Some things that I’ve recently noticed can cause anxiety:
- First dates
- Managing your company’s social media accounts
But guess what? In neither of those situations do you have to go it alone.
Skip the awkwardness of the first date by inviting a few of your closest friends and telling your date to do the same.
And in the world of marketing? Concerned about your ability to create new and exciting content to share on your company’s social media channels? Get some other companies’ content in the mix.
You heard me right.
Retweeting, sharing and reposting other companies’ social media posts is okay. In fact, I encourage you to do it – as long as you put a little strategy behind it.
Develop Your Brand’s Personality
How it works for group dates: Your date gets a better sense of your personality.
Swapping a candlelit dinner for two for a group outing will put you and your date at ease, making it easier to get to know the real you.
Similarly, of all of your marketing channels, social media is one on which you have the most opportunity to develop your brand’s personality, and sharing other companies’ content affords you a chance to do so.
Whether it’s comical or constructive, if something aligns with your company’s voice, goals, industry, products or services, it’s probably worth a share.
When Runner’s World shared some Monday motivation, it was retweeted by exercise equipment and activewear clothing companies alike. The Runner’s World article, which features multiple calls to action for readers to invest in good equipment, aligns with the message that each of these companies are sending.
Beyond this, these companies likely recognized they share a similar audience to Runner’s World, and as a result, their followers would find a post like this just as valuable as Runner’s World’s do.
Which leads me to this reminder: Your reposted content should offer value to your followers. The more useful your followers find your social media channels, the more time they’ll spend interacting with your posts, and in turn your site (and ultimately, your product or service).
Here are some quick tips to find complementary content.
Set aside 1 hour each month to follow other companies’ accounts.
When searching, start with the recommendations that each social media channel auto generates. Twitter’s suggestions for who to follow, for instance, are based on patterns from your following history.
Think about your audience’s interests when searching for new accounts.
If you’re in the recreational sports equipment biz, check out some professional athletes’, sports teams’ and leagues’ accounts.
Or, if you’re a venue that can be booked for weddings and parties, look for event planners and party rental companies on social.
In each case, the content these accounts will share will not only likely be interesting to you, but also to your followers if you were to share it.
Become The Thought Leader
How it works for group dates: The ability to show off your skills.
Are you a beer connoisseur? Suggest that your group check out a craft brewery! Pretty proud of your bowling average? Get the group together at the closest alley. A group date affords you the opportunity to show your date what you’re working with.
Similarly, your social media channels are an opportunity for you to show your expertise.
Not every update coming from your company’s LinkedIn page should be a hard sell. In fact, if you’re doing it right, you’ll be sharing a link to your Request a Quote page one day, then sharing an article about an industry trend the next.
The latter is an example of what’s often referred to as thought leadership content, and it’s an opportunity for you to brand yourself as an expert in your industry.
“Business buyers don’t buy your product; they buy into your approach to solving their problems.” says B2B Marketing Professional Laura Ramos.
When you share thought leadership content – predictions for what the upcoming year has to offer your industry, quick tips to improve a business practice, and more – everybody wins. Your follower gets a takeaway that may inform a business decision or serve their career. And you’re the one who had both the knowledge and willingness to help them.
This week, Social Media Today shared a post talkin’ LinkedIn Q1 figures. Within a half hour, it was already retweeted by a number of accounts including marketing agencies and tech accounts whose followers would find the content of value.
Here’s a quick tip to find thought leadership content worth sharing.
Set up a Google alert. By doing so, you’ll receive an email notification any time Google finds new results around a specific keyword that you specify.
You can customize your Google alerts in a number of different ways, depending on what you’re most interested in seeing. Are you only interested in seeing news? Maybe you’re only looking for video content about a specific topic? Are you only interested in seeing content from Germany, where a lot of developments in your industry occur? Customize your Google alert in that way, and that’s all you’ll see.
Sharing is Caring
Sharing content that you didn’t create but that is related to your brand in some shape or form, is an important part of your overall social media content strategy.
So get to retweeting, sharing and reposting!
Looking for more tips and tricks like those above?
Check out the recap and video capture from our 5/25 Lunch & Learn @ Liquid – "A Guide to Listen-First Marketing" – and find out whether or not your business is a bad date.
Want to talk content marketing best practices? Contact us to set up a first date with our team.