Why consistently posting on social media matters
The key to maintaining and growing an audience is consistency. And how do you reach consistency? When you post every week at a consistent rate. Not leaving a gap. Consistently showing up in your audience's feed. This is key to be remembered and stick in people's minds.
Once your Social Media Calendar is set up, you can start posting.
What are the different building blocks?
1. The message
First, think about your message and what you want to convey.
You can start with a single sentence on what you will discuss. Include what you want to talk about, the audience and the main goal.
E.g. I want to create a social media post with 3 tips for making product videos for SaaS companies so they already get some value and will continue reading on the blog.
This is the backbone of your social media post.
2. The format
What format will help you convey your message? Each platform has its specific formats, but there are some that stay the same.
LinkedIn
- Text only: You can just share a piece of text, no visual, no link. This works for snackable tips, how to's, opinions ...
- Visual and text: The first thing people see when scrolling is the visual. This can help to capture your audience's attention. This works for snackable tips, how-to's, opinions, pictures of your team ...
- External link: When you have a larger piece of content you want to share, like an article, a blog on your website, a contact form ...
- Video: If you feel comfortable in front of the camera, video is a great way to build trust with your audience. People don't buy from a brand, they buy from other people, so imagine how your business can benefit from good video content.
- LinkedIn Newsletter: Repurpose your blog content from your website and create a Newsletter with it to attract a bigger audience.
- Poll: Do you have a burning question to ask your audience? Try out the poll option in LinkedIn or create an image with different poll options (e.g. tap like if you agree, tap celebrate if you disagree). Tip: use the results to make a different post on social media.
- Document: You can upload a PDF in LinkedIn and this will create a sort of slideshow. It's great for infographics, how-to's, tips... Tip: squares work best. Don't include too much text in the PDF so it stays readable.
Instagram
- Single Image post: Instagram is a visual-first medium, so an image that captures the attention is crucial. Also, this fills your feed. If people discover your profile, you don't want them to end up on an empty one.
- Carousel: If you want to upload more pictures at the same time (e.g. of your latest team building), you can do so in Instagram.
- Story: Stories stay on Instagram for 24 hours. This is great for really instant moments. Extra fun: you can add polls, questions ... to make it more interactive. Tip: create highlights from your stories
- Reel: A reel can be up to 90 seconds. It's a fun way to create short videos.
X
- Tweet: You have up to 280 characters for a tweet. You can include 4 photos, a GIF, a video or an external link
- Thread: Do you need more than 280 characters to express yourself? Create a thread. Tip: number them, so it's easy for your audience to follow.
Facebook
- Text only: You can just share a piece of text, no visual, no link.
- Visual and text: First thing people see when scrolling is a visual. This can help to capture your audience's attention. This works for snackable tips, how to's, opinions, pictures of your team ...
- External link: when you have a larger piece of content you want to share, like an article, a blog on your website, a contact form ...
- Video: If you feel comfortable in front of the camera, video is a great way to build trust with your audience. People don't buy from a brand, they buy from other people, so imagine how your business can benefit from good video content.
- Story: Share videos or images that last up to 24 hours. Tip: link your Instagram to your Facebook so you can post your stories at the same time
Social media platforms regularly try out new formats
Newer content types have a better reach than existing content types. The first mover advantage is real. So don't hesitate and just try it out!
3. The caption and the visual or video
Check out these lessons:
4. Plan and publish the post
- Go to Willow
- Go to your Schedule if you already create a social media calendar
- Click on +Create Post on the right slot
- Add your caption, hashtags, image/link/video
- Click on Schedule
5. Engage
- Encourage your network to interact with the post in the first few hours of posting, e.g.
- Tag people in the comments
- Send a message in Slack, Teams, WhatsApp ... for your employees to engage
- Reply to all the comments that come in
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