1. Make your content valuable
Writing something for the sake of writing something is of no use to anyone and has been a waste of your time. Read your content (or watch it if on YouTube!) and ask yourself if this is information that you would find valuable. Do you offer new ideas? A point of view? Is it a little controversial? Maybe you want to share something that has worked for your business. Whatever it is, make sure that it’s so valuable to your readers that they want share it with their followers!
2. Be engaging
If someone leaves a comment on your content make sure to reply by thanking them or answering questions as soon as you can after they’ve posted. It only takes a few seconds but it’ll make such a difference! Social media is all about engagement so, if a Twitter follower re-tweets a link to your content, take a moment to thank them. Remember, they think your content is worth sharing with their followers!
3. Keep it fresh
Keep your content as up to date as possible. Old news isn’t going to attract new followers or keep loyal readers interested. Make sure to keep on top of what’s going on in your area of interest or business and be the first to broadcast breaking news to your followers!
4. Keep it relevant
Is the content relevant to your industry? Does it refer to current trends, issues (good and bad) and industry news? Does it solve an industry specific problem, promote an event or offer advice? If not, don’t write it!
5. Be and expert, not a salesperson
There’s nothing worse than reading a blog that’s been crammed with keywords in order to reach the dizzy heights of Google’s number one spot and sell, sell, sell.. However, with the recent release of Google’s Penguin algorithm those days are, thankfully, numbered. In other words, search engines are getting cleverer and are now penalizing sites (and content) that don’t make the grade. So, be an expert – offer advice, share ideas and engage with your customers. Traditional SEO (based on the size of your wallet!) just won’t cut it anymore.
6. Know who your audience are
Naturally, the advertising industry have this down to a tee. Ever seen an advert for Barbie in the middle of Grand Designs or an advert for perfume in the middle of Postman Pat? No? Well, we all know that these huge advertising agencies have teams of marketing and product experts working together in order to make sure that not only is the advert relevant but it also reaches the right audience. Quite simply, it doesn’t matter how wonderful your content (or product) is, if the right people aren’t seeing it then what’s the point? Do some research – who might be interested in what you have to say?
7. Keep it regular
You’re blogging every week and you have followers! Fantastic! Here comes the hardest bit – keeping it coming on a regular basis. We advise our clients to publish a blog on a weekly basis, post to Facebook bi-weekly and Twitter three times daily. If you’re serious about growing your customer base and increasing brand awareness then keeping a steady stream of quality news and updates going is essential. See my previous blog on dormant Facebook pages for examples of how not to do it!
8. Vary your content
You may have heard of a small, up and coming social networking platform called Pinterest? ; ) Yep, it’s doing rather well these days! Visual content is a big deal at the moment and not taking advantage of platforms that give you the opportunity to share images or video with your ‘fans’ is just crazy. Instagram is a great tool with which to take your own images and give them a ‘feel’ with a choice of filters. Wherever possible , this is where my blog images come from! Please don’t stop writing though. All I’m saying is that varying how you present your content over a range of platforms is going to gain you more followers – as long as it’s good!
9. Share it!
So you’ve spent precious time writing your blog, designing your info graphic or making a promotional video. Now what? Share it, that’s what!! Let the world hear what you have to say by posting links via all your social networking platforms. Post a video to your YouTube Channel or your Facebook page, link your Facebook and Twitter accounts to make sure that one post becomes two! Add any images from your blog to your Pinterest board. most Make sure that when users have read what you have to say, you give them the opportunity to share it by providing a variety of sharing buttons under each post.
