In life, we must learn from our past to improve our future; this same sentiment directly applies to social media. Instead of rapidly firing off social media posts into the abyss, take time to review your work. Here are three ways past posts can improve your future content.
Review What Resonates
At least once a month you should review your social media posts and reflect on what flourished and what flopped. If no one is engaging with your weekly contests, consider taking this post out of circulation for a bit and replacing it with something new. Effective posts typically contain an eye-catching picture, an informative article, or a trending topic. Find out which one resonates with your audience and incorporate it whenever possible.
Inspect Your Timing
You could be posting the most brilliant work social media has ever received, but if you’re uploading it at the wrong time your audience may never see it. Through various analytic options like Google Analytics, you can research the peak times your audience is online. If you’re not incredibly tech savvy, try posting at a specific time for an entire week and change the timing the following week; the time slot that gets the most engagement should become the designated posting window. It may take a few weeks to find your sweet spot, but ultimately it will pay off.
Don’t Be Afraid to Repurpose
If a post outperformed all the rest during a one-month period, don’t be afraid to save it for a rainy day down the road. We recommend waiting at least two months before reusing a post and try to change the wording. For example, if you pulled a fun fact out of an informative article the first time around, look for a new angle for the encore. Once you’ve repurposed a piece of content two or three times, it’s time to retire it for good. Remember, posting new content with similar features is always better than duplicating old work that might be recognized by faithful followers. Users are more likely to interact with your posts when your content feels unique and timely rather than ordinary and out of date.
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