The potential reach of social media is massive. At 3 billion+ active users worldwide, it is unparalleled by any other medium out there.
Add to it the advantage of analysing results and data-backed A/B testing, and social media becomes one of the most powerful marketing mediums out there.
Its potential and popularity also means that social media can be a crowded place.Every minute, almost 50,000 photos are uploaded on Instagram.
Given the din, as a brand, it is crucial to understand what kind of content resonates most with netizens.
In no particular order, here are 5 types of social media content that fetch sizeable engagement and can help you with social media optimisation.

Memes
Memes offer comedic relief from the everyday mundane. According to Google, “Memes” are giving “Jesus” a run for its money when it comes to popularity.
A quick look at the Instagram feed of several popular brands shows that memes fetch better engagement rates than other kinds of photos.

Gifs
According to a 2016 finding, tweets with GIFs fetched upto 5 times more retweets and likes than other kinds of tweets. GIFs can also help with brand recall value, since they are popular with millennials in mobile messaging.
A GIF can be used for comic relief, just like a meme. However, it can go beyond that. Consider InVision’s Instagram strategy, for instance.

User Generated Content
The engagement rate of user-generated content is almost 30% higher than content pushed by brands. In fact, more than 80% buyers trust their peers when it comes to recommendations than other forms of advertising.
The rise of influencer marketing over the last couple of years is a natural extension of user-generated content.

Live videos
Internet users spend 33% of their time online watching videos. That’s a substantial chunk of their time on the internet.
But what is even better than including video in your social media marketing strategy? Live videos. Ever since the advent of Facebook Live in 2015, the format has been popular among marketers.