The biggest mistake that markets make is overselling. While the temptation to do so is understandable, people are generally turned-off by advertisements and promotional material.

Thus, whatever you do, DO NOT go on and on about your brand. Promote it explicitly in a fraction of the materials uploaded to your website, emails, and social media posts. The exact ratio of marketing to non-marketing material is subject to trial and error, but you can start experimenting with the 80/20 rule:  Devote 80 percent of your attention to content not directly related to the brand and 20 percent to direct promotion.

For the main bulk of your content stream, according to Ben Givon the challenge is to create/share content that is interesting, attractive to your audience, and relevant to your brand but not explicitly promoting it. What makes for highly engaging and interesting content?

1. News, trends, and current events.

Topics that dominate the news cycle tend to naturally garner attention. Look out for trending topics that relate in some way to the product/ service you offer. With very little effort, you might share a news article and make this implicit connection through a witty or reflective post line. With some more effort, create original content that reacts to the news (e.g., by publishing interviews with your clients detailing their thoughts about the story).  

2. Helpful and informative.

It’s hard to miss with content that provides valuable and relevant information to your audiences, especially if it taps into circumstances that are familiar to many. For example, several articles and podcasts have been recently exploring research about the downsides of open space working environments. If you are a furniture manufacturer, contractor, or interior designer – that would be a great type of content to share, and an excellent starting point for content to create (e.g., by creating a poll asking your social media followers for their opinions).

3. Counter intuitive.

Content that disproves a theory or contradicts common wisdom tends to provoke interest . For example, the open space articles mentioned above contradict common wisdom about the benefits of casual interaction that have been hailed for a long time by prominent corporations like Google and Facebook.

4. Curated lists.

Lists like “top vacation spots for families that are off the beaten track”, “the best podcasts on personal finance” are both highly engaging and typically easy to create in a manner that corresponds with your brand.

5. Human stories.

As Ben Givon always says, people love a good story, and they love to see a face they can relate to. The story format is also very useful if you want to showcase and give credit to your network (e.g., by featuring stories from your top costumers/followers, collaborators and experts in your field). For example, a fashion designer may launch a Facebook or twitter thread asking followers to pitch in their most embarrassing outfit fails (maybe reacting to a publicized fashion incident, like Melania’ Trumps I really don’t care jacket thus connecting to point 1 above?). Top comments can be later developed into posts dedicated to the stories of customers and followers.