How to Decide What to Share

Whether you’re branding your company, or yourself as an individual, it’s important to decide the kind of things you’re going to share. It’s also crucial that you decide what NOT to share on social media!
Many people think social media sites are all about sharing photographs of what you’re eating – not true! For some, that might be what your followers are looking for. However, for most it’s possible to build an authentic brand without sharing mundane personal details. Yes, it is possible to be authentic and post like a “real” person without sharing intimate details of your personal life!

Types of Content to Share on Social Media

Questions

Asking questions is a great way to build up engagement on your profile. Even if people like your posts, you’ll get more reactions if you directly ask them a question. Just make sure that they are generally on-topic. You can even use the answers to shape the content you share in future!

Useful Information

Sharing useful industry information or news is a great way to get followers to see you as an authority. When they see you as an authority, they will never want to stop following you. After all, you make it easy for them to keep on top of what they need to know, without having to do the research themselves!

Inspiration

Lots of people use social media as a place to escape from the daily grind and get inspired. It obviously depends what niche you’re in, but inspirational quotes can go down extremely well when spread out amongst your regular content. It could even become a key part of your brand: being seen as the place to go to get inspired!

Photos & Videos

Photos and videos tend to get more response than plain text on social media. It makes sense, since they’re quick to digest and will stand out on a social media timeline. So make sure you include plenty of these in between text updates.

Your Own Content

Don’t forget to share links to your own blog and promotions sometimes, just be careful not to overdo it! Some followers won’t ever bother subscribing to your blog or mailing list, so sharing the links on social media is a good way to make sure they see what you have to offer.

What NOT to Share on Social Media

Constant Promotions

Although people do love a bargain, and they will love that you’re offering them something special just for being a follower, then won’t love being sold to constantly. Keep the promotions to a minimum and opt for posts that add value to their lives. This is what is ultimately going to build your brand and help create more loyal customers.

Customer Disputes

There could be some exceptions to this rule, but even when you’re being authentic it’s important not to air your dirty laundry in public. This means not publicly naming and shaming customers who have unreasonable complaints, or post something inappropriate on your page. Instead, delete any offending public comments and leave things be. Your reputation should always remain professional.

Unrelated Controversial Opinions

If you have an opinion about politics, why post it to the Facebook page of your flower arranging business? Keep politics out of it, unless being controversial is a key part of your brand.

Next up is:  Social Media Branding Rule #6: Work on Building Trust More Than Anything

Share this article with these Tweetables:

• What you share on social media matters – Click to Tweet
• Tips on sharing the best content for social engagement – Click to Tweet
• Is your content falling flat on social media? – Click to Tweet
• @SusanGilbert explains what to post on social media for the best results – Click to Tweet