Preparing Content for Social Media

Did you know that 64% of adults take part in social networking? I bet you also did not know that the majority of individuals using social media check their profiles every morning upon getting up… Crazy huh? No, not quite. We are living in a digital age where almost everything we do is online. Checking your Facebook news feed is almost as important as feeding your dog every morning. With so many networks available in the palm of our hands we have to pick and choose which ones to be a part of. Once we’ve done that, it becomes a routine for us to check it—but do you ever feel completely overwhelmed with information you are seeing? Sponsored stories, sponsored posts, ads, promotions, specials… Exactly, it’s content overload! When you are posting on behalf of a business, it is so imperative that you know your customer and what types of information they are interested in. Content is key, folks… and so is content strategy. Here are a few helpful tips to take into consideration when preparing posts for a business.

1. Develop a Plan of Attack…or in other words a strategy! The goals is to attract fans to your page, maintain them and get them to engage or interact with what you are posting. The only way to do this is to understand your customer/client- know exactly what they are interested in and develop a strategy for your content. It’s guaranteed that if you fly by the seat of your pants and post random thoughts when you get around to it, your fans will not be interested nor will they have a reason to check back. Develop a strategy- no matter the type of business you are posting for, define your goals and what it is that you want to accomplish through each network. Brainstorm . Write down words, phrases and ideas that come to mind when you think what would be customers/clients want to know about? Next…
2. Create a Calendar… This is all part of the strategy and goes hand in hand with the items above. Once you have developed a strategy, it’s time to start implementing it. Try mapping out a content calendar for the month ahead—write specifically what you will be posting on which days- with social management platforms and even the Facebook platform offering scheduled posts, you can actually sit down and schedule items out and not have to worry about them again! It’s also helpful to think about what is coming in the next 30 days…specials, holidays, events, etc…. not only will it jog your memory but it will help you develop content around these items.
3. Mix It Up… Don’t ever consistently use one type of post over and over, your fans get bored and will eventually stop checking back. Post a healthy mix of photos, videos and text. Don’t forget to share and engage with other pages as well, it never hurts! By changing it up from time to time, your fans will take higher interest in what you have to say are more likely to interact with what you are posting and remain engaged.
4. Lastly, Pay Attention!… Always watch to see what your fans are engaging with the most, things they tend to ignore and what is trending with others in your industry! Use the analytical tools provided through each network to measure just how effective your content is, who it’s reaching and how many. These statistics will help you to make the most appropriate adjustments in your content strategy and posting moving forward. You can always go back to the drawing board and make changes to your strategy.

Read the tips and are still unsure of how to prepare a content strategy for your social networks? Call Sun Sign Designs! We are well-versed in social media and specialize in creating custom strategies that work for you, development whether that be content calendars or customized artwork and most importantly, management. We know how to best manage and analyze all of your content and data. Social media plays a huge role in online marketing and can greatly benefit your business… Call today for more information on how we can help your business create a custom strategy for your networks!