Writing for Social Media: How to Make Every Post a Win

If you’re a writer, you know it’s good to be smart about how often you highlight certain things. If everything’s bold, nothing’s bold.

In the same way, it’s better to publish one content-rich article a week than ten semi-decent posts because readers won’t come back to you if they don’t find consistent value. There are just too many other places to go.

Here are five things to remember for the long haul when writing and pacing social media content to get targeted results and build long-term value:

1. Write content that’s short, but rich.

   The quote, “If I had more time, I’d write a shorter letter” has been attributed to various sources like Twain, Churchill, Pascal and even Bill Clinton. This tells us at least two things: (a) The quote is true. It’s harder and better to write shorter and (b) it’s good to not cite a quote if you aren’t sure who said it. If you can impart substance in 700 words rather than 1500, then that makes a great article; still better even if it takes more time to write.

2. Be calculated about content distribution.

   As far as posting to social media platforms, you don’t want to be like the hum of a refrigerator that goes unnoticed a minute after its plugged in. With so much noise out there in digital spaces, the way to stand out is to push great content out with thoughtful and planned regularity.

   For example, you might have three great articles written and ready to go, but that doesn’t mean you should post them all in the same day like some batched digest. Create a content marketing pipeline and use scheduling tools that many social platforms offer. HootSuite makes this exceptionally easy and effective. All of your social media platforms can deliver scheduled content, deployed from one place at one time.

3. Grow your audience through paid and targeted promotion.

   If your budget for Facebook is just $10 a week, you want to maximize that investment in a post that will showcase your offering, establish you as a credible resource, and legitimately help your readers. You’d be surprised at how much targeted activity that $10 per week can render. Facebook makes this super easy and takes you through a quick process to select a specific audience of your choosing.

4. Pin your most helpful content to the top.

   In the digital marketplace, the old adage has never been truer: You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. You know that some of your social media posts are better than others. Not that they aren’t all great! But the ones that most directly help your market are the ones you want to showcase.

   With the “pin to the top” function on your Facebook and Twitter page or “stick this post to the front page” in a WordPress blog, you can put your best articles first in cue.

5. Re-purpose your “best of” content.

   Evergreen content is the stuff you write that stays relevant despite changing times and technology. You won’t always write evergreen posts if you have information that’s bleeding edge, but there’s a place for that too.

   You probably have content that stands the test of time and there’s nothing wrong with reusing great content at appropriate times. Keep a “best of” file on hand, and this will come in especially handy if you’re having a bout with writer’s block. But be careful. Faithful readers who count on you for fresh content will notice.

Great things are even greater when there’s pace and space. Write your best and move it out through social media in thoughtful and calculated ways.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Mark Jay Scott has been a writer and speaker for nearly 20 years, formerly as a radio personality for a major market FM station in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region where he produced and hosted two weekly programs, Real Life Matters and Essential Radio; and excelled in copywriting and voiceover production for a wide variety of commercial advertisers. Mark loves to help people succeed by motivating them and showing them simple and practical ways to love and keep their productive edge in life and business at Love Your Edge. Connect with @markjayscott on Twitter.

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