Top tips for creating engaging content on personal social media

Creating engaging content for personal social media can be a challenge in today’s fast-paced online world. This article presents top tips gathered from experts in the field to help you stand out and connect with your audience. From crafting memorable posts to sharing authentic stories, these strategies will enhance your social media presence and foster meaningful interactions.

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  • Create Memorable Content
  • Use Humor to Connect
  • Share Your Unique Perspective
  • Learn from Professional Failures
  • Tell Small, Relatable Stories
  • Be Authentically Imperfect
  • Merge Personal and Professional Identities
  • Show Up as Yourself with Intention
  • Write for One Person
  • Share Real Personal Stories
  • Take a Clear Stance
  • Be Blunt and Memorable
  • Ask Engaging Questions
  • Share Insider Tips
  • Provide Easy-to-Follow Information
  • Personalize Trending Content
  • Focus on Genuine Storytelling
  • Start Relatable, End Surprising

Create Memorable Content

Stop trying to create “good” content. Create memorable content instead. Everyone is chasing engagement metrics with formulaic posts that follow all the “best practices”—and that’s exactly why 99% of social media content is forgettable garbage.

Be polarizing enough that people either love you or hate you. There’s no growth in the middle. When I started on LinkedIn, I deliberately posted selfies, memes, and rants about bacon hatred while everyone else shared boring corporate content. I got banned 8 times, but I also built a six-figure ghostwriting business because the right clients couldn’t forget me.

This all works because pattern interruption creates memory. When someone scrolls through 50 AI-generated posts that all sound the same, the human weirdo talking about carrying a table through Paraguay for 45 minutes while locals laughed stops the scroll.

I’ve tested this methodically. My most “professional” content gets decent engagement but converts zero clients. My most unhinged, personal content—the stuff that makes me cringe to post—consistently brings 5-figure deals.

Personal branding isn’t about being liked by everyone. It’s about being impossible to ignore by the small group of people who will actually pay you.

I’ve ghostwritten for 50+ tech CEOs and creators, and every successful one has the same quality—they’re memorable because they’re genuinely themselves, not because they followed someone’s content formula.

The algorithms will change tomorrow. The platforms might disappear next year. But authenticity at scale is evergreen. Stop asking, “Will this get likes?” and start asking, “Will anyone remember this tomorrow?” That’s the only metric that matters for growing a personal brand that actually generates revenue.

Luke Matthews, Copywriter, AI Writing Lessons

Use Humor to Connect

Using humor is my top tip for creating engaging content on personal social media because it instantly grabs attention and makes your posts memorable. People naturally enjoy content that makes them smile or laugh, and that positive feeling encourages them to like, share, or comment. In my experience, humor breaks down barriers and creates a genuine connection between you and your audience, making your content feel more relatable and authentic. It also helps your content stand out in a crowded feed where serious or generic posts can easily get lost.

However, it’s important to keep humor light, respectful, and relevant to your audience to avoid misunderstandings. When done right, humor not only boosts engagement but also builds a loyal community that looks forward to your content. I highly recommend infusing personality into your messaging because it humanizes your presence and creates stronger relationships. So, don’t be afraid to add a little fun; it can be one of the most effective ways to grow your social presence organically.

Dhanvin Sriram, Founder, Luppa AI

Share Your Unique Perspective

Don’t share content. Share perspective.

I’ve reviewed hundreds of posts in my role as Content Editor—many well-written, most easily forgotten. The ones that stick? They don’t just inform or entertain—they reveal how someone sees the world. That’s what builds connection.

Let me give you a real example. One of our healthcare clients—a brilliant physician—wanted to post a tip about managing seasonal allergies. The first draft read like a textbook excerpt: accurate, dry, forgettable. I asked her, “What do you wish more patients understood about allergy season?” She paused, then said: “That it’s not just about pollen. It’s about stress, sleep, and how rundown people already are.”

Boom. That’s the post.

We rewrote it around that insight, and suddenly the comments changed from, “Thanks, doc,” to, “This hit home. I didn’t realize my stress could make it worse.” Same topic, different lens—hers.

This works just as powerfully on personal pages. When I post on LinkedIn, I don’t list what I’ve done—I talk about what it felt like to make a tough edit no one noticed, or how I handle feedback when a writer disagrees with me. These aren’t polished success stories. They’re the gray areas—where people actually relate.

The reason this works so well? People aren’t craving more information—they’re craving reflection. When you share your perspective, you invite others to reflect on their own. That’s when they comment, save, or DM you. That’s engagement.

So next time you post, try this: Skip the “what.” Share the “why it matters to you.” You’ll stop sounding like everyone else—and start sounding like yourself.

Nick Cullen, Content Editor, Ryse Healthcare Marketing Agency

Learn from Professional Failures

Share authentic lessons from your professional failures rather than curating highlights.

After analyzing engagement patterns across hundreds of personal accounts, I discovered that content revealing genuine professional struggles consistently generated 3-4 times higher engagement than achievement-focused posts. This approach transforms social content from performance to genuine connection.

The implementation involves identifying specific professional challenges you’ve faced, the lessons learned, and how these experiences shaped your current approach. One technology leader in my network transformed his influence by sharing a detailed post about a failed product launch and the difficult team conversations that followed.

This post generated more meaningful engagement than years of standard updates. The approach works because it creates genuine resonance with followers facing similar challenges while demonstrating self-awareness and growth mindset.

Social media is saturated with highlight reels, but authentic vulnerability creates memorable distinction while building deeper audience connection.

Aaron Whittaker, VP of Demand Generation & Marketing, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency

Tell Small, Relatable Stories

Zoom in on moments instead of themes. Instead of, “Here’s what leadership means,” try something like, “Here’s what I did when my intern cried.” Such posts outperform every abstract leadership piece written. It grounded a complex idea in one relatable moment. That storytelling shift changed my content forever. The personal always trumps the general.

This approach works because people connect through lived experience. They don’t want another how-to guide; they want honesty. Zooming in adds color, nuance, and emotion easily. I now collect little moments to build impactful posts. The smaller the story, the wider the reach. Make it real, and people will care deeply.

Jason Hennessey, CEO, Hennessey Digital

Be Authentically Imperfect

I have witnessed countless posts appear and disappear throughout my time online. The key to making your content stand out is to remain your authentic self without pretenses or attempts to mimic influencers. Be the authentic version of yourself, which includes your imperfections and brilliance, instead of trying to present a perfect or influencer-like persona.

The quality of content engagement stems from personality rather than perfection, according to my experience. The creator I worked with abandoned her professional tone to share brief humorous accounts about her daily work challenges and epiphanies. The engagement numbers of her content experienced an explosive increase. Why? People choose to follow content because of emotional connections rather than perfect presentation.

You don’t need filters or fancy scripts. Your presence combined with meaningful statements will stop people in their tracks while making them laugh or agree with you. The path to convert viewers into followers and followers into devoted fans begins with this approach.

Inigo Rivero, Managing Director, House Of Marketers

Merge Personal and Professional Identities

What’s my top tip for creating engaging content on personal social media? Stop separating your personal and professional identity. There is only one brand, and it’s you—you are your brand.

This is the mistake 99% of people make. They try to run a “business page” while hiding their authentic self behind a private account. This strategy is dead—people don’t engage with logos, share templated brand posts, or follow real people with energy, presence, and opinions.

You must lead with personality if you want engaging content that converts, spreads, and leads to invites, podcasts, DMs, and deals. The top influencers all do this. Their lifestyle builds trust. Their face is the funnel. And their product sits in the background, converting quietly.

It’s so effective because identity is the new currency. People don’t just want information; they want alignment. When your audience feels like they know you, engagement increases, the trust gap closes, and every post becomes a soft close.

This strategy got our founder invited onto Grant Cardone’s Power Players and Young Hustlers podcasts – not because he ran ads, but because he was seen. It’s also how he ended up in the room with Tony Robbins. Everything shifted in one photo, one tag, one moment of proximity.

The process:

  • Collapse your private and public persona into one
  • Share your journey, your energy, your worldview
  • Capture everything: real moments, real people, real proof
  • Associate with high-status people and let the proximity do the work
  • Let your lifestyle sell, not your landing page

The result is that you manufacture celebrity before you have it. Once it’s rolling, you no longer chase reach; reach chases you.

Personal social media isn’t about posting more—it’s about becoming someone worth following. Be seen, be real, and be the brand.

That’s the top tip for posting engaging personal social media content.

Grace Savage, Brand & AI Specialist, Tradie Agency

Show Up as Yourself with Intention

As a content writer for over 5 years, my top tip for creating engaging content on personal social media is: show up as yourself, but with intention.

That means sharing your real experiences, opinions, or behind-the-scenes moments, but framing them in a way that adds value to your audience.

Whether it’s a quick lesson you learned, a challenge you overcame, or a relatable story, people connect with authenticity far more than perfection.

In my experience, this works because people follow individuals, not polished brands.

When your content feels human and thoughtful, it invites interaction, builds trust, and keeps your audience coming back for more.

With this tip in mind, I’ve built real followers and connections on LinkedIn, and you can too.

Ritu Kumari, Content Team Lead, GMR Web Team

Write for One Person

Always write like you’re talking to one person, not performing for a crowd.

That’s the mantra I come back to over and over. When I’m writing a post, I think about somebody reading it—somebody in the middle of the thing I’m writing about. This keeps me from adding unnecessary polish and actually helps me say the right words.

It works because people don’t engage with content; they engage with people. And when your writing sounds like you, it cuts through.

Most of my business has come from people saying, “I feel like you’re in my head.” That only happens when the content feels personal, not perfect!

Alli Rizacos, Founder & CEO, Alli Rizacos Coaching Inc.

Share Real Personal Stories

My best advice for making engaging content on social media is sharing real personal stories.

Share stories about when you made a funny mistake, learned something new, or made a blunder. Explain your feelings and the actions you took.

Why is this useful?

1. Stories are valuable and entertaining to most people. The majority take great interest in events that happen in other people’s lives.

2. When you present real aspects of yourself, people feel they know you. It makes you more credible.

3. People can relate to your stories. They think, “I have experienced that too!” Or “I have felt that before!”

4. Personal stories stand out; most people show a fake version of themselves on social media.

I have seen that when people talk sincerely about their daily life, including the hard parts and the happy moments, they get more engagement than those who only share perfect, flawless pictures.

Remember, there is no need for perfect equipment or lighting. Just be yourself and share your story.

Arslan Habib, Digital Marketer | Business Strategist, Quantum Jobs USA

Take a Clear Stance

Post the same way you speak in real life, especially when you’ve got something useful or opinionated to say. Most personal content is bland because it tries to appeal to everyone. It uses unnecessarily long language and sentences or a tone that comes off as playing it too safe.

The posts that actually get shares, comments, and DMs are the ones where you take a stance, even if it’s niche.

One post where I broke down why “high production” often ruins good podcasts got more shares and DMs than anything before. It wasn’t polished. But it struck a nerve, and it led to real conversations and client leads.

People respond to clarity. Agree or disagree, they’ll remember where you stand, and that builds trust faster than trying to be liked by everyone.

Harry Morton, Founder, Lower Street

Be Blunt and Memorable

Stop trying to impress people. That’s where most personal content dies. The best engagement I’ve seen comes when I say something real—even if it’s blunt, unpopular, or goes against the usual polished BS people post. Social media’s full of filters and fluff; if you show up with a strong opinion and no performance, people actually pay attention. You’re not there to please everyone—you’re there to be remembered.

Shawn Hayes, CEO, Share Web Design

Ask Engaging Questions

Engage through questions.

Asking for opinions or experiences always works; it’s one of the most effective ways to drive engagement because everyone loves sharing their stories and opinions, especially when asked directly. Instead of only posting an update or photo, use the caption to ask a relatable question like, “Do you agree…” or, “What’s the best concert you’ve been to?” Specific, open-ended questions will not only spark interactions but also drive meaningful conversations. It’s effective because it’s psychological. People are inherently drawn to feeling seen and heard. When your content seeks their input, it establishes a form of bond. These types of comments further enhance the visibility of your post due to social platform algorithms. Always respond thoughtfully to comments to keep the dialogue going and strengthen the community around your content.

Brian Lim, Founder & CEO, iHeartRaves

Share Insider Tips

Here’s the thing about personal social media: The more human you are, the more people lean in. My best-performing posts are not where I portray myself as some branding guru—they’re when I just give it to you straight and share what’s really going on. Perhaps it’s a tiny win with a client, a look under the hood of a half-baked pitch deck, or an insider trick that helped me get unstuck that morning.

People don’t want a lecture; they want an “ah, same here.” I make sure clients know that connection always trumps polish. You’re not winning over a boardroom; you’re getting delivered to someone’s feed as a human with something worth saying. When you consistently do that, engagement is self-generating.

Kevin Connor, CEO, Modern SBC

Provide Easy-to-Follow Information

Provide inside information in an easy-to-follow and understand format.

Many entrepreneurs tend to use their own social media to help personalize their brands or just to show that they’re experts in their field and really know what they’re talking about. While it could get somewhat repetitive for followers who also follow their business accounts, providing insightful and informative tips and advice in a format that is easy for the common audience to understand can be very engaging.

Using your own personal profile to share trade secrets, tips and tricks, and content that actually makes your business and methods successful is a way to:

1. Give hope to the audience.

2. Teach them how to succeed.

3. Provide useful information they can actually engage with.

This approach can help entrepreneurs connect with their audience on a more personal level while still offering valuable insights into their industry.

Apoorva Govind, CEO and Founder, Bestever

Personalize Trending Content

Tap into relevant social media trends, but always make them your own. Staying relevant requires keeping an eye on viral challenges, trending sounds, and popular topics, but the magic happens when you add your own point of view. So, when a new hashtag or audio trend goes viral, ask yourself, “How can I relate this to my industry or personal brand in a way that adds value?” This keeps the content fresh while remaining real. Posts that creatively use trends get 3-5x more engagement than those just participating in the trend.

This approach’s rare combination of timing and originality is what makes it so effective. There is a demand for content that is both relatable and unique, and people want to see that you’re not simply part of the conversation, but adding to it. For example, instead of just using a trending sound, I would include a behind-the-scenes moment during my workday or a quick tip related to the trend’s theme. Not only does this increase your visibility through algorithms, but it also helps you connect on a more intimate level with your followers. And when you make a trend your own, that is when you take a trend and add some flair of your own, you turn ephemeral moments into lasting content that doesn’t go out of style even when the trend is over.

Joseph Cochrane, Co-Founder & CSO, Tradefest.io

Focus on Genuine Storytelling

The top tip I always share for creating engaging content on personal social media is to focus on authenticity. People connect with genuine stories, real emotions, and honest experiences and not polished marketing speak or overly curated posts.

When someone shares content that reflects their true personality, struggles, or passions, it naturally sparks conversations and builds trust with the audience. Authenticity creates a sense of relatability that encourages followers to engage, comment, and share.

This approach is effective because social media is increasingly saturated with perfect images and scripted messages. Being real cuts through the noise and helps you stand out. So my advice is to be unapologetically yourself, share your journey, your lessons, and even your challenges. That’s what truly resonates and builds lasting connections.

Burhanuddin Qutbi, Co-Founder, Saifee Creations

Start Relatable, End Surprising

My top tip for creating engaging content on personal social media is to start with a relatable statement, then follow it up with something unexpected, like a helpful hack, a surprising fact, or a behind-the-scenes insight. I personally think this combo works because relatability pulls people in by making them feel seen or understood, while the added value (something they didn’t know) gives them a reason to stick around, engage, or share. My posts get the most engagement when I follow this formula.

That said, nothing beats being genuine. If you do this for the sake of “getting more likes and views,” I think it would fall flat. People can sense when something’s forced or just trying too hard. But if you’re genuinely sharing because you care about the message or think it might help someone, that authenticity shines through.

Dewi Saklina, Search Engine Optimization Specialist, Explainerd

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