing.

Here’s a good example from Clinique:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Clinique (@clinique)

Brainstorm short, creative clips to keep your followers entertained.

10. Repurpose your content

Think about the planning, effort and sheer amount of time it takes to create any piece of content. Doesn’t it make sense to squeeze as much as you can out of every blog post or video you make?

For every blog post you write or video you shoot, you should consider additional ideas for promoting it on social media beyond its original format. For example, you can pull a quote from your content and repurpose it into a share-friendly image via Canva.

Or, you can repurpose your YouTube videos into social-specific posts like this:

Now, imagine if you repurposed every blog post you wrote or video you published. You’d have a pretty good backlog of shareable content, right?

Repurposing your content not only breathes new life into old or less popular posts, but also keeps your followers from getting bored of the same message shared over and over.

11. Team up with another brand

Co-marketing is a win-win situation. Two brands team up on a campaign or piece of content such as a webinar, ebook or even a special promotion, and each company gets exposure to the other’s audience.

Look for brands to partner with that aren’t competitors but have a similar target audience. For instance, Sprout has partnered with companies like Wistia and Zendesk to create webinars and ebooks.

We also recently partnered with Salesforce:

Social media is the ideal platform for co-marketing campaign ideas because it’s so easy to sync up your efforts.

12. Develop how-tos and tutorials

Blog articles are a good medium to break down step-by-step instructions, but social media can be just as effective. Tasty produces Instagram and TikTok videos of mouth-watering recipes that are broken down into actionable steps. Each video is short and to the point, while remaining comprehensive.

When thinking of tutorial topics, keep it to ideas you can explain in about a minute. You can score bonus points if your Instagram caption can also explain all of the necessary steps.

13. Go live

Live video is the third most engaging type of in-feed social content, partly because consumers are looking for authentic, less-produced experiences with brands.

Whether you’re vlogging from your car or conducting a Q&A session, responding to people in real time establishes a more personal connection with your followers.

The best part? You can always repurpose your live video content down the line. For example, we posted a Live on our Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWoP8faJ2nP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Some people in your audience might not be able to join live, so giving them the option to go back on their own time is a great way to keep them engaged.

14. Give customers the spotlight

What better way to show your customers you appreciate them than giving them a shout-out?

Go beyond retweeting people who mention your brand and start a campaign that really highlights your customers.

For example, you could have a customer of the week program highlighting your most loyal advocates, hooking them up with some swag or a prize.

Sprout highlights customers’ case studies. In addition to showing appreciation for companies that use our software, such studies also provide prospective customers with social media ideas they can employ themselves.

Warby Parker frequently showcases their customers. In this Tweet, the eyewear brand congratulates a customer on their new job and fresh pair of lenses:

The more appreciation you show your customers and followers, the more likely they are to share your content and promote your business on your behalf. Plus, showcasing your customers with real, authentic reviews and testimonials proves people enjoy your brand’s products and/or services.

15. Conduct an interview

Serving as an alternative to a traditional Q&A session, social media has made it arguably easier than ever to conduct interviews.

Whether through Twitter or Facebook Live, interviewing a relevant influencer or professional in your industry serves as the perfect combination of education and entertainment. You can ask your followers to submit questions or you can ask questions that would be interesting to your audience.

In this video by Nike, the sportswear brand asked guests who their favorite athletes are:

Social interviews are oftentimes informal and off-the-cuff, coming off as authentic to your audience. As an added bonus, you can repurpose your social interviews into podcasts, blog posts and YouTube videos.

16. Make a meme

Brands shouldn’t be afraid to show off their sense of humor.

While marketing with memes isn’t for everyone, social media itself is a breeding ground for humorous images and satire. As evidenced by brands such as Chubbies, there’s certainly a time and place for memes.

Keep in mind that memes do have a shelf life. If your audience isn’t privy to humor, memes can come off as cringe-worthy and out of touch. That said, many brands with younger audiences and a heavy social presence could benefit from some lighthearted content.

17. Take advantage of trending topics

Sometimes the best social media ideas come to you when you least expect them.

Trending topics on Twitter and Facebook represent a way for brands to capitalize on topical content. While you have a limited window of opportunity for such content to be relevant, topical posts can score huge numbers.

A less time-sensitive way to stay topical is by referencing a big event that you know is coming. For example, when Rihanna announced her Super Bowl 2023 halftime performance, several brands parodied her original tweet where the pop singer holds a football–like Dairy Queen, who posted a tattooed hand holding a Blizzard:

Joining the conversation is important, but avoid political or potentially sensitive topics. There’s nothing worse than dealing with a public relations nightmare because you tried to be clever.

18. Ask followers to tag a friend

An easy way to get more eyes on your social feeds is the mere act of asking.

Tag-a-friend posts encourage responses from your followers and bring new potential followers into the fold. Considering how easy it is to @-mention someone in a comment, tacking on a tag-a-friend request to a post is fairly straightforward. Brands regularly ask followers to tag their friends and family via Instagram.

While you don’t need to ask for tags in each and every post, doing so is a good way to encourage a response from a post that otherwise might not receive much engagement.

19. Run a social-exclusive deal

Although brands shouldn’t push their followers too hard with offers and deals, social media features such as Facebook carousel ads can help you score a financial ROI from your social presence.

You can also promote a sale through your Instagram shop or a Tweet, like Lilly’s Kloset did below:

The beauty of running ads within social media is that they’re easy to track. For example, Facebook’s ad platform provides an enormous amount of information in terms of who’s seeing your ads, who’s clicking and how much your clicks are worth. Meanwhile, running exclusive coupon codes on Twitter or Instagram can help you understand what percentage of your followers is willing to spend.

20. Poll your audience

If social media has taught us anything, it’s that people love to share their opinions.

Social media features such as Twitter polls are a one-click way to get a pulse on your followers. This poll from Coca-Cola represents a playful but effective example:

Polls don’t need to be a formal affair, nor do they need to be sales-related. Social media represents a conversation, so be willing to listen to your follower’s feedback.

21. Respond to your followers

Social media is conversational, so brands should always be willing to talk back to their followers. Your audience’s time is valuable and taking the time to respond shows your brand cares.

Whether it’s praise, a customer concern or just someone looking to say “Hello,” your responses can speak volumes about your brand. Chick-fil-A regularly responds to their followers, speaking to how much they value customer care.

In this tweet, the fast food brand responds to a family who posted a dinner photo at their local restaurant:

We’re in an era where social customer care is essential, so you can’t afford to go silent on your followers.

22. Go behind the scenes

At their core, brands represent people. Don’t let that personal element of your social feed fall by the wayside.

The Washington Post constantly shows off their office antics, much to the amusement of their followers. In this example, the news publication gives us a look inside a photoshoot for their podcast:

Giving your followers a “behind the scenes” look at your company signals authenticity. Got a designated office mascot? Throwing a party? Let your followers see what you see.

23. Share a milestone

Last but not least, brands should be willing to celebrate their success and victories with followers. Featured in a major publication? Reach a sales goal? Stoked about a new hire? Upgraded to a new office?

Let your followers know. Sharing these moments with your audience shows your human side while signaling your brand’s growth. This is also a great B2B social media post idea because you don’t have to rely on an aesthetically pleasing product visual, like on Instagram or TikTok.

Canva used this Tweet to celebrate their newest suite of features:

Again, effective social media ideas aren’t just about your product or service. Telling your brand’s story and showing what you’re worth based on your accomplishments can truly cement your company’s status in the eyes of your audience.

Which social media post idea are you going to try next?

Give these social media ideas a shot if you’re tired of posting the same old content. You don’t have to adhere to a single type of content, especially with many options.

Now that you have a bounty of ideas, you can save time by scheduling your posts in advance with tools like Sprout—use our free 30-day trial to explore.