How to Use Your Social Media Content Effectively

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With so much content readily available at users’ fingertips, it can be difficult to part through this sea of material to reach your target audiences. The key to reaching the right people and getting actionable results starts with creating compelling content and using it correctly.

Your content should always connect with your audience and support your brand and business goals. Once you have a plan set, the next step is ensuring that the content you’ve put hours into creating is actually returning your desired results.

Here are 8 steps you should be taking to use your social media content efficiently:

Decide Context

The first step in getting your desired results from your content is to think about the context where it is going to be posted. Different platforms have different audiences and require different messages. For example, an Instagram story might be shorter and more targeted toward a youthful demographic, while a LinkedIn post may have a more professional message and be targeted toward an older audience.

Create a Compelling Headline

Think about the title of your post ahead of time. It should align with your brand and be unique. Try to weave in a focus keywords, but don’t go overboard with keyword stuffing, as it can read unnaturally. Frankly, write for humans – what would make you click or view a piece of content?

Add Images & Graphics

Including images and graphics makes a post stand out more and thus, users are more likely to stop and look at it. Make sure your images are sized correctly for each platform to optimize the user experience. Ensure that they are aligned with your brand and you have the rights to use it. If you don’t have in-house graphic designers, utilize resources such as Canva or PicMonkey to create stunning visuals.

Include Hashtags

Hashtags allow audiences to find posts that are relevant to their interests. You should never overuse hashtags – we recommend using around 15 per post. Ensure that your hashtags are relevant to the post and your business, and that they have good engagement rates (aim for hashtags that have about 10,000 to 900,000 posts). Learn more about using hashtags on social media by viewing our blog.

Schedule

Use a scheduling tool to keep your content consistent. There are infinite numbers of scheduling tools out there, some of the more popular ones include Hootsuite, Buffer, and Loomly. Do some research to find the best scheduling tool for your business!

Repurpose

One of the best ways to efficiently use content is repurposing it. A simple method to do this is by using the same underlying messages but changing images and text to re-share something you’ve already posted.

Engage with Users

Engage back with the audience. Go beyond just liking or loving comments. Reply to everyone who comments on your content to keep the conversation going, reach out to loyal followers – engage with people who engage with you.

Check for Mentions

This is another way to stay engaged with your audience. Set up alerts for mentions of your brand and name and turn on social media platform notifications for when people mention you.

Conveying your business’s message properly is the heart of any brand. No matter what type of content you’re creating, by following these steps you can create a framework that supports your goals and provides value to your audience.

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