Whether you're a new business owner with fresh social accounts or you're a veteran content creator, all social media marketers will eventually face the same challenge: Coming up with new social media post ideas.
Sometimes post ideas come to you in a lightbulb moment. Other times, you have a clear campaign strategy with defined post content. But once in a while, the gears simply stop churning. You're stuck staring at next month's blank calendar and you've probably already lost considerable time scrolling TikTok "for inspiration." Take a deep breath — you can turn this ship around.
In this post, we’ll share steps for developing your own social media post ideas and help you create your posting schedule. Plus, we'll give you 30 days of content ideas that you can pack into a single month — and keep reusing for many months to come.
Let’s jump right in.
How to come up with social media post ideas in 4 steps
The method you are about to learn will teach you how to generate an endless supply of social media post ideas. You can use this method to create content updates starting today and use it over and over again to develop post ideas far into the future. Whatever works for your social media content cycle!
To use this method most effectively, we recommend you keep your publishing cycles short — a maximum of four to six weeks — and use data collected from your monthly or quarterly social media audits to make frequent adjustments.
Step 1: Determine your cornerstone brand dates
In this first step, we are going to create your cornerstone content.
These are the most important dates for your brand over the coming cycle when you'll be able to see the most return on investment.
These dates could be in the form of:
- Product launches
- Product updates
- Company events (or events you sponsor)
- Company milestones
- Conferences
We start with this type of content because it's time-bound and easy to create original content around.
You can create one-off updates for standalone events to make your audience aware. But if it's a particularly important brand event, like a big product launch, use the date to anchor content before and after the important event.
Karhu uses major brand events to anchor the rest of its social media updates. Take the Venice marathon, for example, which they sponsored.
On the day of the marathon, they have a one-off update with a warm message to everyone participating in the race:
When you look closer at their feed, you can see that the updates surrounding this event are all relevant, too.
In the build-up to the race Karhu talks about limited edition products that are relevant to the upcoming race. After the race, the brand shares a few extra updates talking about where you can find their products, and specific Karhu shoes it recommends for racing:
They also employ this strategy with their product launches.
Their usual posting schedule focuses on their product launches — in this case, a new line of shoes — which anchor several social media posts in the months and weeks afterward:
Take some time to sit down with your company’s official calendar, or members of different departments, to find out about upcoming dates that you can work with.
Then, create your first round of posts around those events.
Step 2: Look for relevant holidays
In the last step you looked internally to determine important brand dates and identify content ideas around those dates. In this step, you'll look externally at upcoming dates in everyone’s calendar.
This includes:
- "Official" holidays like public or religious holidays, or widely celebrated holidays like Valentine's Day
- Worldwide events
- Local and regional events (for locally based businesses)
- Sporting events (like the Super Bowl or the World Cup Final)
- "Unofficial" holidays, like National Pizza Day or International Ninja Day
You can find all the important official and unofficial holidays listed in our social media holidays list (which we update every year).
For sporting events, look for a global sporting events calendar, or search for more regional calendars related to your brand location. If you're operating a local small business, be sure to sign up for events calendars for your city or region. Your local Small Business Development Center and/or your local tourism board should have all the connections you need to track important events, festivals, and fairs happening around you.
The key to this step is to look carefully for dates that are relevant to your brand. They should make sense to your audience and strengthen your brand identity instead of distracting from it.
Dunkin' celebrated National Donut Day by announcing a fun collab with cleaning brand Scrub Daddy
Let’s say you're brainstorming social media post ideas for a coffee shop to publish in January. Here are some obvious and not-so-obvious holidays that could complement the business:
- January 1st — National Hangover Day: "Struggling to get through National Hangover Day? We're offering 30% off espresso to give you the push you need!"
- January 6th — National Bean Day: "Celebrate National Bean Day with the only bean that matters — coffee."
- January 26th — National Spouses Day: "Remember to take 10 minutes for you and your partner this National Spouses Day. Even better, do it with a coffee."
These simple and quick ideas can help you fill your social media posting schedule and keep your accounts steadily publishing content.
Before moving to the next step, go through the social media holidays list and find a few that are relevant to you and your brand. Then add them to your list of social media post ideas.
Step 3: Repurpose your long-form content
If you're using social media to market your brand, there's a good chance you're also creating other types of content, like:
- Blog posts
- Podcasts
- YouTube videos
- Data-driven reports and infographics
Older sources of information will tell you to simply promote these pieces of content on social media by including a link in your posts. This is outdated advice. Most social media platforms will actively reduce the reach of a post containing external links. These platforms want to keep users on their platform, not send them away!
This doesn't mean these long-form content pieces are useless on social media; they could actually become your most valuable asset when it comes to creation. Why? Because they're full of high-value educational content that you can remix and repurpose hundreds of times. Here's the super simple process:
- Take your long-form content
- Break it down into smaller pieces of social-media friendly content
- Share it on the correct platform
We repurposed our article about Reddit ads into a social-first LinkedIn post for our VP Marketing
The key is to create social-first content: content that users can consume without clicking away from the platform. Instead of teasing a headline or sharing a summary, you need to feed them a good chunk of the content so they can see the value upfront. It's still OK to encourage link clicks to the content itself, but this social-first method will increase the reach of your content and satisfy the habits of modern social media users.
For example, let's imagine how a single piece of cornerstone long-form content can inspire multiple social media posts throughout the calendar year. Say a sneaker brand publishes a blog post called "5 Things to Look for in a New Pair of Sneakers." Here are a few ways to remix that content for social media:
- Invert the information and create a graphic carousel with the hook "5 signs it's time to retire your sneakers."
- Go behind the scenes and ask your coworkers to show off their newest sneakers, and why they chose them.
- Poll your audience and test their knowledge about the indicators of a good pair of sneakers.
- Make a reel or TikTok that teases just a portion of the list, with a hook like, "Your new sneakers should hit these five criteria."
Here are a few more ways you can remix long-form content:
- YouTube video: Create a trailer for Facebook
- Blog post: Create a Thread covering the key points
- Podcast episode: Create a 30-second sound bite for a reel
- Live Q&A: Turn each answer into a standalone video
If you make this a regular step in your post ideation process, we recommend adding someone from your content team to your social media workflow. This way, you can put in creative requests for graphics or video edits while they're developing content. Plus, they'll keep you in the loop about upcoming content so you can plan posts around their publication schedule.
Step 4: Fill in the gaps with evergreen post ideas
The final stage of this process is to fill in the remaining slots with original content ideas for your brand. This is where you'll want to tap into your social media strategy so you can filter post ideas through the value pillars and content pillars you've defined for your brand.
- Value pillars represent the value you bring to your audience via your content, such as education or inspiration. Focus on areas that resonate with your audience and align with your brand’s mission.
- Content pillars are specific topics or types of content within each value pillar. They provide a framework for organizing and diversifying your content.
Even with solid social media pillars in place, sometimes it's impossible to get into a brainstorming flow. That's why we created the Social Media Post Ideas Guide, featuring 30 social media post ideas that you can replicate in thousands of ways to fill your social media calendar.
Download the Social Media Post Ideas Guide
The ideas are organized into major categories that cover the most common value and content pillars for brands:
- Educational post ideas: Educational content is all about sharing useful insights and tips that help your audience learn and grow. Think practical advice, industry hacks, and answers to common questions.
- Inspirational post ideas: Inspirational content is designed to uplift and motivate your audience. This could be success stories, motivational quotes, or fun challenges.
- Customer story post ideas: Customer stories bring your brand to life through real experiences from your clients and customers. This might include testimonials, case studies, or before-and-after transformations.
- Behind-the-scenes post ideas: Behind-the-scenes content gives your audience a peek into what’s happening behind the curtain, such as day-to-day operations, the creative process, or team activities.
- User-generated post ideas: User-generated content features posts and creations from your audience, like reviews or creative shout-outs about your brand.
Each idea also includes suggested channels and post formats to try out, and some ideas feature additional tips and hooks to use in your voice-overs or captions.
This guide is built as an evergreen brainstorming resource — something you can come back to over and over again for post inspiration. Every idea is specific enough to use as is, but general enough to inspire different approaches. When you come at the 30 ideas from new angles, you'll have endless ideas on your hands.
Keep reading for some of the cornerstone ideas from the list of 30, then download your free copy of the guide to get access to all of the ideas in an easy PDF format that you can save to your desktop for your next brainstorming session.
Social media post ideas (30+ days of content!)
Here are 10 social media post ideas you can use right off the bat. Get all 30 ideas in our free Social Media Post Ideas Guide.
1. Productivity hacks
Productivity is something we all have in common — everyone has some kind of daily to-do list. Share a hack that helps your audience tackle their tasks, whether it’s an unusual morning routine, a new time management technique, or a team activity like mid-day stretches.
Hooks:
- "This hack has saved me [X time] since I started using it…"
- "Here’s a hack that should be common knowledge but nobody knows…"
Channels: Instagram, LinkedIn
Formats: Video
2. Day in the life
Day in the life posts let your audience see the personal side of your brand. Record your own day or feature employees in a takeover. Share everyday moments — like grabbing coffee or spending time with pets — to humanize your brand and build a genuine connection with your audience.
Channels: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts
Formats: Video
3. News update
If your audience is interested in your brand, it’s safe to assume they’re interested in the industry you work within. Position yourself as an authority by sharing industry news when it hits. Consider creating infographics to share industry-specific stats.
Tip: This is a great post for LinkedIn especially. Add your own perspective instead of just echoing the facts or data points. You can also encourage conversation on Threads or Twitter by sharing a unique take.
Channels: LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Threads
Formats: Text
4. Repost
Your audience is full of people who create their own incredible content on social media — sometimes featuring your product or service! Take a moment to check out their work and share relevant content with your audience. This is a beautiful way to lift up your community and encourage goodwill for your brand. Just be sure to ask for permission first!
Channels: Any
Formats: Any
5. Supercut
If you create short-form video for your brand, you probably have a huge library full of clips. Take advantage of all that content by creating a dynamic supercut with inspirational trending audio. Look for epic songs, iconic speeches or soundbites, or create your own audio with a story about overcoming challenges.
Tip: If you use a trending audio, look for a template that matches the cuts to the music. All you have to do is insert your clips!
Channels: Instagram, Facebook
Formats: Video
6. Sneak peek
Give your audience an exclusive behind-the-scenes look to build anticipation for your next product or service launch. Share photos or videos showcasing the development process, design elements, or team preparations. This sneak peek not only generates buzz but also creates a sense of involvement and excitement among your followers.
Tip: Highlight unique aspects or challenges to engage your audience and make them feel like they’re part of the journey.
Channels: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube shorts, LinkedIn video
Formats: Photo, video
7. Do's and don'ts
Every industry comes with good and bad habits. Brainstorm a list of habits related to your industry and share them with your audience. Don’t forget to take the time to explain why those habits are good or bad — this is valuable information!
Hooks:
- "When I stopped doing [X] and started doing [X], I saw this result..."
- "[X] good habits you can implement in a week..."
- "PSA for those still doing this..."
Channels: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn
Formats: Carousel, video, text
8. Case study
Case studies are a great way to educate your audience about your brand and share the success stories of clients who have partnered with you. If you have case studies to promote, post about them and provide a link to the study.
You don’t need to invest in a formal case study to use this idea. Simply tell a story about how you helped a client achieve their desired results. This works especially well if you can feature before and after results like data or visuals that show the positive change.
Tip: Case studies usually follow a format of problem → challenge → solution. If you frame any customer story in this light, you have enough for case study! Check out our customizable, free case study template to get started.
Channels: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram highlights
Formats: Video, carousel
9. Go live
Plan to go live with exciting news or schedule an AMA (ask me anything) in your content calendar. This encourages real-time interaction as your audience sends comments and questions for you to address, keeping them engaged and connected.
Tip: Save the footage of your live to cut into clips and repurpose for future content.
Channels: Instagram, TikTok
Formats: Live
10. Toolkit
Whether it’s software, hardware, equipment, or deep-breathing techniques — anything you regularly implement in your personal life or business could be considered a tool. Now share your favorites with your audience!
Put a spin on your favorites list with a unique premise like "what’s in my bag," "things I can’t leave home without," or "the one thing I would bring to a deserted island."
Tip: Share your “empties” — tools or software you’ve used up and repurchased. People want to know what you keep coming back to, whether it's an old favorite, a tried-and-true tool, or a surprising new essential.
Channels: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn
Formats: Video, story, carousel
Never run out of post ideas
Let's recap the key steps for generating post ideas and filling in your social media calendar:
- Add your most important brand dates first: These are your brand events and product launches or updates your audience needs to know about. You'll create promotional content before and after these key dates.
- Look for relevant holidays: Plan for major official holidays, and find some fun "unofficial" holidays that give you unique ways to connect with your audience.
- Repurpose your long-form content: Share your most valuable pieces — like blog posts and podcasts — by creating social-first content.
- Fill in the gaps: Use the evergreen topics and formats listed in your downloadable guide to generate non-stop post ideas that make up the majority of your calendar.
Now you have a system in place to generate high-quality social media post ideas with much less effort and without any writer’s block. Your next task is to create your social media calendar and define a workflow for moving content from ideation to production to publishing. Our guide to creating a social media calendar is a great place to start.
