The 10 Commandments of Content Promotion
Welcome to Part 5 of my series on content strategy. In this installment I’m sharing my tips for successful content promotion. Be sure to check out the other segments here (1 , 2, 3, 4 and 6 ) for tips and advice.
Now, on to the 10 Commandments of Content Promotion…
1. Thou shalt share on multiple platforms.
You don’t have to be everywhere, but you should be on multiple sharing platforms. Prioritize the ones that are popular with your target demographic as well as the ones you enjoy the most. If you are unsure about which platforms are popular with your demographic, you can check out this post from Sprout Social.
2. Thou shalt share the same content multiple times.
If your goal is to get as many eyes as possible on your content, you should be sharing it multiple times. On some platforms, you can post the same content several times a day without fear of looking repetitive — twitter and pinterest are good examples of this. People are online at different times of the day, vary your posting schedule to target the early birds and the night owls. Coschedule has a great resource to help you plan out a social sharing calendar. You can grab it for free here… https://coschedule.com/blog/how-often-to-post-on-social-media/
3. Thou shalt create platform specific graphics.
For best results, you should be creating graphics that are optimized for each social platform. Horizontal images may work well on Facebook and Twitter, but they don’t work well on Instagram or Pinterest. Use the Adobe Suite, or Canva to create a variety of images for each post.
4. Thou shalt test out multiple headlines.
If you want to avoid looking repetitive on social media, switch up your headlines every time you post and repost your content. When you do this, you can gain insight into the types of headlines that are most attractive to your audience. Some will convert better than others, make a note of the high converting ones and use them as a template for future messages. CoSchedule’s headline analyzer is a great tool to help you create headlines with impact. https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
5. Thou shalt use a social media scheduler.
In order to maintain a varied and dynamic posting schedule, you will need a social scheduling program. Hootsuite and Buffer are two popular schedulers with free options. My personal favourite is CoSchedule, which is a paid program but I find the interface really intuitive and I love how it integrates with WordPress. Using a scheduling program will save you so much time. Once you get the hang of it, you can schedule weeks of social sharing in an hour or two. This is much more efficient than posting in real time.
6. Thou shalt occasionally post in real time.
Okay, I know I just said you should be using a scheduler to share your content — but sometimes you should post in real time. I’ve found that my real time posts get more reach on Facebook than my scheduled posts. This is not true of all platforms, but it is still a good idea to post and engage organically on a regular basis. This is the “social” part of social media.
7. Thou shalt not ignore facebook groups.
While we are on the topic of facebook reach, let’s talk about groups. Facebook groups are great for connecting with a targeted audience. There are many groups where businesses and bloggers are encouraged to share their content. So, don’t limit your social sharing to your page or profile, look for groups in your niche that allow self-promotion.
8. Thou shalt review your analytics.
Most social media platforms have some sort of analytics reporting for business pages. If you are using a social scheduler, you can use their analytics to see what is working — or not working. Google Analytics will also give you insight into your conversions. Let the numbers guide you when you when it comes time to review your posting schedule or content strategy.
9. Thou shalt share content other than your own.
One HUGE mistake that businesses make on social media is continually posting their own content and neglecting to share anything else. This is the equivalent of a person talking about themselves all the time. That would be super annoying, right? Be sure to alternate your content with posts from other sources. Just be sure these sources are relevant to your niche.
10. Thou shalt use your own authentic voice.
Want to attract your ideal clients on social media? Use your authentic voice. Don’t put on some faux-business voice because it seems like the professional thing to do. Even the Fortune 500 brands have embraced colloquial language on social media. Would you personally follow a brand online if all their posts seemed like a press release or a technical manual? I wouldn’t. Be human.
