By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin
Where do you get your content for your social media? Is it all your own material or does it come from others?
People in publishing are looking for writers with excellent content. I’ve been on twitter since 2008 and tweeted over 58,000 times. My following has grown from zero (no followers) to over 190,000. How in the world do I determine what to have on my social media feeds and why do I never run out of new content?Haphazard and rare use of social media never works. To develop a following, you need to be putting out good and consistent content. I use a free tool Hootsuite to schedule my tweets throughout the day. Each communication is focused on my audience and readers (who are writers or people interested in publishing). Your target audience will be different but you must have a specific target.
Collect content and images. I subscribe to a number of blogs and newsletters who are in my target market I read these blogs and learn from them. Also I use these articles as content for my social media. As I find each one, I take a few minutes each day and add them to my Hootsuite releases for the days ahead. I keep the title of the article and attach the image from the article (since images get more social media attention).
When it comes to my tweets, I’ve developed my own structure for my daily game plan for my posts. Yours will be different but take the time to develop a structure. With this structure in place, your search for content is focused and deliberate. For example, I begin each day with a quotation and an image (often of the person quoted). Many people love these quotes so they are shared and retweeted.
At the beginning and the end of the day, I will point to my own resources such as blog posts (over 1500 posts in my blog) or free teleseminars or other personal resources. I keep a small plain text file with these posts and recycle them on a regular basis. In the middle of the day, I have new content from the articles and blogs and newsletters that I regularly read. I do not automatically take every post from these newsletters. With each one, I’m focused on my audience and asking,” Is this material a good fit for my reader?” If the answer is no, then I do not include it.
From my experience, there is an abundance of resources to add to your social media feeds. It’s part of the reason I tweet at least 12 times a day. It continues to draw new readers and older readers.
The
consistency and quality will draw people to your work. Yes this is platform
building 101 but necessary for every author. If you need more information about
platform building, then get my free Ebook on the topic.
As
you have a wealth of social media content, the consistent effort is important
and will pay off for you. You don't have to be on every social media channel.
Pick one or two and major on that particular channel.
Tweetable:
Follow these tips to have a wealth of social media
content. (ClickToTweet)
8 comments:
Terry, thanks for the tips on finding social media content and using it to keep our social presence going strong. I used to use SocialOomph, but ended up dropping it. I'll have to look into it again or Hootsuite. A strong social presence is important.
Karen,
Thanks for this comment. Using a tool like Hootsuite on a consistent basis has kept me visible in the world of social media--without consuming my schedule. It's a tricky balance for all of us but authors need to be active and visible on social media.
Terry
You are right, Terry. Reading experts every day contributes to your own success. Example. I read your post just now. I will be quoting from it for my in-progress book on tweeting for authors from Modern History Press. Indeed, I will credit the quotation I take. This article is a wealth of information. Decisions. Decisions! (-:
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the "other" Carolyn
Carolyn,
Thank you for this comment. We have a wealth of material that can be used for social media--the key is to gather it, take action with it (using a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite).
Terry
Fantastic Post, Terry! Thank you much for detailing your process and vision - very helpful. "...Take the time to develop a structure. With this structure in place, your search for content is focused and deliberate" for posting as well. Like Carolyn said, "a wealth of information".
Deborah Lyn,
I'm glad you found it helpful and thank you for this feedback. Creating a structure then consistent action is an important part of the process. I'm always amazed at who reads my posts.
Terry
I appreciate your post very much too, Terry, and am adding it to my arsenal. I ordered your book. I have noticed what a terrific media presence you have. Thank you for sharing how you accomplish it. I shared it on my social media.
Linda,
Thank you for this comment and the feedback. The process takes time. For example I just spent about 30 minutes this morning (something I do every Tuesday) and using Hootsuite set up most of my social media posts for the next week. It's the consistency which pays off. You can do it too.
Terry
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