How to Create the Perfect Social Media Post
Taking the time and effort to create the perfect social media post has never been more important. All social media platforms are swamped with content – both good and bad. After you've taken the time to create great content or curated something to share, you need to present it in the smartest possible way.
“Content is currency — something we trade for our audience’s attention.” Frank Strong
I think that social media is the new television and that you need to be entertaining and informative with your social media. You've worked hard to build your content strategy but having a laser beam focus on only your brand doesn't always build or maintain people's attention which is as best around seven to ten seconds. The average attention span was twelve seconds in 2000 and was eight seconds in 2012 according to Statistic Brain. Wow, right?
So, what does this mean for today's social media marketers and professionals? You need to be entertaining and add some fun into your social media content mix. Promoting only your product, book or blog non-stop won't be interesting to anyone, most likely not even yourself. Keeping your ratio of content at 90 percent other people's content (OPC) and 10 percent your own content will help you but don't be too dry or stuffy when you create your editorial calendar.
Tips by social media platform
Google+:
1. Use great images on each post. 800 pixels x 600 pixels or 800 pixels x 1200 pixels look fantastic.
2. Make your posts stand out! — It don’t mean a thing if it don’t have that bling! Use some formatting to give your posts some pizzazz. Give your post a bold title, and use some italics, sprinkle in a few relevant hashtags and voila! Your post is ready to go.
3. Make sure you give credit to the source of the text and photo that you are sharing. Being a good citizen by giving proper credit is very important.
Pinterest:
1. Create niche boards with a tight theme.
2. Add descriptions of 200 characters with keywords to help people find your pins through search.
3. Create vertical images to maximize your real estate. Pinterest images should be long and narrow to take up the maximum amount of visual space and get noticed! Look at your favorite pins and see what the images have in common so you see what types of images are repinned and shared. I create images that are up to 735 pixels by 1102 pixels. This creates an engaging invitation to repin your pinned article. Edit the pin to add the link in the source.
Twitter:
1. Write tweets between 120 and 130 characters – leave room for retweets with comments. 2. Tweet links at a slow pace – use Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your tweet. 3. Use action words in your tweets.
Every day when you wake up, you have a choice. You can choose to be negative or positive… —@PegFitzpatrick pic.twitter.com/u1yQYRgMXY — SimpleReminders.com (@SimpleReminders) May 23, 2014
Facebook:
1. Post consistently to stay in the News Feed. 2. Add variety to your content by posting photos, videos, and articles. 3. Have fun with your Facebook posts – this is a more personal network so let people get to know you here.
1. Be relevant. LinkedIn is the place to show your smarts. I don’t recommend posting quotes as status updates here. I love them on Pinterest and Twitter but I don’t feel they carry enough weight for a LinkedIn update.
2. Be consistent. Post at least one update per day and up to four per day spread out through the day to remain active in the LinkedIn stream.
3. Quality counts. Share your own content as well as the best content in your field of focus. The content that you curate and share reflects your own content and should be strong.
I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can create fantastic social media posts. If you want to learn more about how to create better social media posts, check out this webinar that Guy Kawasaki and I created with host fabulous Mari Smith.
Photo credit: Big Stock Photos
Love these! I typically take horizontal photos, but have been cropping them vertically for Pinterest and Google Plus, you’re so right…it makes a huge difference. Great tips Peg!
TianaKaiMiami It’s a challenge to switch the way you think about a photo but vertical is the way to go. Have you checked out Trey Ratcliffe’s Pinterest? He does special photo crops for his Pinterest posts and they are gorgeous!
Great advice! I’m starting a Pinterest account for our company, so I will def keep those tips in mind. How would I actually crop them to be vertical? What program would I use?
Hey Mizzmaryb, I suggest using Photoshop if you want to create stunning and exclusive imagery unique to your brand. To make things easier, there are tons of ready made templates you can download. A simpler alternative is to use canva.com.
You can also use Canva, a free design program. It has prepared image sizes for different social media posts (pinterest, facebook, instagram to name a few). They have a huge inventory of pictures, some are free, the others cost a dollar. I would highly suggest checking them out. If anyone is still looking at this post. in 2016.
Hi Peg! Wonderful post you have here. These tips would really help me do great in G+, twitter and other social media platforms because I do love to post something with photo to make it more catchy. Love to read more of your posts!
maeganA Hi Maegan! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Hi Peg!
I have a little acquaintance about social media. I realize, your article is very essential, actually twitter, pinterest, G+ and linkdin is a great platform for gathering lots of audience. Thanks for your kindness, keep it up and I’m waiting for your next experience.
Peg, tell me one thing how do you brew/ferment your ideas before offering “pegs” to your audiences. Only audiences because I have never been a spectator to see you through virtual presentations or on Instagram.
Yes, leaving some space for RTs is a big deal. It helps a lot so don’t forget to do that!
Excellent post PegFitzpatrick this are very useful tips for social media to be successful, Thanks a lot.
How often would you schedule tweets on Twitter? I was doing it every hour with Hootsuite but very time consuming, trying to use other articles as well as promote my own posts from my blog. I find with Twitter if you don’t keep active, you lose followers.
Thank you!!
This is a fantastic post! I love that you broke it down for anyone that is new to the social media game. definitely going to pin this for later!
Thanks,
Hi Peg – I just found your blog accidentally while searching for something else – glad I rode the wave over here. I signed up for your newsletter and am looking forward to digging into your blog more. Thanks for the great info and I love how you have put it all together!
Very nice aarticle
Hey Peg!
I know this is a bit of an oldie, but it’s still SUCH a goodie!
I was googling this subject for a new client and yours was by far the most helpful result.
Thanks for being awesome, as always:)
BB
Hello!
YOU ROCK PEG! Thank you for this article which I found very helpful. Keep on posting and never stop making people inspire by your content writings.
God Bless you more!
Hey Peg, I have a small business. I know we aren’t suppose to sell on Facebook, but what does that mean? Can we advertise about the product or show results or facts? I just need to cans and cants! Thanks so much for your help!!
I want to say sell on our personal Facebook page.