When I was eleven, I wrote a mystery story and sold it for a quarter a copy on the playground. Even back then I knew that writing didn't happen in a vacuum. I used my classmate's names as characters, and cleared about $9.50 before the recess monitor cut it short. I knew my audience, and played to them.
The work I do as a content marketer is no different. There's an audience involved, and I have to play to the audience. You do too because that audience has even more power these days.
Social media has transformed web writing - and marketing in general - in just a few short years. If you want your blogging and other content marketing pieces to help you meet business goals, you need social media writing and promotion as part of your plan. You have to reach out to the right audience in the right way using the right platforms.
Don't let your content stay in a vacuum! Each time your company publishes a new post, it's an opportunity to reach out with social media writing. Follow this step by step social promotion plan to make sure your posts are reaching the right audience.
Start with a Clickable Title
Effective social media writing starts with your blog post, report or white paper title. Just like with movies, the title sells. There have been nearly a half dozen movies with the title "For Love or Money" - but that title is so generic that it doesn't tell you much about the film.
Your blog post tiles are no different. Generic isn't going to cut it, especially for social media promotion.
Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:
- Integrate keywords if they make sense - My SEO copywriter side is screaming right now because keywords are essential. But when it comes to social media writing, if a keyword makes the title clunky instead of clickable, opt for a simpler phrase.
- Inspire your reader to take action - Time is short for your target audience. If they don't see how reading your content marketing will help their day, they won't click through. Actionable titles that start with "How to..." or "X Tips for..." show your content is worth their time.
- Keep it short - Meta titles are limited to 65 characters, and social media is character conscious as well. Make your titles as short and to the point as possible.
Customize Your Social Media Promotion
In my post, Platform Counts I shared specific tips for promoting content on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - and those rules are still great guidelines for customizing your approach.
As an addendum to that post, here are some additional platform-specific sharing tips:
- Facebook - Share your blog posts on your personal Facebook profile as well as your business page (and encourage your team members to do the same). Use the same image on all updates - by pulling it from the post - but have each person change the language a little.
- Twitter - Have a reference list for relevant hashtags that you use regularly. Pick some niche specific hashtags, but also include tags that are relevant to your specific blog post.
- LinkedIn - Pick a focus LinkedIn group each month to share to and test the waters. Like most LinkedIn users, you've probably joined several groups without taking the time to invest yourself in them. Share your blog posts consistently to that group for a month to see if there are any bites or discussion. This will keep you from plastering an inactive LinkedIN group with your links and focus your strategy.
- Google+ - In next month's column, I'm going to delve into Google+ completely. In the meantime, make use of Google+'s longer character length and formatting rules to make your posts standout. With new communities, you can easily reshare to targeted groups just like you would with LinkedIN.
By having a clickable title and following a specific promotional procedure for your blog posts, you can make your social media writing audience and traffic friendly.
by Courtney Ramirez