"Social media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people, and the people will provide you." – Matt Goulart
Social Media is a great tool for content marketing, but there are some rules to the game. Check out these 10 suggestions for effective posting that gets engagement.
1. Use a great visual.
The visual content is what will stop people from scrolling through the endless parade of their feed and checking out your post. If you don’t have an image directly related to your business, use some stock imagery from a free site like Pixabay or Unsplash.
2. Write good copy.
While the picture gets them to stop, the words get them to click. Use good grammar, flawless spelling, and appropriate punctuation with adequate spacing.
3. Don’t be self-centered.
Don’t promote your business and products directly every time. Post about topics in your industry or repost items from other people to build your credibility and engagement with a wider audience.
4. Use hashtags.
For most social media sites, your post might as well be invisible if you’re not using hashtags. Hashtags tell people what category your post falls into and draws in more engagement from people checking out what’s new in that topic.
5. Be brief.
Don’t make your posts too long because readers will get weary and move on. Use synonyms for longer words and keep your sentences short. Remember that your audience is very distracted.
6. Post at key times.
This varies by social media type, but your post will get in front of a large audience. You can do a quick Google search to see what days and times are best for the social media platforms you’re using.
7. Involve the readers.
Put engaging questions into your post that will elicit discussion and response. If people are building on the thread below your words, you know your post has been a success.
8. Be persistent.
In today’s socially connected world, it’s not overkill to post, post, and post again. People may need to see something at least a dozen times before even clicking on it, so don’t be afraid to keep trying, and don’t give up.
9. Consider the pros and cons of auto-posting.
You may think that auto-posting saves you time and energy, but an organic effort fueled by the inspiration of the moment might yield better results.
10. Remember the audience.
Different social media platforms are geared towards different users, so while you might be fine throwing up pictures of your weekend on Instagram, that tactic could backfire on LinkedIn.
Now that you’ve improved your social media content, it’s time to consider the reasons why your blog may not pull in readers who engage, lower your bounce-rate, and become followers on social media.
5 Reasons No One is Reading Your Blog
So, you’ve decided to start a blog. Whether it’s to spread a personal message, get readers to click on affiliate links, or make money from advertisers, blogging can be a rewarded digital sport.
But if you’re like many bloggers, you’ve come to the frustrating realization that no one is reading your posts, and here’s why:
1. You’re not writing about something people find helpful.
There are already a million blog posts out there on “different things to do in X place,” so—for example—if you’re writing a travel blog, you have to get more “niche” with it and provide some value. For example, “best places to find spicy food in Denver” is a much more specific post that carries some value for the readers who are putting that inquiry into Google.
2. You’re not opening doors.
A big part of funneling readers to your blog is about building a network of back-links, which are essentially hyperlinks to your site on other people’s blogs or websites. A good way to do this is just to network and do guest posts for people on their blogs, with the stipulation that you can put some links to your site on there.
3. You’re not building relationships.
You need to have a contact button or form on your website and harvest some emails. Alternatively, by blogging consistently and alerting social media connections of your new posts, you can draw some steady streams of traffic to your site. The overall idea is to get recurring readers. Not only will they increase your readership with their own eyes, but over time, if they like your content, they’ll share it with others.
4. Your site doesn’t look good.
If people hop on to your blog and find that it looks like the screen from Pac-Man, they probably will bounce off the page in less than a minute—unless, of course, your blog post is dedicated to Pac-Man aficionados…then that would be cool. Your website needs to look professional, and the architecture needs to be clean and well-designed (for mobile users as well).
5. You think you are Shakespeare.
Don’t try to get too literary with your posting, unless of course you’re catering to a high-brow audience. Use shorter sentences, small paragraphs, and lots of pictures to punctuate your words, otherwise people will find your blog too exhausting to read. While SEO experts tout the benefits of long-form posts (over 2,000 words) you still must balance that out with reader experience—and most readers can’t tolerate more than half that word count.
