I was asked about tips for planning posts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter so I gathered the 7 most effective tips I have on how to get starting scheduling social media posts, and here they are for you to use.
Tip #1 – Evergreen:
If you are planning on scheduling social media posts, that likely means you will be scheduling in advance. That could be anywhere from two days to six weeks in advance, maybe further. If you are counting on the content being relevant when it is posted, even though it was loaded into the scheduling tool two days to six weeks earlier, make sure the content is evergreen.
Evergreen content is information that is as relevant today as it is tomorrow, or in six weeks. You want to be posting information that will be interesting, helpful and relevant into the future. So, consider evergreen content. You can post sales and specific holiday information in addition to your evergreen posts, but ensure that content separate is kept separate.
Using this method allows you the flexibility to post breaking news relevant to your industry in addition to your evergreen content. Focus on evergreen content being the content you schedule in advance, and you’ll never have to worry about posts being outdated or potentially irrelevant.
Tip #2 – Find the Sweet Spot
Make it a rule to be scheduling social media posts at different days and times to test what day/time of day you get the most reaction from your audience. This way, you really get to know your audience and discover which times and days work best for them to interact with you. Then focus on posting during those days and times. You find out this information by looking at your analytics.
Tip #3 – Load by Spreadsheet
Most all scheduling tools (Edgar, Buffer, Hootsuite etc.) have the option to load multiple posts via spreadsheet. This saves time so be sure to load by spreadsheet, not post by post. Yes, it takes a little bit of tweaking to line the spreadsheet up and format all the formulas in the spreadsheet to make sure it actually goes into the scheduling tool properly (all tools require slightly different spreadsheet formats), but it is worth it. Take the time to get that spreadsheet right, load up your posts by spreadsheet and you will end up saving time.
Tip #4 – Post on LinkedIn Even on the Weekends
If you are posting on LinkedIn, be sure you do not avoid it on the weekends. Some people may think that business is Monday to Friday and so is LinkedIn. That is not necessarily true. There is a lot of weekend activity on LinkedIn. We notice people have more time on the weekends, and they are digging into the longer format content and have more time and opportunity to interact. So, consider posting on LinkedIn during Saturday and Sunday, just like Monday through Friday.
Tip #5 – Post More, More often on Twitter
If you post on Twitter, post frequently. Twitter is a fast-moving social network. Posting more often is perfectly acceptable because of the speed that Twitter operates. Posting several times a day is quite acceptable, and even required for this network due to the speed and activity on this social network.
Tip #6 – Starting With 3rd-Party Articles
If you are just getting started, we recommend using more third-party posts until your audience gets used to you. Third-party content is any type of article, infographic or video that is not created by you, yet discusses the same point of view as you/your company has on a topic or issue.
Find third-party material from industry websites, reputable companies such as Forbes or Inc., or any other kind of publication that is useful and relevant to your industry. You are sharing industry content in order to gain an audience, increase your audience and get your audience used to you being out there sharing information.
As your audience grows, you build up goodwill and you build up a reputation of being able to source good information about your industry which helps your audience learn more about the industry and get some of their potential questions answered. Eventually, start adding in more of your own posts.
If you are new to posting content on social media, we’re assuming you are probably getting started with your newsletter or blogs at the same time. Use this technique to make it a little easier as you get your content creation going, by using third-party content to help you build your presence and build interaction with your audience while you get busy creating your own body of content for sharing.
Tip #7 – Engage, Say Hello, Respond
Engage. What does this mean? When someone comments on your post, be sure to comment back. You want to thank them, you want to engage with them. As foreign as this may sound, you already know how to do this.
It is exactly the same way you’d behave at a networking event. Somebody sticks their hand out, says ‘hello’ to you, you, in turn, engage with them by shaking their hand, saying hello back and starting a conversation.
You never know, this could be your next best collaborator or your next best client. Take this opportunity to expand your network.
Jen Kelly is a marketing consultant in Toronto and CEO of New Initiatives Marketing Inc. (NIM) serving growing businesses in Canada and the USA. NIM is the team to call for marketing execution excellence. For companies that don’t have a marketing department, we become your marketing department. For companies that have an existing marketing team and are challenged adding capacity and skills to their team due to a head-count freeze, we act as your marketing team’s right-hand, supporting the skills needed on a monthly basis. Contact us today for a conversation about your company’s marketing needs.
