Most Challenging Types of Content to Produce for Social Media

Social media requires top-notch content to not only keep your audience engaged but also to build a presence. But not all content is created equal, and many different forms can be a challenge to produce well. The content needs to pop off of a generally crowded feed, whether in the form of eye-catching visuals or through an engaging video. In this article, we will look at some of the most difficult content types to create, a few errors that are common in UK brands, and give some tips on how to optimize visual content at each stop of the buyer’s journey on social media.

Video Content: Engaging but Time-Consuming

Video content is one of the most powerful mechanisms of social media marketing, yet, at the same time, it can also be the most challenging type of content to create. Videos take planning, scripting, recording, and editing-a process that is quite timely and resource-intensive. This notwithstanding, the engagement of video content often outperforms other static-type posts: for instance, the short-form videos on applications like TikTok and Instagram Reels are an efficient way to capture the attention of a user and invoke engagement.

Poor audio, storyline not explained well, and running of videos for just a bit too long are some of the common mistakes made with video content. Many brands in the UK don’t keep their videos sweet and short, which makes viewer retention low. A good example can be that of a promotional video, which tries to convey across more than one or two messages in one single go and, in turn, confuses the viewer and dilutes the effect.

How to Avoid These Mistakes: The key to successful video creation is to have a plan. Decide on your video’s intent, keep your messaging concise, and ensure high production value. Provide subtitles for your videos to make them accessible on platforms where people don’t watch with sound. Pay attention to clear and engaging storytelling so your videos can capture-and keep-viewers’ attention.

User-Generated Content (UGC): Authentic but Unpredictable

User-generated content can be some of the most valuable in building trust and credibility, from customer reviews to testimonials to posts your audience has created. The challenge with UGC is that it’s very difficult to manage because it’s being created by your audience and not by your team, which can make it hard to control for quality and alignment with your brand.

There are a couple of ways in which UK brands get UGC wrong, including not curating or policing it. For instance, a brand reposts customer photos without necessarily checking if the image quality is good enough or the overall aesthetic aligns with the brand’s visual identity. Other times, some brands don’t get proper permissions for using UGC; this may lead to legal complications along with eroding trust among the audience.

How to Steer Clear of These Mistakes: Be selective in the UGC you repost. Only select content that fits within your aesthetic and messaging, and meets your quality threshold. Always request permission to repost, and give credit to the original creator wherever possible. You can incentivize customers to create higher-quality UGC by including guidelines or by running a branded hashtag campaign that rewards great content.

Infographics: Information-Dense but Design-Heavy

Infographics are the newest popular medium of communication for information in graphical format. They work exceptionally well whenever one needs to convey statistics, facts, or even a step-by-step guide graphically. The problem with infographics is that they can be really hard to design, since one needs to balance the art of design with clear data presentation. If not done correctly, an infographic could be cluttered, confusing, or too small to read on mobile devices.

A common mistake made via UK social media is to overload information on an infographic. An example of this could be an infographic that tries to feature the information of an entire report in one image; too much information can overwhelm a viewer, thus making them skip the graphic altogether. Too many fonts, colours, or images result in the infographic looking unprofessional.

How to Avoid These Mistakes: In creating effective infographics, focus on simplicity. Sticking to one color scheme, limited fonts, and using icons or graphics can break up text. Focus on the most important data and present it in an easily digestible format. Consider taking a very complex piece of information and breaking that into several posts rather than trying to cram all of it onto a single graphic. This makes the content more readable and allows your audience to relate to your content better.

Live Streams: Interactive but Unpredictable

It provides every brand with real-time engagement to communicate with their audience on very personal levels. However, live streams are rather unpredictable and may get difficult to handle. Poor internet connections, unprepared hosts, or the lack of viewer participation could be results of awkwardness or professionalism not being given out as broadcasting. Furthermore, driving a live audience is tough to attract, especially in cases when the content is not appropriately promoted or scheduled at an inopportune time.

Poor preparation and low technical support have affected the live streaming of several UK brands. For example, it might be as minor as a place whereby the company starts off the live with bad audio or does not plan for such, ending up in some unorganised broadcast that leaves viewers disconnected.

How to Avoid These Mistakes: Do a dry run in advance, checking for any possible technical problems. Plan your content in advance, create an outline of all the points that you want to touch on, and consider using a script to help keep the broadcast on course. Promote the live stream in advance and select a time that works best for the target audience. Encourage interaction by responding in real time to comments and questions. Acknowledge viewers to make them feel like they are part of the experience.

Carousel Posts: Time-Consuming but Engaging

 Recently, carousel posts have gained a high degree of popularity on platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. They allow brands to display a series of images or even communicate pieces of information in one go; thus, carousel posts are ideal for telling a story or showing off various features of a particular product. The downside with carousel posts is that if they are to work effectively, they take a number of minutes in designing, with each slide harmoniously fitting yet standing on its own.

One common mistake with carousel posts is inconsistency in design or messaging. For example, a brand might post a carousel whose colors don’t match; it also contains different font styles or lacks clear visual hierarchy that may confuse the viewer and water down the message.

How to Avoid These Mistakes: While creating carousel posts, design the layout in advance to keep the visual feel constant. Use the same fonts, colors, and style across all the slides. Have a clear message on each slide; use transitions to support the viewer through the content. A well-designed carousel is supposed to tell a story or take people on a journey; make sure each slide builds up to the previous one to keep your audience tuned.

Branded Illustrations: Unique but Resource-Heavy

Branded illustrations are an excellent way to inject some personality into your social media content. Custom illustrations help differentiate your brand and make your content recognizable. But quality illustrations require graphic design skills, time, and more often than not, a bigger budget, which makes them hard to create on a regular basis.

A common mistake is when illustrations are used not matching the identity or aesthetics of the brand. For instance, a financial services company would not be able to use cartoonish or too casual illustrations since this would be in conflict with the professional image of this brand. On the other hand, overly complex illustrations might not work well on a small mobile screen.

How to Avoid These Mistakes: Determine an illustration style that best reflects your brand’s personality and values. Collaborate with a designer to develop a consistent visual language that can be applied across your social media content. Avoid overly complex designs that may not display well on mobile, and use clean, simple visuals which are instantly recognizable and reinforce your brand identity.

Stories: Quick but Demanding

Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn stories are relied upon to deliver timely updates, behind-the-scenes content, or even limited-time offers. Considering the nature of these stories, which is essentially short-lived-mostly 24 hours in most instances-their creation requires regular updatedness on their end, thereby making them resource-intensive for brands in an attempt to keep up the activity level.

A common mistake with Stories is to not use the interactive features that include polls, quizzes, or question stickers. Too many UK brands just post static images, which actually can lead to a lower engagement rate because usually stories that perform better include some interactive features.

How to Avoid Such Mistakes: Use the power of interactive features. Utilize features such as polls, quizzes, and countdown stickers to scale up viewers’ participation. Plan Stories in advance but also be sure to have room for spontaneous content that really looks organic. Finally, make sure your Stories maintain a cohesive look using your brand colors, fonts, and templates.

Conclusion

Not every social media content is easier to create effectively, and some types are always just a bit more difficult to nail. By steering clear of common mistakes and focusing on clarity, consistency, and quality, UK brands can proceed to optimising social media visual content for better engagement. Whether you’re experimenting with video, infographics, or Stories, keep in mind that each piece of content should reflect your brand identity and connect meaningfully with your audience. With this, coupled with the right methodologies and a commitment to continuous improvement, your brand can be that shining star on social media, with a clearly devoted following.