Creating content for social media is difficult, time consuming, and one of the most frustrating things that I generally have to do for my job. How do I come up with something unique and interesting to say every single day for all of my clients?
1. Linking to somebody else’s website
So you are scrolling through all of your pages, and you see articles that pertain to your business that are already written by somebody else. This is great, BUT then you are sending people away from you, your business, and your way to sell to them. If you are purely looking to curate content, then this is a great strategy, but if you are looking to drive traffic, leads, or sales, then you will want to re-think your strategy.
Fix: Limit the number of posts that you have to other people’s sites. Look for what they are saying for inspiration, but say something in your own words. Does somebody have a great headline or topic? Write about that from your own perspective. You don’t need to re-invent the wheel, just add your own spin.
2. Not using the social media platforms appropriately
Linkedin is different from Facebook, is different from Twitter, is different from Instagram. LinkedIn is very business focused while Instagram is all about hashtags and pictures. Therefore, don’t post the same content to both of those, please!
Make sure you treat each social media channel with it’s own respect, and with it’s own passion. I am very guilty of crossposting the same content across all of the different channels. It is just SO EASY. I am the worst person when it comes to listening to my own advice about marketing, so do as I say, not as I do! I recommend to start with 1-2 social media platforms that are best suited to your business, and then sticking to those. Don’t try to take over the world if you don’t have the resources. Conquer one thing at a time.
Fix: Limit crossposting when you can. Focus on a few social media platforms and do those well, instead of doing a bunch very poorly.
3. Have Quality over quantity
Social media algorithms across the board are designed to show people content that they are interested in. This means that you can post something 5 times a day, but if it is not quality content, then people aren’t going to see it. Nobody wants to spend a ton of time on posts that are going to be sent into oblivion.
As with above, don’t feel that you need to post something every single day. It is better to have a few posts that do better, then a lot that are poor. I would rather have one post with 50 likes than 5 posts with 1-2 likes. This is because the more engagement you have, the more people will see your post, and then you will get more engagement and more likes and it goes on and on.
Fix: Pay attention to what people respond to on your page. Then post more of that content after you have found a pattern. Don’t post every day if you aren’t getting engagement from any of those posts.