Streamlining your Routine – Pre-scheduling Content
Now that you have created a fool-proof posting schedule for your social media posts, you want to be able to do that in the most effortless way possible. From collecting beautiful imagery to capture your audience's attention, to creating branded templates, to scheduling the right posts on the right social media channels, we've got you covered.
Sourcing Imagery
Using beautiful imagery is hugely important to how your will be perceived online. Many brands use smart phone photos in the early stage of their business before they can afford to invest in a professional photographer. But you know better. You know that there are loads of great sites out there that offer completely free images that you can use on your social media. It can be easy to get carried away with these sites, but try to make sure that the images you choose fit in with your vision for your brand.
Check out the list of sites below for some truly beautiful imagery:
QUICK NOTE: make sure that you looks at the usage terms. Some images may require you to post links to attribute them. Just make sure you don't get caught out here.
Create the Content
Creating Templates
A good content schedule is broken down into themes to help you create the right types of content with ease. Depending on the type of content you have chosen, it may be worth creating a number of templates to keep your branding cohesive and the creation of visual posts simple.
Obviously, the best thing to do here is to work with a graphic designer to create visually stunning post templates that you can edit as you go along or images you can use again and again such as invitations for your followers to post on threads about self promotion or collaboration.
If you are not in a position to be able to work with a professional designer, you should consider using an app such as Canva to create these templates for yourself. Canva gives you a huge range of post templates for all manner of uses. Here you can easily customise each element and add in your branding to create some truly beautiful posts that will be sure to attract your audience's attention.
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Writing the Copy
Using a call to action
Every effective social media post should include a 'call to action'. Your call to action may be encouraging your audience to do a range of things.
It might be to 'Learn More...' ('Read More...', 'See More...', 'Check Out...', 'Explore...'). This is great to drive traffic to your website or to share a relevant article or multimedia.
It could be to 'Share...' ('Retweet/share if you Think...', 'Tell your friends...', 'Spread the Word...'). Sharing is great for reaching new audiences, engaging your audience and raising awareness around issues.
Using 'Take Action...' ('Donate now to...', 'Your gift will...', 'Sign our petition to...', 'Pledge to...') is great for when your audience is engaged and poised to donate or contribute. This type of post should be linked to a broader campaign which gives more information or has wide media coverage.
'Tell us Your Story...' ('We Want to Know Why...', 'Tell Us What You Think...', Share Your Story...') is a great way to show your audience that you value their opinions and contributions. Use this to engage in thought-provoking conversation or as a means of gathering user-generated content.
The Art of Cross-Promotion
Beware of 'cross-posting' content that you have created directly between platforms. It is important that you know better than to do this. Each social platform has its own distinct personality and different types of posts will work best. Instead, 'cross-promotion' is the art of promoting the same piece of substantial content across social networks. Perhaps you have written a great blog post or made a stunning video. Share details of these across all of your social channels, being aware of the tone that you are using.
For example, if you have written a killer blog post, you might want to take into account the following:
Facebook Profile - Add a personal comment as an introduction to the post.
Facebook Page - Add a slightly more formal introduction – perhaps something insightful from the content itself. Schedule for a different time to the personal prolife post.
LinkedIn - Similar to the Facebook Page post, but with a more business-like tone.
Twitter - Add a couple of hashtags to key words (be sure not to go overboard on this), and @ handles to relevant accounts you want to tag as well as a shortened link.
Instagram - You may want to add personal comments or an invite to share if appropriate
Pinterest – Think about creating multiple graphics to post to group Pinterest boards to maximise your reach and test which visuals work best.
DON'T FORGET: Be sure to pay attention to the best times for your posts on each social network to gain maximum exposure.
Scheduling Apps
Of course, the ultimate tool that you will need to streamline your social media processes is a scheduling app. There are a range of different apps out there which all have great capabilities. We recommend using Buffer or Hootsuite. The basic account on both of these platforms is free and more than powerful enough to get you off to a great start. Here, you can pre-schedule a large volume of content, as planned out in your [link to social media posting schedule article].
If you do decide that you want to cross-post anything – make sure you choose wisely where to do this – you can use a tool like IFTTT (If This Then That) to set up an automatic 'recipes' such as posting Instagram pictures as native to Twitter or Facebook. We suggest that this only makes up a small part of your social media strategy.
So to Sum Up...
Make use of the great selection of free stock images available online.
Try to create a cohesive collection of stock images that suit the vibe of your brand.
Be sure to look at image usage terms so you don't get caught out.
Create a set of branded post templates using Canva to save time down the line.
Always use a call to action in your posts to ensure maximum engagement and tell your audience what to do next.
Cross-promote your best content across your social media channels for the best possible reach.
Schedule your carefully crafted content using Hootsuite or Buffer to take the weight of posting off your mind.
I hope this helps you to streamline your social media presence and really concentrate your efforts on working on your business as opposed to in it.
Infinite love and gratitude as always,
Mindful Modern Nomad
Fran Cresswell