Running low on social media post ideas? It happens to everyone. But when part of becoming an influencer is knowing how to keep your social feeds active and engaging, a dry spell can feel like quite the conundrum.
On the plus side, there’s plenty of tried-and-true social media ideas to get you through those creative droughts. Here are some of them.
1. Post a snippet of your life
Life snippets can be major personal events (such as Ludwig Ahgren’s engagement tweet) or envy-inducing holiday snaps (such as Victoria Magrath’s Amalfi Coast pics), but Daily Dose of Internet’s giant flower shows that even more mundane observations can rack up likes and help creators connect with communities.
2. Follow the top comment
Vtuber Numi incentivised likes, comments, and reposts by promising to make the most liked reply her new profile picture, empowering her audience while playfully accepting the consequences. This can relate to your niche; BookTokers, for example, may vow to read and review the most liked book in their comments.
3. Create a poll
Polls can engage audiences directly in several ways. Simple History asks a fun question they know interests their audience, but you also might ask:
- About a puzzling issue in your latest video, like Dan Davis History
- How people would prefer to see future content formatted, like Historically
- If people would be interested in potential content ideas, like History Buffs
4. Address a current event
Putting together news from your industry is fine, especially in fast-moving niches with regular releases and announcements (such as tech). But what Vivian Tu of Your Rich BFF cleverly does here is relate a more widely known event (Taylor Swift’s wedding) to her own finance niche.
5. Ask a question
Like polls, questions forge connections with your audience and elicit direct engagement, but they also allow more open-ended queries. Adria is great at this, also using her community page to ask:
- Which profile picture to use
- If you’ve watched a recent video
- What Halloween costume her dog, Oatmeal, may wear next
6. Respond to a comment
Follow Ali Abdaal’s example by combing through comments until you find an interesting query, and then make a quick post in response. Followers appreciate the recognition and get an incentive to comment themselves. Ensure that there’s plenty of post ideas squirreled away for a rainy day by making a note of interesting comments you run across.
7. Post an AMA
The AMA (ask me anything) request – such as Lucy Sleight’s for Disability Pride Month – draws plenty of attention, especially in the form of comments. You get to know your followers, they get to know you, and you can either respond in comments or generate new content from certain answers.
8. Make a meme
The internet sometimes seems to be built on memes. Show your sense of humour and encourage reposts by sharing one related to your niche or even creating your own from a popular format, as “bardcore” musician Hildegard von Blingin does here.
9. Post a pet pic
Dog, cat, hamster, snake, whatever – everyone loves a pet pic. Got an animal? Capitalise on their cuteness and give followers another glimpse into your life, as streamer Valkyrae does with the ultra-cute Mika.
10. Adapt a trend
There’s always something trending. When you’re really low on social media content ideas, head to a page like X Explore or TikTok Trends to find something to adapt – you might just reach a whole new audience. Hospice Nurse Penny made particularly witty use of the “describe your job but make it sound illegal” trend.
11. Reflect on your journey
Joe Wicks recently posted about his inspirational 10 years on social media, but he still brings it back to his audience by encouraging them to be similarly dedicated. Even if it’s only been a month or you’ve just started to make money as an influencer, it’s never a bad time to reflect on your own journey – and your audience will appreciate your openness.
12. Try a challenge
When finance micro influencer Prof Mims decided to try spending just £300 over 30 days, he got a whole months’ worth of social content ideas rather than just the one. This first post alone still drew almost 500 comments.
13. Offer your hot take
Successful “hot takes” deliberately defy the general consensus in a way likely to provoke debate. They’re not something to go overboard on since they’re so provocative, but even small accounts can grab attention and elicit comments. Ankita Kar currently has fewer than 700 followers, but her hot take took off.
14. Share a throwback
Not among the most creative social media post examples, but throwbacks – publishing or resharing pictures or videos taken in the past – are an easy way to show how far you’ve come and appear more relatable, as fitness influencer Brooke Elle did with this candid look at her less-than-impressive early gym days.
15. Give a shoutout
Bereft of ideas to post on your socials and don’t have much time on your hands? Try a quick shoutout, like the one YouTuber Neo gave to a relatively new channel. By choosing a video he knew would appeal to his audience, Neo demonstrated his knowledge and authority within that space while potentially earning a future shoutout back from Echozero.
16. Repost UGC
UGC stands for user-generated content – organic content that brands can repost to demonstrate engagement with and appreciation from audiences. Valuable enough for some brands to pay for it, UGC offers creators the same advantages (plus a low-effort social media post). VideoGameDunkey, for example, reposted this fun video of fans lip-syncing to the song from his The Sopranos video game review.