In content marketing, the content itself is just half of the marketing mix. The other half is getting the right people see that content. The easiest way for you to do this is by using social media.
Using social media in your content marketing, however, is not as easy as posting links on Twitter or Facebook. There are strategies that you need to follow in order to gain traction for your work. If you use these strategies the right way, your content media marketing efforts will thrive.
Share your content at the right time.
When are you posting content on your social media platforms? Does this time coincide with the time your target audience opens the social media applications? While there’s no perfect way to determine when all your target audience will stay online, you can schedule your post according to the time you get the most interactions.
In Twitter, for instance, it has been found that users are most active from Monday to Friday. The peak usage is between 1 pm and 3 pm. Meanwhile, Facebook users usually log-in to their social media account after working hours, in the evening, and on weekends.
Optimize content for each social network.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube– these are the biggest social network channels at the moment. When you have an account in each of them, you’ll realize that they have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Ana Maria De La Cruz, a Content Marketing Specialist said, before start creating an account on each social media network, first analyse where your target audience pass most of their time and start using that social media platform.
Twitter does not allow you to post a long content. Instagram relies heavily on images. Pinterest only attracts a very specific audience. On the other hand, Twitter allows you to make personal interactions with customers. Instagram visually promotes products. And the half-life of a Pinterest post is 3.5 months, which is 1,680 times longer than an FB post. Take advantage of the strengths of each social media platform when promoting your content.
Encourage discussions among followers and visitors.
Social media is a tool that you can use to supplement your content marketing strategy. This said, you should use its unique features to promote your content. One way to do this is by initiating conversations with your audience.
Once you’ve gotten your content in front of your target audience, your next challenge is to gather comments. Comments inform you about your potential customers’ stand on a given topic. You might use the data you get from these comments in improving your products and services. The problem is that more than 50% of social media users are lurkers. In other words, they read posts but don’t comment on them. To encourage discussion, you must give them an interesting content. You can also try asking questions or conduct a survey.
Respond to negative feedback positively.
No matter how great your content is, there are times when you will garner negative reactions especially because it is easier to leave negative feedback on social media. It might seem frustrating at first, but you can actually use it as an opportunity to gain PR points. Acknowledge genuine feedback and find a solution. However, if the feedback is meant to be sarcastic, respond with a good joke. You’ll win a lot more followers this way.
Monitor your posts.
Monitoring what your target audience liking and commenting on can help you find out exactly what kind of content you should be making. You can manually check your social media status. However, this will be a tedious task. It’s smarter to use smart analytic tools to track your audience’s interests, concerns, and perceptions. With the data you get, you can make a content that has a greater value.
Use influencers to boost your content.
Engaging influencers related to your brand can give your content the boost it needs. These influencers have a huge number of relevant followers who can turn into valuable customers. They can also help you engage with the most ideal customers and build your own social media following. How can they do this?
Influencers can act as your brand ambassadors, making large deals, shortening sales cycles, reaching out to new customers, and increasing your revenue.
Conclusion
Use social media to spread your content in a more organic way. By following the strategies above, you’ll be able to promote your content and get it in front of your target audience.
How many social media networks are you using? Which one performs better for you? Please share your finding.
