You’ve heard two sides of the story when it comes to automating your business social media: some will tell you no way should you do it, while others tell you it’s the way to go!
Which is right? Well, to get straight to the point, what would you rather do with your time – sit in front of your laptop all day and post on all your social media platforms at different times, or put your efforts into areas of the business that really need your attention?
Time is the key element here; none of us have endless time, and it’s essential we use that we do have to the best effect. That’s why automating your social media is the way to go – it’s one less thing for you to worry about and spend time on every day.
How do you do it and make it work? We have put together some great tips that will have you up and running in no time at all, so here we go!
Planning Ahead
First, let’s dispel a myth that surrounds automated social media; there’s a school of thought that says it’s impersonal. It’s not, it’s simply a case of planning ahead.
Here’s the thing – what you write and post will be no less personal if you write it in advance to be published at a later date, than if you write it now. So that one’s out of the way.
Know Your Networks
We’ll start with a simple yet expansive tip: each of your social media networks will work best with certain types of content. What do we mean by this?
Well, Facebook is a different place – so to speak – than LinkedIn. It may be obvious when you read that, but it’s easily forgotten. Here’s a few ideas as to what some of the different networks will work best with:
🔵 Facebook –
The most ‘social’ of all the networks, Facebook isn’t the place for dry business info, but a great outlet for incidental and fun content with a leaning towards the inspirational. There are no barriers as to using emotion in your posts here, but remember to keep it short and simple, and that hashtags are not a Facebook element.
🔵 Twitter –
Twitter is the place for short and informative content, or perhaps inspiration quotes from relevant people. It’s also a good one for tips and advice, hashtags are very much of the moment here, and you can score by sharing relevant Tweets from others, too.
🔵 LinkedIn –
Business, business, business, that’s what it’s all about at LinkedIn. This is networking at its very finest, so make sure you use it for news, perhaps some ‘how to’ copy, or even sharing others business news and content. No hashtags here either!
We could add a bit about Instagram, Pinterest and others, but we think we’ve given you an idea of the concept, so let’s move forward.
Don’t Repeat Content
Following on from the above, you don’t want to give out the same content on all your social media networks; make sure each has a fresh item for people to read as and when you want it published. This is a great way of engaging people across a wider range, and also keeps your potential customers engaged. Engagement, after all, is the number one aim of your social media marketing.
Automation is about planning ahead, so you want to prepare your content to publish at different times on different platforms. This is again important, and makes for a more efficient method of getting word around.
Get the Timing Right
Automation is all about planning and scheduling, and a little research shows that posts are more likely to be read on certain platforms at certain times of the day – or even week!
This is knowledge that will come in very useful when planning your business social media marketing, so here are a few tips, and we suggest extra research may benefit you.
- Friday is always a good day to post on the likes of Facebook, and especially in the afternoon when people are winding down for the weekend. Plan for early afternoon if you want the most shares.
- Twitter is used by people when commuting, so check those times for maximum exposure, and also it would appear on Wednesdays! It’s worth asking around as to when people tend to check their feeds, as this should give you a good idea of how people use it.
- LinkedIn is at its least used on Mondays and Fridays, so steer away from those days if you are scheduling content, and is at its most lively on the mid-week days in the early hours of the morning and at lunchtime.
Once more, these are a few ideas that will help you get a feel for the way various networks operate, and there is plenty research you can do to enhance your social media marketing, so have a look now and see just how you can boost your exposure.
