How startups can produce social content that actually resonates

Social media can be a great tool for startups to gain visibility and garner a following among investors and customers, but coming up with a winning strategy may seem like a daunting task.

Each platform mandates a different strategy and comes with its own set of guidelines. More importantly, each draws an audience specific to that channel. Content that wins on Twitter may not be as successful on Instagram or TikTok.

Social media can be a hard place for startups operating with lean teams and resources. Even so, Redpoint head of content Rashad Assir thinks the potential rewards make it totally worth the grind.

At TechCrunch’s Early Stage conference last week, Assir and Redpoint partner Josh Machiz said that the key to making content that will resonate on social media is making posts that feel authentic and target a niche audience.

“I think the audience, especially the younger audience, has grown really allergic to promotional content,” Assir said. “Really just focus on tangential areas where you can educate your audience about things in your space. Or if you can pull off being entertaining, funny, a little edgy and find that balance, that can be super impactful for standing out and breaking through the noise.”

Assir added that being authentic can also mean being less polished: he encouraged startups to not spend too much time tinkering or trying to make content perfect. If you have a good idea, just post it.

Machiz said that not putting too much emphasis on the planning and perfecting gives companies more time to experiment with different content and find what actually resonates with users. He knows this from experience: Redpoint spent time and resources on a long video series only to find that it was all a waste when the first installment flopped.

“What we’ve really learned here is, it’s much better to get it out the door, ship it — similar to a startup — and actually just see if it’s hitting, because if you get the inclination that it’s hitting, then you can invest more into it,” Machiz said.

While it might seem counterintuitive, producing content for a niche audience will always work better than trying to grab as many eyeballs as possible.

Both Assir and Machiz stressed that it doesn’t matter if a more generic post goes viral: If those views aren’t from users who will actually interact with the product or become potential customers or investors down the line, what’s the point?

“Try to find and narrow your focus and use the jargon that your constituents would use,” Assir said. “Even if you’re going to lose some people that don’t understand it, you’ll resonate more with the people that do care.”