Recently I suggested that a client should update their regular social media posts as I didn’t think they were working very well. I got thrown a challenge “But you wrote them?”
The answer was that social media has changed and the type of content people post needs to keep up with the latest ‘fashion’!
When Facebook appeared on the scene (2005), posts were chatty, personal and social, then along came Twitter and we all had to learn to write our thoughts into 140 characters! To be honest this was a useful education for all writers as short and simple always trumps long and rambly!
Then LinkedIn upgraded their services and the business version of Facebook emerged.
But YouTube came along, followed by Pinterest and then Instagram, which means that pictures and video got centre stage.
Fashion
Twitter is less popular with business people these days, unless you want to connect with celebrities or journalists.
Facebook is – so I’m told – for ‘old people’!!! But lots of small businesses still use it as a means of connecting with their tribes – some enormously successfully.
Instagram remains very popular, but requires an image that attracts attention. And, of course, TikTok has given us the Twitter version of video – short and easy to consume.
LinkedIn has moved with the times and follows the trends established by other platforms, with a lot of video and image based content, with a business focus (mostly).
Frequency
Twitter encouraged people to post frequently – often several times a day. Even if your weren’t following many people the home feed moved so fast that multiple posts vanished quickly.
However, that approach doesn’t work so well on other platforms and today, for businesses, fewer posts, but better content is the rule to follow.
You’re not just looking for views, or even likes, but engagement. Given the millions of people on any given platform, that’s hard to achieve.
Focus
Getting that all important engagement depends on two key factors:
- Know your target audience intimately – what they’re interested in, what gets them involved.
- Deliver great content.
This may be simple, but neither of these are easy, but they are the secrets of success.
You don’t have to deliver daily inspiring posts and meaty, thought-provoking content, but you do have to deliver content your audience will love, whether that’s information on the newest galaxy to be discovered or cartwheeling cats! It all depends on your audience.
Two great posts a week are better than mediocre daily posts!
