Finding it hard to keep up with all the social media sites? It’s annoying to write different content for each and it’s easy to neglect some channels and focus on others.
To prevent this happening and to ensure you’re always pumping out fresh content to your social media followers – have a social media content schedule.
What do I mean by this?
Ok start with a goal. Examples include:
- Post once a day on all forms of social media for an entire month
- Run a promotion on Facebook to encourage people to share and like page
- 500 Facebook likes by the end of the month
- Respond to all responses/interaction from people
Pick whichever you want, something regular and achievable. Do something simple to begin with and if you carry it out then build on it for the following month.
Say you pick the first one. Experiment with 20-30 words (keep it short and sweet). Print out a month-view calendar if you like writing or use excel if you love spreadsheets. Write one topic or idea on each day of the month (i.e. days 1-30)
Think about the month ahead (e.g. November). What public holidays or events take place in this month? Doesn’t have to be restricted to the country you are in.
Make a list of topic ideas for tweets and Facebook posts; two-three words which you can expand upon. For example: Spring Carnival; Start of Summer; Christmas; Thanksgiving. Brainstorm different content which is themed and appropriate for the season.
- It makes sense that you wouldn’t talk about bikinis and summer weather in May or June; a better idea would be to promote that great new scarf you got and how it has a really cool pattern – “visit our website to get your own”.
Don’t just spam people with promoting your business; share interesting thoughts, a funny joke, a cool picture or a thoughtful quote. Build a relationship and online network with your followers. Don’t just try and sell them stuff all the time. Of course let them know when you’re having a sale or when you get in new products or when you’re featured in the media. Mix it up so that it appeals to more people (keeping your target market in mind).
Once you have your month of content prepared, set a reminder so that you release the content required for each day. Do it as you drink your morning coffee (or tea). Also try releasing tweets at different times during the day to test responses. See when the ‘peak’ time is for your followers and post then.
Remember to integrate hash tags and keywords so that your tweets are searchable by your audience. Research what the current hot topics are and target these.
After the month has finished analyse the results. What response did you get? Did you achieve your goal? Ask your followers what they thought of your content – could you tailor it better to suit their needs?
Keep doing what you did well for the next month (draw up another month schedule) and brainstorm new ways to reach your audience. It doesn’t take long, especially if you nut it out on the first day of the month – the rest of the time you can just cruise (I mean complete other business tasks!).
Our crew at Brown Paper can help you do this and can also set up an eCommerce store for you. We have packages for all budgets and provide a range of services.
