Social media is crawling with users who are passionate about your association’s purpose, which makes it the perfect place to share the engaging, relevant and timely content that you are producing. With the average internet user spending over two hours on social media each day (Digital Information World, 2018), the stage is set for your content to perform. Here are five ways to get the most out of your content’s exposure on social media.
- Tailor your message. From professional development to educational opportunities and event recaps, your content likely hits a wide range of topics. It can be tempting to post everything on social media, but that isn’t always the best approach. It is important to consider the intended purpose of each channel and what kind of content your followers are looking for when they visit. A good rule of thumb is to publish professional content on LinkedIn, where your association can be seen as a thought leader, while letting Facebook and Twitter content take on a more casual, personal tone. While we have seen success with these approaches, it is incredibly important to take time to analyze the engagement on each of your channels and identify areas where your followers may deviate from this approach.
- Find subject matter experts. Take advantage of active followers who interact with your association on social media. LinkedIn and Facebook groups are a gold mine for interested, engaged and credible sources. Consider reaching out to active followers via direct message to see if they would be willing to write an article, contribute thoughts or ideas, or provide insight on an industry topic with which you are unfamiliar. In return, these followers may share the content with their own professional networks—lending more eyes to the valuable, insightful content your organization is creating.
- Be consistent. You have the opportunity to enhance your association’s position as a thought leader in its industry by leveraging social media as a platform for sharing content. Consistently posting on social media reassures your followers that each time they visit your page they will find relevant, timely and compelling information about your industry.
- Don’t be scared to share. As much as your association craves engagement, other organizations crave it, too! Sharing, retweeting, and crediting other organizations’ posts, blogs, podcasts and news articles is an easy way to engage with organizations who reach similar audiences. This engagement can lead to more followers for you, too. (It’s a win/win!)
- Always pivot. The world of social media has rapidly changed over the past several years, and there is no indication it’s slowing down. Taking the time to evaluate your organization’s presence on social media on a consistent basis is important. Pay attention to industry trends and platform changes so you can maximize your audience engagement within the current social landscape.