Ever login to Facebook or Twitter only to stare at the screen wondering what you’re going to say? Stare no more! A healthy mix of tweets and posts will appeal to the many personalities of your audience and showcase your ability to share your message in a variety of relevant ways. Here are seven types of creative social media updates that will help you get out of the same old “what we had for lunch” routine.

1. Host a caption contest.

Post or tweet a photo of your company in action or a recipe snapshot that makes your audience want to take a bite out of the computer screen! Then, ask your fans or followers to caption it for some virtual praise. To really spice it up, offer to ship some of your product to the fan or follower with the best answer.

2. Create your own meme.

A meme, or an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture, is a great way to be trendy but still share a unique message. Plus, memes are funny and humor travels a long way. You can make your meme using quickmeme.com.

3. Ask trivia questions.

Social media can help you learn a lot about your audience, but it can also help you teach your audience what they need to know about your company.

4. Tell a joke.

Again, don’t underestimate the power of humor. Try telling a short one-liner joke. Either tell the whole joke and ask your audience to “Like” or retweet it if they thought it was funny, or tell part of it and let your audience guess the answer.

5. Share someone else’s idea and give them credit.

Whether it’s a blogger’s recipe that uses your products or a craft idea from Pinterest, post about a piece of content that was published by someone else. Give them due credit by tagging them. They’ll appreciate the social media love and it’s a great way to practice infiltration – or reaching out and involving others in conversation.

6. Start a sentence and let your fans finish it or prompt them on a topic.

Your audience will feel appreciated when you let them share their input. Keep the topic relevant by asking about their favorite products and ways to use them or by asking about a current event. Enhance the visual appeal of your post by adding a photo to your text. 

7. Take a poll.

What do you want to know about your audience? Trying to decide which product is more popular? Ask your fans and followers! Send out a link to your survey on SurveyMonkey or collect answers directly on Facebook or Twitter.

Adapt these ideas to fit your brand and meet the preferences of your audience, whether they’re on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Linkedin. And remember, updates with photos garner more engagement than those without photos. Don’t hesitate to branch out and come up with other creative ways to make an update. You’ll stand out in a stream of dreary and monotonous updates and your audience will appreciate your personality!

What kinds of social media posts have worked for you so far? Got a creative idea already? Share it in a comment below!