What to Post on Social Media as an E-commerce Brand

You don't have a content problem. You have a balance problem.

Open most e-commerce brand social accounts and you'll see the same pattern: product photo, product photo, sale announcement, product photo, silence for two weeks, then a burst of product photos. It's a product catalogue pretending to be a social media presence. And it doesn't work.

I managed social media for 100+ e-commerce brands through an agency before building Connily. The brands that grew consistently on social media weren't posting more. They were posting differently. They had a mix - a framework that balanced selling with everything else that makes people actually want to follow a brand.

This isn't a list of 25 random content ideas you'll bookmark and never use. It's a practical structure for what to post, how much of each type, and why each category exists. Steal the framework, adapt it to your brand, and stop guessing what to post every morning.

The 5-category framework that actually drives revenue

After years of testing across different product categories - skincare, fashion, home goods, food, fitness equipment, pet products - I've landed on five content categories that consistently perform for e-commerce brands. The percentages aren't arbitrary. They're based on what I've seen drive the best combination of engagement, follower growth, and actual sales.

1. Product content (25-30% of posts)

This is your bread and butter, but it should never dominate your feed. Product content includes new launches, feature highlights, use cases, styling ideas, and product comparisons within your own range.

The mistake most brands make is posting a product photo with a caption that reads like a product description. "Our new moisturiser features hyaluronic acid and vitamin C for radiant skin. Shop now." That's not social media content. That's a catalogue entry.

Good product content shows the product in context. Someone applying the moisturiser in their morning routine. A before-and-after of their skin over 30 days. A 15-second video comparing two products from your range and explaining which skin type each suits. The product is the star, but it's performing, not posing.

What works specifically:

• Unboxing videos - still one of the highest-performing formats across Instagram and TikTok. Video product demonstrations get 2.3x more interactions than static images.
• "How I use it" tutorials - educational and promotional at the same time
• Product comparison posts within your own range - "Which one's right for you?" These drive saves and shares because people bookmark them for later
• Close-up detail shots that show quality, texture, craftsmanship - the things a standard product photo misses

2. Social proof (25% of posts)

This is the most underused category and arguably the most valuable. Social proof content includes customer reviews, testimonials, user-generated content (UGC), before-and-afters, and any content where your customers do the talking.

The data backs this up: 79% of consumers say user-generated content significantly impacts their purchasing decisions. UGC outperforms brand-created content by 28% in driving meaningful interactions. And 72% of customers won't take buying action until they've read reviews. Your customers are more persuasive than you are. Use that.

What works specifically:

• Screenshot a glowing review and design it as a simple graphic. These are some of the easiest posts to create and they consistently perform.
• Repost customer photos and videos with their permission. Tag them, credit them, make them feel part of the brand.
• Create a branded hashtag and actively encourage customers to use it. Then you've got a pipeline of UGC flowing in without asking for it.
• Video testimonials - even a 10-second clip of a customer saying "I love this product" carries more weight than any caption you could write.
• Before-and-after content - if your product creates a visible transformation, this is gold. Skincare, fitness, home renovation, cleaning products - all of these lend themselves to before-and-afters that stop people scrolling.

3. Educational content (20-25% of posts)

This is what separates brands people follow from brands people scroll past. Educational content positions you as an authority in your niche - not just someone selling products, but someone who understands the space deeply enough to teach others.

A skincare brand posting ingredient breakdowns. A coffee brand explaining the difference between light and dark roasts. A fitness brand sharing workout form tips. A pet food brand explaining what to look for on an ingredients label. None of these directly sell your product, but they all build the trust that leads to a sale later.

Educational content also performs well algorithmically. Posts that teach something get saved and shared at much higher rates than promotional content. And saves and shares are the engagement signals that Instagram and TikTok weight most heavily when deciding what to push to more people.

What works specifically:

• "Did you know?" posts with a surprising fact about your industry
• Myth-busting content - "3 things you've been told about [your niche] that are wrong"
• How-to carousels on Instagram - these are engagement machines. Each slide keeps people swiping, which signals interest to the algorithm.
• Quick tips in Reels or TikTok format - 15-30 seconds, one useful idea, no waffle
• Seasonal or timely advice - "How to store your skincare in summer" or "What to look for in a winter jacket"

4. Behind-the-scenes (15% of posts)

People buy from brands they feel connected to. Behind-the-scenes content builds that connection by showing the human side of your business - the messy, imperfect, real side that polished product photos never capture.

This is the content that makes followers feel like insiders. And it requires almost no production effort - which makes it perfect for small teams.

What works specifically:

• Order packing videos - these are inexplicably popular. Something about watching someone carefully pack a customer's order is deeply satisfying. TikTok and Instagram Reels love these.
• "Day in the life" of running your store - morning routine, checking orders, visiting suppliers, dealing with a problem. Keep it authentic, not staged.
• Product development sneak peeks - show prototypes, fabric swatches, taste tests, design decisions. People love feeling like they're part of the process.
• Warehouse or studio tours - show where the magic happens, even if it's your garage or spare bedroom. Especially if it's your garage or spare bedroom. That's relatable.
• Team introductions - if you have a team, put faces to the brand. If it's just you, even better. Founder-led content consistently outperforms brand-page content on every platform.

5. Promotional content (5-10% of posts)

Yes, only 5-10%. This is the category most e-commerce brands over-index on, and it's the one that should be smallest.

Promotional content includes sales announcements, discount codes, flash sales, limited-time offers, bundle deals, and free shipping thresholds. It's the direct ask - "buy this now."

The reason it should be small isn't that selling is bad. It's that if every post is a sales pitch, people tune out. Your feed stops being something they want to see and becomes something they scroll past. The other four categories build the audience and the trust. This category converts it. But you need the trust first.

What works specifically:

• Flash sales with genuine urgency - 24 hours, limited stock, once a month at most
• Exclusive discounts for followers - makes people feel rewarded for following you
• Bundle deals that solve a specific problem - "The complete starter kit" rather than "buy 3 get 10% off"
• New launch announcements with a strong hook - focus on what's different about this product, not just that it exists

How this looks as a weekly posting schedule

Theory is useless without execution. Here's what the framework looks like applied to a realistic posting schedule for a Shopify store posting 5 times per week on Instagram:

Monday: Educational carousel - "3 mistakes people make when choosing [your product category]"

Tuesday: Product content - Reel showing your bestseller in use, not just sitting on a white background

Wednesday: Social proof - Customer review graphic or reposted UGC

Thursday: Behind-the-scenes - Packing orders, product development, or a day-in-the-life Story

Friday: Product content or social proof - Rotate based on what you have ready

Notice no promotional post in a standard week. Save those for when you actually have something worth promoting - a new launch, a genuine sale, a seasonal event. If you're running promotions every week, they stop feeling special and your audience stops paying attention.

On TikTok, the same framework applies but the format shifts entirely to video. Every category works as a 15-60 second clip. The educational and behind-the-scenes categories especially thrive on TikTok because the algorithm rewards content that keeps people watching - and teaching or showing something interesting does exactly that.

The content types that waste your time

Knowing what to post is half the battle. Knowing what to stop posting is the other half. These are the content types I've seen e-commerce brands pour time into with little to show for it:

Generic motivational quotes. Unless your brand is in the wellness or personal development space, posting "Believe in yourself" over a sunset does nothing for your business. It doesn't attract your target customer, it doesn't build brand identity, and it doesn't drive sales. It's filler.

Flat-lay product photos with no context. A product on a marble countertop photographed from above was interesting in 2018. In 2026, it's wallpaper. If you're going to shoot product photos, show them in use, in context, or from an angle that reveals something a customer can't see on your website.

Corporate-sounding announcements. "We're excited to announce that we've partnered with..." Nobody cares about your press release. Show the partnership in action. Show what it means for the customer. Show, don't announce.

Posting the same image across every platform. Cross-posting identical content to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest is efficient and ineffective. Each platform has different formats, different audiences, and different algorithmic preferences. A carousel that performs well on Instagram won't even render properly on TikTok. Repurpose your content, but adapt the format.

Platform-specific adjustments

The five-category framework stays the same regardless of platform. But how you execute within each category shifts depending on where you're posting.

Instagram: Carousels and Reels dominate. Carousels drive saves (the most valuable engagement signal), Reels drive reach. Use carousels for educational content and Reels for product demos, behind-the-scenes, and UGC. Average engagement rate for retail brands sits around 1.16% - but Reels consistently outperform static posts by 2x in reach.

TikTok: Everything is video. The algorithm rewards watch time and shares above all else - TikTok shares grew 45% year-over-year in 2025. The sweet spot for e-commerce content is 15-30 seconds. Founder-led content (you talking to camera) outperforms polished brand content. TikTok's engagement rate averages 3.70% - nearly 8x Instagram's - but it's volatile. One video might reach 500,000 people and the next might reach 200.

Facebook: Lower organic reach (0.15% average engagement) but still valuable for community building and retargeting. Facebook Groups, if relevant to your niche, can drive more meaningful engagement than your brand page. Best for social proof content and promotional posts - Facebook's older demographic responds well to customer reviews and limited-time offers.

Pinterest: Not a social media platform - it's a visual search engine. Pinterest users spend 2x more than users on other social platforms and 80% say they feel inspired by their shopping experience. Treat it differently: every pin should link to a product page. Vertical images, keyword-rich descriptions, and seasonal content perform best. If you sell home, fashion, beauty, food, or wedding products, Pinterest should be in your top two platforms.

How to never run out of content ideas

The framework solves the "what type of content should I post" problem. But you still need specific ideas within each category. Here's how to build a pipeline that never runs dry:

Mine your customer questions. Every DM, email, and customer service inquiry is a content idea. If one person asked, dozens are wondering the same thing. Keep a running list and turn each question into an educational post.

Read your reviews. Not just for testimonial screenshots - read what customers actually say about your product. The specific language they use, the problems they mention it solving, the unexpected ways they use it. Each review is at least one post.

Follow your competitors' comments. Not their posts - their comments. Look at what their followers are asking for, complaining about, or praising. That's market research happening in real time.

Set up a content bank. Create a simple spreadsheet with five tabs - one for each content category. When an idea comes to you, drop it in the right tab. When it's time to create content, you're choosing from a list instead of staring at a blank screen. Even 10 minutes a week of idea capture gives you more material than you can use.

Repurpose relentlessly. A customer review becomes an Instagram graphic, a TikTok video reading it out loud, and a before-and-after carousel. One educational blog post becomes five social media posts. A behind-the-scenes video becomes a still photo for Pinterest. You don't need more ideas - you need more formats for the ideas you already have. (If you want to go further with this, we've written about how to automate social media for your Shopify store.)

The metrics that actually matter

Most e-commerce brands track the wrong things on social media. Follower count is vanity. Likes are noise. Here's what to actually watch:

Saves and shares. These are the engagement signals that algorithms weight most heavily. A post with 50 saves will get shown to more people than a post with 500 likes. If your educational content isn't getting saved and your social proof isn't getting shared, the content needs work.

Referral traffic to your store. Open your Shopify analytics and look at traffic sources. How many visitors are coming from Instagram? From TikTok? From Pinterest? This is the direct line between social media effort and potential revenue. Set up UTM parameters on every link so you can track exactly which posts drive traffic.

Engagement rate, not total engagements. A post with 100 engagements from 1,000 followers (10% rate) is performing far better than a post with 500 engagements from 50,000 followers (1% rate). Rate tells you how much your content resonates. Total engagements just tell you how big your audience is.

Revenue attributed to social. This is the metric that matters most and the one fewest brands track. Use UTM parameters, discount codes specific to social channels, and Shopify's attribution reports to understand which platforms and which content types actually drive purchases. You might discover that your educational carousels drive more revenue than your product posts - and that should change how you allocate your time.

The bottom line

Stop thinking about social media as "I need to post something today" and start thinking about it as a system. Five categories, rough percentages, a weekly rhythm. Product content to showcase what you sell. Social proof to build trust. Educational content to build authority. Behind-the-scenes to build connection. And just enough promotional content to convert the audience you've built.

The brands that win on social media aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or the best photography. They're the ones that show up consistently with content their audience actually wants to see. The framework gives you the structure. What you do with it is up to you.

And if building and maintaining that system still feels like more than your team can handle, that's exactly what tools like Connily exist to solve - taking the strategy, creation, and publishing off your plate so you can focus on running your store. We've also broken down the best social media tools for Shopify stores if you want to compare your options.