How Do I Decide What to Post on Social Media?

You’re a 21st century communicator. You’re working hard to post on at least one social network, and maybe several of them, every day. You even know what Snapchat is. After spending hours each week updating your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, and more, you feel like you have nothing to show for it.

If there’s a lack of engagement across your social feeds, you may have a content problem. The good news? It’s easy to fix. Here are a few tips how:

1) Before posting, ask yourself this question: “Is this post a) relevant, b) engaging, and c) actionable?”
a). Relevant: Is this post helpful to readers? Does it fill a need for information, entertainment, community, or all three? Is it useful to your specific audience?
b). Engaging: Would someone want to read this post and click “like”? Does it spark conversation, emotions, or thoughts?
c). Actionable: Would people want to share it or comment on it?

2) What about your visuals? Great photos and videos mean great reach on social media. Look in your archives. Do you have a trove of photos never shared outside your organization? YouTube videos seen by six people (or fewer)? An infographic that only your mother has seen? Now’s the time to dust off these assets and let them shine.

3) Is it customized for the channel it’s on? You need to think and write differently for Pinterest vs. Twitter vs. LinkedIn vs. Facebook. Don’t cross-post without doing a little editing. You don’t need hashtags on LinkedIn. Write stories, not Tweets, for Facebook.

We’d love to hear about your social media challenges.  Please write a comment or question below and we will be happy to answer.