Although necessary, we know that the idea of creating a library of promotional content can quickly become overwhelming, which is why today we’re talking about ways to work smarter, not harder. Whether you have a website with a blog (our best practice), a page on Facebook, an active Instagram feed, or you regularly post articles on LinkedIn, you should view everything you write or create as a part of a greater content library, for use across multiple platforms.
Did you write something on Facebook that struck a nerve? Work it into a longer post for your blog or LinkedIn article. Did you create a popular image on Instagram? Share it on Facebook and again on Twitter (tools like Pablo allow you to turn one image into the correct size for all three sites). Writing a 600 word blog post does more than just populate your blog, it also gives you ready-made content for Facebook shares, tweets, Instagram images, and even LinkedIn content.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Let’s use this post as an example of how to get more content out of just one writing session. If this were your post, you might send out a tweet (or one could automatically go out using a tool like dlvr.it) that would say, “New Post! Taking Stock of Your Content” with the associated URL. That’s great, but if you want to get the most out of your work, you should take about 5 minutes and go through your post, creating tweets for your content library that would look something like this:
- Look at everything you write or create as a part of a greater content library, for use across multiple channels. #SocialTips https://bit.ly/2QK652g
- When you write a post, you’ve done more than just populate your blog, you’ve created content for Facebook shares, tweets, and Instagram images. https://bit.ly/2QK652g
- Work smarter, not harder. Today’s post contains #SocialMediaTips on how to get the most out of your writing → https://bit.ly/2QK652g
Those took two minutes to create, and everything was pulled directly from the opening paragraphs of this blog post, with a few tweaks. One blog post = three instant tweets to share.
Now take the last tweet and, using a program like Canva, turn it into an image for Instagram that can also be shared on Facebook and used in the blog post. Or take this same post, trim it down to one idea, about 250 words, and use it as a new LinkedIn article that helps drive people back to the site. Don’t have time to write a new post? Use one from the archives and draft it back into service on all new channels. The possibilities are endless!
There’s one last thing to keep in mind when you’re reworking content. If you want clicks through to your blog or website, you must ensure you’re not only offering value in your original post, but also in your social media promotion. In the example tweets, people get an instant, useful takeaway that makes them want to click through to learn more — and that’s the key to being a platform builder.
Get the click. Land the new view. Score a share or retweet. Grow your audience. Build your platform — one post at a time.
Carrie Koens joined the Weaving Influence team in May 2012 and has held a number of roles, including three years as the Book Launch Director (a title she stepped away from in June 2016 in order to focus on the needs of her growing family), and she currently serves the team as a Writer and Consultant. An INTJ with a penchant for culture, book stores, Parisian cafés, Indian curry, British mystery shows, and her passport, you can find her on Twitter @CGKoens.