Have you ever gone to a website, or a social media page for an organization, and found that there has been no activity on the site for weeks or months? What was your impression of that organization? Is it safe to say you were disappointed? I can’t speak for you, but when I’m in that situation, I move on.
Posting frequently, on both your website and your social media profiles, is very important. But it is not enough to simply post stuff. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. But is it really that hard? Let me tell you a secret, it’s not that hard! It will take some time, and some money, but it is not hard to consistently post good content on your website, and then post a link to that content on your social media site. Let me give you some tips for your content marketing plan.
Show Me Pictures (Use A Variety)
When you get back from a vacation, and you get together with your best friend to catch up, what do they want to see? You and I both know they don’t want to see a Tolkienesque description of your vacation spot. They want to see pictures!
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with posting well written content on your website. But it is a really good idea to post pictures, infographics, and even videos if you’re able. Infographics are easy to find, and you can probably find or make a video that will be meaningful to your audience. And by using visual media, you’ll save time since you won’t have to write as much.
Too Much Information (Don’t Over Do It)
You’ve started posting content on your website, and you really want to go for it! But you don’t want to post too much. The frequency of your posts will be different for your website and your social media profiles. Anywhere from 2-5 times a week is great for your website. I know there are sites that post multiple times daily, but unless you have a huge budget and enough people for that much content, there’s no reason that you need to post that frequently.
Social media is different, and even Facebook verses Twitter is different. Daily posts on Facebook are good, maybe even 2 per day, but I wouldn’t go beyond that. For Twitter, you can safely tweet 3-5 times daily, but again, I wouldn’t go beyond that. I have unfollowed people that I respect because they tweet far too frequently, and clog up my timeline. Make sure you’re active, but don’t be spammy.
Make It Easy On Yourself (Automate When You Can)
Maybe you have a day, an afternoon, or another block of time occasionally that is quiet compared to the rest of the week. When it’s possible, take that time and create content. And if your CMS allows you to schedule posts for a future date, do that too! It’s a lot easier to create content when your mind is free. And if it’s hard to find time, put it on the calendar.
Did you know you can schedule social media posts too? I was recently put in charge of social media here at Digital Solutions, and it seemed daunting at first. But then I learned how to use Hootsuite. I can’t even tell you how awesome Hootsuite is, especially if you use their extension in Chrome and Firefox. Give it a try, and see how easy it is.
Maybe you’re reading this, and you think it sounds great, but you just don’t feel ready. Maybe you don’t want to create content. We do that! Ask me about our Ultimate Content Package. We’ll create the content for you.
I would love to hear your thoughts. You can leave a comment for me below, or find me on Twitter @P_Wunder.