Content.
It’s the foundation of any successful inbound marketing strategy.
But here’s the rub. The act of planning, creating and publishing awesome content simply isn’t enough. To reap the full rewards of content, you need to share it with the world. Wait, that’s not true. You should only share it with a specific audience of people who will find it informative, interesting and appealing. Not the whole world. So how to get this right?
Another critical tenet in the inbound marketing methodology, social media is an excellent medium to help your brilliant content find its way onto the screens of your ideal buyer personas. “But it’s so busy!” you say. “There’s too much content being shared to stand out!” you say. “How will I ever be heard?” you say.
“With a well-considered, structured social media marketing strategy!” I say.
By applying the long-standing Kipling Method and using the basic interrogations of who, what, where, when, why and how, you can create a social media sharing schedule that ensures your shared content hits the mark.
Let’s get to it.
The 5 W’s + 1H of Social Sharing
Who
If we reduce inbound marketing down to a single concept – it’s that of the buyer persona. Every piece of content should be written with your ideal customer in mind, addressing their pains, challenges, opportunities and interests. Nail that, and half the work is done.
A comprehensive buyer persona profile will help you understand who you’re looking to reach, the type of language and tone to be used, where they’re most often found online and the content formats that they prefer to consume. Share content with the right audience and watch your engagement rates soar!
What
The type of content you choose to share can impact on interactions and further shares. Studies show that lists (or listicles), why posts and videos are the most frequently shared content on social media.
This correlates with our understanding that people look to social media to discover something new and to be entertained, with lists, why posts and videos being excellent content formats to achieve that in an easily digestible, quick to consume manner.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t limit every post you share from here on out to these particular formats, but rather ensure you’re including these types regularly to boost your reach.
Where
With a range of established and budding social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest out there, it’s no mean feat to be active - and effective - across all of them. Rather, refer back to your buyer persona profile and focus the bulk of your initial efforts on the platform(s) where your ideal customers are present. Once you’ve built a thriving community on your key platforms, there’s certainly no harm in testing out the waters with others.
When
Unless there were extenuating circumstances, you wouldn’t call a friend up at 2am to shoot the breeze, would you? Probably not. You’d wait for an appropriate time, when you know they’re awake and likely to engage. The same is true for social media. Best results are achieved once you find your social posting ‘sweet spots’ for your buyer persona and the platforms. You want to post when they’re active and open to interaction on social media.
More established businesses should look to their social media analytics to determine the times of increased engagement and activity. If you’re just getting started or looking to test different times, the following guidelines are helpful as a launchpad.
- Facebook: Thursday to Sunday between 1 and 4pm
- Twitter: Week days between 12 and 3pm, and around 5pm
- LinkedIn: Week days between 7:30 and 8:30am, around 12pm and then again between 5 and 6pm
- Google+: Week days between 9 and 11am
Why
Last, but certainly not least, we need to consider the ‘why’ of social sharing. Research has been conducted to establish why people share on social media. We can use these psychological insights to create and share content with a high ‘shareability index’.
Primary drivers for sharing content on social media include:
- Entertainment: Content they found valuable and entertaining
- Self-Definition: Content that gives others a sense of who they are, their opinions and beliefs
- Relationships: Content that helps to connect with people
- Self-Fulfilment: Content that makes them feel involved in the world
- Support: Content that highlights causes, issues or brands that they care about
How
Meet Your Audience's Reasons for Sharing With Great Content
People choose to share for a myriad of reasons, but a report on the psychology of sharing done by the New York Times indicated the top ones that motivate individuals to share on social media. These include the following:
- To express self-identity
- To feel more involved in the world
- To share information they deem relevant to the recipient
- To stay connected to other people
- To share products, opinions and encourage action
- To support causes or issues they care about
- To connect with individuals with similar interests
Based on this information, is your content created to inspire your audience to share? If you've been doing your inbound research, you'd know that your content needs to meet your buyer persona's needs, pain points and interests - meaning it's your job to get to know your buyer persona in and out. If your content isn’t ticking a few of the boxes above, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate its effectiveness.
Consider Trading Resources in Exchange for Shares
We've all seen it done with email subscriptions and eBook offers - in fact, we design our CTAs to encourage it. We ask our visitors to share their contact information with us, and then we give them something worthwhile in return. Why not do the same for social media shares? Offer your audience a resource if they agree to share and make social media share buttons available to assist them in doing so.
Bring in The Big Guns
One way to boost re-shares on your content is to draw in quotes, Q&As and interviews from professionals, celebrities or well-known experts in your particular niche. These individuals often have followers of their own and are more likely to re-share content if it's affiliated with them.
Join a Conversation
Connecting with your audience is a vital element in securing those re-shares - joining a conversation with your target audience is a brilliant way to make this connection. You can determine the topics and conversations trending across social media using online tools such as Topsy and Google Insights, or by noting trending hashtags on Twitter.
Always Include Images
Great images are well-known to increase engagement and activity across social media platforms, so if you've been posting content without images, it's time to make a change! The important thing when selecting images is to ensure they're high quality, look professional and include text to give viewers an indication of what your content is about.
Involve Your Audience in a Conversation
Naturally we allow our readers to comment on our content, in fact, we welcome it! After all, it's part of the engagement process. However, it's not just on your blog that you should enable commenting - you should be doing it on your social media posts as well. Many viewers will comment on a blog or piece of content on the social media update heralding it’s distribution. This shows their followers or friends that they are engaging with you (and lends you some authority), increasing the likelihood you’ll get a reshare out of it.
Avoid Salesy Content
"I love being bombarded by cheesy sales pitches!" said no one ever. And no one is going to re-share content that is peppered with salesy speak, so avoid creating content that fits this bill.
Speak Your Audience's Language
Relating to your audience and getting them to share your content means engaging with them in a tone and style they can relate to and using jargon they are familiar with. If you're uncertain as to the right terminology or jargon to use, do a little research by reading their comments and reviews online.
Share in the Right Format, at the Right Time
When composing social media messages, you're more likely to receive re-shares if you post at certain times, and it's up to you to test over time to determine the best time for your audience. You should also remember to use hashtags and format your messages according to the best practices for each social media network.
Write Eye-catching Headlines
Write horrendous and clunky headlines, and your social media updates are bound to flop. Your headline serves as a first impression to your audience and is also important for SEO value. Take the time to create headlines that will do your content justice and boost its "shareability".
So now that you’ve got the 5Ws + 1H of social sharing down, it’s time to take your marketing activities on social media to the next level. Develop a schedule that works for you and start rocking those posts! Still struggling to get into the social sharing groove, or have a few tips of your own to share? Let us know, we’re always keen to chat and learn a few new tricks!
