Taking the time and effort to create the perfect social media post
has never been more important. All social media platforms are swamped
with content – both good and bad. After you’ve taken the time to create
great content or curated something to share, you need to present it in
the smartest possible way.
“Content is currency — something we trade for our audience’s attention.” Frank Strong
I think that social media is the new television
and that you need to be entertaining and informative with your social
media. You’ve worked hard to build your content strategy but having a
laser beam focus on only your brand doesn’t always build or maintain
people’s attention which is as best around seven to ten seconds. The
average attention span was twelve seconds in 2000 and was eight seconds
in 2012 according to Statistic Brain. Wow, right?
So, what does this mean for today’s social media marketers and
professionals? You need to be entertaining and add some fun into your
social media content mix. Promoting only your product, book or blog
non-stop won’t be interesting to anyone, most likely not even yourself.
Keeping your ratio of content at 90 percent other people’s content (OPC)
and 10 percent your own content will help you but don’t be too dry or
stuffy when you create your editorial calendar.
1. Use great images on each post. 800 pixels x 600 pixels or 800 pixels x 1200 pixels look fantastic. 2. Make your posts stand out! — It
don’t mean a thing if it don’t have that bling! Use some formatting to
give your posts some pizzazz. Give your post a bold title, and use some
italics, sprinkle in a few relevant hashtags and voila! Your post is
ready to go. 3. Make sure you give credit to the source of the text and photo that
you are sharing. Being a good citizen by giving proper credit is very
important.
2. Add descriptions of 200 characters with keywords to help people find your pins through search.
3. Create vertical images to maximize your real estate. Pinterest
images should be long and narrow to take up the maximum amount of visual
space and get noticed! Look at your favorite pins and see what the
images have in common so you see what types of images are repinned and
shared. I create images that are up to 735 pixels by 1102 pixels. This
creates an engaging invitation to repin your pinned article. Edit the
pin to add the link in the source.
1. Write tweets between 120 and 130 characters – leave room for
retweets with comments. 2. Tweet links at a slow pace – use Buffer or
Hootsuite to schedule your tweet. 3. Use action words in your tweets.
Facebook:
1. Post consistently to stay in the News Feed. 2. Add variety to your
content by posting photos, videos, and articles. 3. Have fun with your
Facebook posts – this is a more personal network so let people get to
know you here.
LinkedIn: 1. Be relevant. LinkedIn is the place to show your smarts. I don’t
recommend posting quotes as status updates here. I love them on
Pinterest and Twitter but I don’t feel they carry enough weight for a
LinkedIn update.
2. Be consistent. Post at least one update per day and up to four per
day spread out through the day to remain active in the LinkedIn stream.
3. Quality counts. Share your own content as well as the best content
in your field of focus. The content that you curate and share reflects
your own content and should be strong.
We all know that social media success doesn’t happen by accident. It’s planned for.
But without a roadmap, it’s tough to know what you’re working towards.
That’s where a social media checklist comes in.
Rather than hopping online without focus, you act on purpose. It becomes your guide and directs everything you post.
If you’re ready to better manage your daily social media to-do list, this checklist is what you need.
Simple steps that create a process. That process when followed will help blow the lid off your engagement!
A Daily Social Media Checklist That Will Double Engagement
Before we jump into promotion, let’s first talk about your content. It’s no secret that content marketing is key to building trust with your customers. As Ron Guirguis points out in an Edelman Trust Survey,
“People
don’t just buy products anymore, they buy the companies that make
products, the values they represent and what they stand for.”
Sharing the right type of content will help:
Prospects begin to recognize you as a the “go to” resource.
Build
trust which translates into trust for your brand and product. It makes
you a top choice when they decide to invest in you or your competition.
Attracts
visitors to your site, some of which may turn into leads, prospects,
and buyers. If new visitors like your content, they will subscribe and
share it with others. Both are key to growing a loyal following and a
successful business.
But you can’t just share any content and expect to get great results. It needs to be the type of content that converts. What does that look like?
Webinars
Video tutorials
Ebooks
Case studies
Infographics
Reports
White papers
Blog content
Vlogs
Use the graphic below to guide you through the brainstorming process. For each type of content, consider:
What
type of content is your audience already engaging with? Look to your
most popular content in Google Analytics and determine how you can
update or create a follow up.
What type of content do you want to be known for? Choose 2-3 topics that align with your business, product, and service.
In
a world where your audience already has a massive amount of hoops to
jump through, you need to make your content easy to access.
Not only will content help build your brand, but it lets consumers connect with you.
90%
of consumers find custom content useful, and 78% believe that
organizations providing custom content are interested in building good
relationships with them.
Use Post Planner’s “Find” section to discover trending and scientifically proven content.
2. Get Visual
In
a split second, your audience is making a decision. Will they stop and
read or move on? Will they create conversation and engage your business
or interact with your competition? Given the speed content travels across social media, grabbing attention fast is critical.
Without it, you may lose an opportunity forever. That’s where visual marketing comes in.
Great marketers know that visuals capture audience attention, increase
engagement, and boost traffic. So where do you get started?
According to QuickSprout, there are 8 major forms of visual content you can integrate into your social content:
Attention-grabbing, artistic photography – Think Instagram pictures or stock photos.
Screenshots – Useful if used right e.g. taking shots of helpful images of workflow or your products/services.
Infographics – Come in handy when you want to convey a meaty or super long message in an easy, bite-sized and informative manner.
Comics – Make a long story short, captivating and humorous with relevant cartoons or comic strips.
Data visualization – Present facts, figures and statistics in a simple and visually stimulating manner through standalone graphs and charts.
Memes – Use trendy memes tailored to fit the context of your updates or posts.
Miscellaneous graphics – Think of diverse images that complement your content.
Visual note taking – Think of casually designed layouts of ideas.
Incorporate each one across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more in unique and channel specific ways.
3. Don’t Forget Video
There’s no doubt about it. Video is hot, hot, hot. Creating several videos (produced and live) that support your social media strategy is a must.
Here’s where to begin:
Take key points from evergreen content, break them down into a simple bulleted list.
Show your audience how to do something, make something better, fix their problem.
Usually, 2-3 video scripts is enough. And they do not have to be long and complicated.
Here’s an example of one our team created based on a recent Pinterest article. We use Animoto to quickly break down content into slides, add graphics, music, and any voiceover.
4. Add Personality and Branding
People
invest in products and services they like, but they also buy from the
companies they love. That’s a factor you can’t ignore. People invest in and buy from companies that represent their own values and beliefs.
Of
course, the product itself is important. But the way the company builds
a community and sells the product is just as important.
Look to Ryan Foland,
a communication strategist who knows how to engage his audience. He
infuses personality into his content in a variety of ways, but I
especially love his stick figure drawings. They tell a story, share
insight, and include his audience in the conversation.
Think about your brand and what you can do to build a community around it.
Your Daily Social Media Checklist
Now
that you know what you’re going to post, it’s time to figure out the
steps you’ll take to increase engagement, traffic and sales. This is your daily social media checklist. An easy to follow list of steps to take each day.
Your daily social media tasks shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes at the beginning and end of your day.
If you don’t have that kind of time, then plan on giving it away. These tasks are critical to building your social media presence.
You’re on your way to tracking and measuring your daily to-do’s.
Facebook
Reply to all comments (be grateful, generous, and giving in your reply).
Thank anyone that’s shared your content (always monitor mentions).
Like and Comment on a 3-5 relevant Page updates (Don’t just say “Nice!” or “Great!” Leave a thoughtful reply).
Share relevant content to niche-specific groups. (this isn’t spammy or self-promotion, but helpful and valuable)
Twitter
Monitor mentions via keywords and respond to any questions, needs, concerns.
Choose 3-5 influencers to interact with. Be genuine in your replies and interactions. That will shine through!
Make 10 new high-value connections with the help of Twitter Advanced Search.
Schedule 3 posts to share throughout the day.
Thank people retweeting your content.
Thank a 3-5 new followers.
LinkedIn
Check incoming messages and respond to any necessary.
Approve all invitations to connect that are a benefit and make sense to you / your brand.
Share a relevant industry article or your latest blog post to your profile.
Drop into 2-3 groups and see if you can volunteer answers.
Instagram
Post 1-2 times per day – a mix of blog posts, roundup tips, top tips, funny/inspirational and relatable posts.
Share an Instagram story.
Like one post from everyone that’s liked your content.
Pinterest
Pin 5 images per day. A mix of your content and other people’s.
Like 5 posts per day.
Repin 5 images per day.
Choose evergreen posts to pin to a specific brand “blog board.”
Pin to group boards for added exposure.
Update boards or titles that need to be optimized.
YouTube
Create a new video from blog content. Use a tool like Animoto to take tips and break them down into a quick tip.
Clean up your descriptions, add keywords, your URL, and tags to older, but evergreen videos.
Google Plus
Share to Google+ 1 time per day – 1 new article and 1 evergreen.
Share your content in specific communities.
+1 anyone that’s made a comment on your posts from the last day.
Final Thoughts
Social media can be time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. The best way to get started is to find 2-3 of the to-do’s listed above that will have the most impact on your business.
Add them to your calendar and commit to them daily.
Once you’re comfortable with those tasks, add to it. You’ll build momentum as you add more layers.
