In this world of technology, it’s hard to ignore the power of social media. Social media is one of the most fickle tools at an author’s disposal. It’s an open platform allowing for direct engagement. But it is also an over-saturated platform that can be difficult to wade through.

The right social media content can guide your ideal audience to your blog posts.

Start by engaging with them on a deeper level, building the trust that leads to loyalty, and bigger profits.

Create shareable content by simply understanding the mind of your audience.

Find out what makes them tick. The trick is finding a way to build a loyal fan base within social media. Begin with an aim to foster a sense of belonging. One that will bring people back again and again. Direct interaction is one way, but it should be combined with another strategy: content strategy.

Numbers do not lie:

  • 22% of the population uses Facebook.
  • There are more than 450 million LinkedIn profiles.
  • A shockingly 93% access Pinterest to make purchases.
  • And, Snapchat has 123 million users, daily.

These numbers are hard to ignore and you cannot afford to miss out.

8 Steps to creating social media content

  1. Improve brand awareness: followers who mention your posts, retweet, and shares.
  2. Generate new leads: videos, links to your website.
  3. Driving traffic to your website: Check referral traffic coming from social media (via Google analytics dashboard or clicks on social posts, bounce rate for social traffic).
  4. Content: analyse what you’ve posted and determine which post was the most successful.
  5. Pick the right channel: Facebook and Twitter are ideal for visual content. LinkedIn is great for news, training, conferences or events and professional updates. Instagram is all about great images/videos that tell a story.
  6. Frequency is important: experiment with your weekly schedule. Each social media has different peak days and hours.
  7. Get inspired: by new ideas and listen to what your supporters are talking about.
  8. Plan your content in advance: Your social media profiles need to be active.

Tell your story

Storytelling makes it easy for you to raise awareness. Write about your involvement in the community. This is a sure way to engage your readers.

“Linda has published sixteen books. She blogs about the publishing world, posts useful tips on the challenges a writer faces, including marketing and promoting your work, how to build your online platform, how to get reviews and how to self-publish.”