How to Create Engaging Social Media Content That Actually Connects

"We don't have time for social media."

It's the most common objection business owners raise when discussing their marketing strategy. Between managing operations, serving customers, and keeping the books balanced, creating content for Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok can feel like just another overwhelming task on an already impossible to-do list.

But here's the thing: social media content creation is simpler than you think.

That's the perspective from Alannah, SEO Team Leader and Content Strategist at Websites that Sell, who recently shared her insights on creating engaging social media content. Her refreshing take? Sometimes the simpler, the better. In a world saturated with perfectly curated feeds and AI-generated content, authenticity has become the currency that matters most.

This guide cuts through the noise to share what actually works for local businesses and brands trying to build genuine connections online, without the overwhelm.

Why Engagement Trumps Follower Count in 2025

Let's get one thing straight: having 100,000 followers means nothing if they're not your people.

"I would rather have a hundred engaged, locked-in viewers from my own target audience than a thousand people who are just looking for fun," Alannah explains. This isn't just a feel-good philosophy. It's a strategic business decision rooted in how social media actually drives results.

Engagement represents real connection. When someone takes time to comment, share, or save your content, they're signalling genuine interest. These are the people who will become customers, advocates, and repeat buyers. They're the ones who will tell their friends about you, leave reviews, and come back again and again.

Branding is the Future

Looking ahead, Alannah points to an even more critical reason to focus on engagement: "There is going to come a time where if you don't have a strong brand and you don't have a presence online, you simply will stop showing up in things like LLMs (large language models), AI and Google search."

Trust factors from your brand need to be established now. As AI systems increasingly curate what people see, brands with strong engagement signals, authentic presence, and genuine community connections will be prioritised. Those chasing vanity metrics will be left behind.

The metrics that matter aren't followers or reach. They're saves, shares, meaningful comments, and the quality of conversations happening around your content.

Know Your Audience (Not What You Think They Want)

Here's where most businesses go wrong: they create content they think is good, rather than content their audience actually needs.

"Really think about what your audience needs and what they want," Alannah advises. "Don't just publish what you think is good. You might actually need to get onto the phone and call some of your customers."

The Phone Call Approach

This might sound old-fashioned, but it's gold. Pick up the phone. Message customers. Put up polls. Ask questions. Find out what they want to know and what they need to know so you can share truly useful content.

This direct approach reveals the real pain points, questions, and interests your audience has. It cuts through assumptions and gives you the raw material for content that genuinely resonates.

For example, if you're a trades business, your customers might not care about your new equipment purchase. But they might desperately want to know how to spot cowboy tradespeople, what questions to ask before hiring, or how to maintain their systems between professional services.

Creating Content That Serves

"I just love being able to bring the best out of a business through their content and use it strategically to reach people that they want to reach that are actually going to convert and become their dream customer," Alannah shares.

This is the heart of effective social media strategy: understanding what makes your business unique and translating that into content that serves your audience's genuine needs. When you nail this intersection, engagement follows naturally.

Raw and Real Beats Perfect and Polished

If there's one lesson Alannah learned the hard way, it's this: perfection is overrated.

"As a young marketer, I actually fell into the trap of needing a perfectly polished grid. Hours spent on making graphics to make the eight posts that show or the six posts that show perfectly cohesive and beautiful to just fall absolutely nowhere."

Why Authenticity Wins Now

"People are absolutely crying out for raw and real content these days," Alannah explains. "We're constantly seeing people go absolutely viral just for literally sharing what they're doing on the job site or talking about what they did that day."

This isn't content that required hours of planning or professional photography. It's someone holding up their phone, showing their work, and being authentic about their day.

Why does this work? Connection. In a world where AI can generate perfect images and videos that look too good to be real, people are craving proof that you're human. They want to see the personality behind the brand. They want to feel something.

"If I don't feel the heart of the company through social media, then I just won't look at it," is the litmus test. Can your audience feel who you are through your content?

The German Mother's Cheesecake Principle

Here's a perfect analogy: You could go to a big, beautiful cheesecake factory with pristine displays and professionally designed packaging. The experience looks perfect, but the taste is mediocre and forgettable.

Or you could visit a German mother's kitchen. It's not fancy. There's no branding. But she's making cheesecake from the heart, and you can taste the difference. You'll remember that experience. You'll tell people about it. You'll become an advocate.

The same applies to your social media content. Authenticity, personality, and genuine connection create memorable experiences that polished perfection simply cannot replicate.

Trust Factors in an AI World

Looking to the future, this becomes even more critical. "We have videos now that you really have to look deep into the background to even be able to tell that it's AI," Alannah notes. "But if your audience doesn't have to go through that mental battle, if they can trust their own eyes with you and they can believe you, and at this stage we can't really fake live streaming, you know, if it's live, it's live."

Raw, real, authentic content isn't just more engaging. It's becoming essential for building trust in an increasingly artificial digital landscape.

The Content Creation Trap: Common Misunderstandings

Let's talk about what's not working and why so many businesses waste time on social media without seeing results.

The Perfect Graphics Trap

"I think there's a stock standard kind of polished content idea that people have," Alannah observes. "And they can spend hours and hours making the perfect graphic for it to go absolutely nowhere."

Those Canva templates? The perfectly coordinated colour schemes? The professionally designed graphics? They're not inherently bad, but if you're spending more time making things look perfect than you are actually connecting with your audience, you're missing the point.

The Scheduling-Only Approach

Here's another trap: "Companies can fall into the trap of just scheduling. So they only use a scheduling tool to post these perfect graphics, never actually getting into the platform. So never actually jumping on Instagram, Meta, TikTok, and engaging with their audience, posting spontaneous things."

Social media is called social for a reason. If you're only broadcasting and never engaging, you're essentially running a one-way television ad, not building a community. The power of social media lies in the conversation, not the broadcast.

Finding Your Unique Marketable Edge

Here's the good news: "Every single person has something unique about them. Every single person is marketable. You need to find what that is about you and what that is about your business."

What sets you apart? Maybe you're:

• A bit awkward (that's endearing and relatable)
• Funny (humour is incredibly shareable)
• Obsessed with a particular hobby
• Known for blue hair or a unique style
• A technical expert who can simplify complex topics
• A storyteller who makes ordinary work interesting

"Really lean into that and don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd," Alannah encourages. "Your audience will connect with that, especially if you're targeting your audience in the right way."'"Really lean into that and don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd," Alannah encourages. "Your audience will connect with that, especially if you're targeting your audience in the right way."

Building Your Social Media Content Strategy

Strategy doesn't have to be complicated. At its core, it's about making intentional decisions that serve your business goals and audience needs.

Start with Audience Needs Assessment

Before you post anything, ask yourself:

• What problems does my audience have that I can help solve?
• What questions do they repeatedly ask?
• What misconceptions exist about my industry?
• What would genuinely be useful to them right now?

Create a list. Call customers. Review your most common inquiries. This research becomes your content goldmine.

Balance: Promotional vs. Value-Based Content

"I think this comes right back to your marketing funnel and how you're actually planning your marketing strategy," Alannah explains. "I would hope that you're planning promotions and sales when people need them the most."

Consider this example: "If it's winter and you're a landscaper, you're offering a winter maintenance program. That benefits you because it keeps your books going, but also benefits your customer because they're getting through the winter with their lawns."

When you're thinking about what your audience needs more than what would benefit you, promotion becomes natural and welcome rather than pushy and salesy. The content flows authentically because it genuinely serves both parties.

"If you kind of put them at the forefront of your decision making from the very start of your marketing stack, it will flow through with your promotions," Alannah notes.

Connection Over Everything

If there's one word that sums up Alannah's entire philosophy, it's this: connection.

How do you grow your audience organically without paid ads? "Connection, connection, connection."

How do you create content that feels authentic? "Really lean into who you are when it comes to your brand, and the content that follows will be authentically you."

What's the future of social media? "Moving more into live streaming and just any kind of trust factors that make people trust you. Connection, I think, is key."

Every strategic decision should come back to this question: Does this help me connect more authentically with my audience?

Develop a Social Media Content Plan

Now let's get tactical. You understand the philosophy, but how do you actually create content that performs?

How to Go Viral (But Should You Even Try?)

Let's address the elephant in the room: virality.

Going viral sounds amazing. Millions of views, thousands of new followers, instant fame. But here's what most people don't realise: "Stuff that you would never strategise, honestly, but it works, and it's because people love being able to connect."

Viral content is often:

• Unplanned and spontaneous
• Timing-dependent (catching a moment or trend)
• Simple and relatable
• Emotionally resonant

"Don't overcomplicate it, just keep it simple," Alannah advises. "Sometimes the simpler, the better."

But here's the more important question: Do you need to go viral to be successful? Probably not. Building a loyal, engaged audience of the right people matters far more than chasing viral moments that bring in viewers who'll never become customers.

Focus on consistency and connection. Viral moments might happen as a byproduct, but they shouldn't be the goal.

Build the Perfect Post

Let's break down the components of an effective social media post. While there's no universal formula, these elements work together to create engaging content.

Captions and Headlines

Your caption is where personality shines and connection happens. This is your opportunity to tell a story, share insights, ask questions, and invite conversation.

Start strong. The first line needs to hook attention and make people want to read more. In Instagram, only the first 125 characters show before "more," so make them count.

Lead with value. What's in it for your audience? Why should they care? Answer that question quickly.

Tips and Best Practices for Captions

Keep it conversational and real. Write like you talk. Imagine you're explaining this to a friend over coffee, not writing a corporate press release. Use contractions. Ask rhetorical questions. Let your personality show.

Tell stories that connect. People remember stories far better than facts. Instead of "We completed a kitchen renovation this week," try "The homeowner cried when she saw her new kitchen. After 15 years of cooking in a space she hated, watching her run her hands over the new countertops made every challenge worth it."

Avoid overly salesy language. If every caption reads like an advertisement, people will tune out. The 80/20 rule works well: 80% value, education, entertainment, or inspiration, and 20% promotional content.

Break up text. Use line breaks and spacing to make captions scannable. Nobody wants to read a wall of text on their phone.

Hook, story, call to action. This simple structure works: Start with a hook that grabs attention, tell a story or share value in the middle, and end with a question or call to action that encourages engagement.

Special Characters and Emoji

Special characters (like bullets •, arrows →, or symbols ★) and emoji add visual interest to text-heavy captions. They help break up information and make captions more scannable.

Use them strategically to:

• Create visual lists or bullet points
• Draw attention to key information
• Add personality and tone
• Separate sections within longer captions

But don't overdo it. If every other word has an emoji, it becomes noise rather than enhancement.

Tips and Best Practices for Emojis

Emoji can add warmth and personality to your brand voice. They're particularly effective on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, less so on LinkedIn (depending on your industry).

Match your brand personality. A corporate law firm might use emoji sparingly or not at all. A children's boutique might use them liberally. Stay authentic to who you are.

Use them to convey tone. Emoji help clarify tone in text communication where body language and vocal inflection are absent. A simple 😊 can make a request feel friendly rather than demanding.

Consider your audience demographics. Different age groups and cultures interpret emoji differently. What seems friendly to one audience might seem unprofessional to another.

Test and observe. Pay attention to which posts with emoji perform better or worse with your specific audience, and adjust accordingly.

Calls to Action

Every post should invite some form of engagement, even if it's subtle.

Strong calls to action:

• Ask a specific question that's easy to answer
• Invite people to share their experience
• Direct people to check your stories for more
• Encourage saves for future reference
• Request tags for people who'd find value

"Check my story" often performs better than "link in bio" because it requires less effort and creates a more immediate interaction within the platform.

Avoid generic CTAs like "double-tap if you agree." These feel hollow and don't create meaningful engagement. Instead, ask questions that invite real conversation.

Mentions. Tagging and mentioning other accounts serves multiple purposes:

Build community. Mention suppliers, partners, or complementary businesses. Social media thrives on networks, and building genuine relationships with other accounts expands your reach organically.

Give credit. Always tag when sharing someone else's work or featuring their products. It's not just polite; it often results in them sharing your content to their audience.

Encourage user-generated content. When customers tag you, engage with and share their content (with permission). This builds loyalty and provides authentic social proof.

Collaborate strategically. Partner with accounts that share your audience but aren't direct competitors for takeovers, joint content, or cross-promotion.

Hashtags

Hashtags remain a discovery tool, though their importance varies by platform.

Do your research. Use hashtags your target audience actually follows, not just the ones with millions of posts where your content will be instantly buried.

Mix sizes. Include a combination of large hashtags (100K+ posts), medium (10K-100K), and small niche hashtags (under 10K) to balance reach with relevance.

Keep them relevant. Every hashtag should directly relate to your content and industry. Avoid the temptation to use trending hashtags that have nothing to do with your business.

Platform-specific approach. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags and they can drive discovery. LinkedIn works better with 3-5 strategic hashtags. Twitter (X) favors 1-2. TikTok uses different rules where sounds matter more than hashtags.

Create a branded hashtag. Develop a unique hashtag for your business that customers can use to share their experiences. This helps aggregate user-generated content and builds community.

Visuals

Visual content is non-negotiable on social media. But as we've established, it doesn't need to be perfect.

Authenticity over perfection. Behind-the-scenes photos, work-in-progress shots, and candid moments often outperform professional photography because they feel real.

Consistency in visual identity. While you don't need a perfectly curated grid, maintaining some visual consistency helps with brand recognition. This might mean:

• Using similar filters or editing styles
• Consistent colour palette (naturally, not forced)
• Recognisable framing or composition
• Repeated visual elements (your face, your workspace, your products)

Show, don't just tell. If you're a tradie, show the transformation. If you're a cafe, show the latte art being created. If you're a consultant, show your process. Visual storytelling beats static product shots.

Face content performs. People connect with people. Content featuring faces (especially your face) typically generates more engagement than content without.

Apply the German mother's cheesecake principle. Your visuals should reflect the heart of your company. Overly styled, stock-photo perfection can actually turn people off. Raw, authentic visuals that show who you really are create deeper connections.

Video is king. Across all platforms, video content (especially short-form video) receives preferential treatment in algorithms. It doesn't need to be produced. A simple, authentic video filmed on your phone often outperforms static images.

The Future of Social Media Content (2-3 Years Out)

Understanding where social media is heading helps you prepare today rather than scramble to adapt later.

Live Streaming and Trust Factors

"I actually think we're moving more into live streaming," Alannah predicts. "And I know that probably half the people watching this will freak out at that point."

The reason? Trust. As AI-generated content becomes increasingly sophisticated and indistinguishable from real content, live streaming offers proof of authenticity that can't be faked.

"We have videos now that you really have to look deep into the background to even be able to tell that it's AI. You'll see one finger that's weird, and you're like, that's AI. But if your audience doesn't have to go through that mental battle, if they can trust their own eyes with you and they can believe you, and at this stage we can't really fake live streaming, you know, if it's live, it's live."

Long-Form Video Content

Short-form video isn't going anywhere, but long-form content is making a comeback. Platforms are prioritising content that keeps people engaged for longer periods. YouTube continues to dominate for search and long-term content value.

For business owners, this means considering how you can create longer, more in-depth content that showcases your expertise and builds deeper connections with your audience.

"How Can You Prove You're Real?"

This will become the central question of social media strategy. As Alannah puts it: "Moving more into live streaming long form videos and just any kind of trust factors that make people trust you. They see that you're a real human, you have flaws and you have unique identity."

Preparing Today: Connection is Key

How do you prepare for this future? "People can prepare for that by connecting with their audience. Connection I think is key."

Start building genuine relationships now. Show up as your authentic self. Engage in real conversations. Create content that proves you're human with a real business serving real people with real expertise.

When the landscape shifts, those authentic connections will carry you through.

Your Content Action Plan

Let's bring this all together with actionable steps you can implement immediately.

The Quick-Fire Checklist

Before you create any content, ask:

• Does this serve my audience's needs?
• Am I being authentically me?
• Is this simple enough or am I overcomplicating it?
• Would I engage with this content if I saw it?
• Does this showcase the heart of my company?

For each post, ensure:

• A strong hook in the first line
• A clear value proposition (why should they care?)
• Your unique voice and personality
• An invitation to engage
• Appropriate visual elements
• Relevant hashtags (if applicable)

Weekly strategy check:

• Am I actually engaging on the platform or just scheduling?
• Have I connected with my audience through comments or DMs?
• Am I tracking engagement, not just follower count?
• Have I posted something spontaneous and raw this week?
• Am I balancing promotional and value-based content?

Remember the Core Principles

1. Engagement over everything. A hundred engaged followers beats thousands of uninterested ones every time.
2. Raw and real wins. Stop chasing perfection and start showing your authentic self.
3. Connection is the strategy. Every decision should come back to: Does this help me connect with my people?
4. Simplicity works. Don't overcomplicate content creation. Sometimes the simplest content performs best.
5. Know your audience. Pick up the phone. Ask questions. Create content for them, not for you.

Find Your Edge

We all have a marketable edge that makes us stand out. Find yours, and your people will find you.

This is the heart of it all. You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to go viral. You don't need thousands of followers.

You need to be authentically, unapologetically yourself. You need to serve your audience with content that genuinely helps them. You need to show up consistently and connect genuinely.

If you're a bit awkward, lean into it. If you're funny, let it show. If you have blue hair, rock it. If you're passionate about your craft, let that enthusiasm shine through every piece of content you create.

When you do this, you'll attract the right people. The ones who will become loyal customers, enthusiastic advocates, and genuine fans of your business.

Social media doesn't have to be overwhelming or time-consuming. It has to be authentic, strategic, and focused on connection.

Now stop reading and start creating. Your people are waiting to find you.