10 Tips For The Perfect Social Media Post From The Masters

I just attended a very inspirational webinar called "The Art of the Perfect Social Media Post" with Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) and Peg Fitzpatrick (@PegFitzpatrick) hosted by HubSpot and Canva.

If you follow me on Linkedin, you know I am a huge fan of Guy, Hubspot, and Canva. So I was very excited when I stumbled by accident over this webinar - and I am glad I did.

If you have missed it, here are the top ten tips shared by the gurus of social media:

Does this post pass the re-share test?

Anyone who shares your content risks their social reputation by sharing something with their audience. So before posting anything, ask yourself if you would share it. Your post should be valuable in some way or form. It could include information (what just happened?), analysis (What does this mean?), assistance (How do you make something good happen? How do you avoid bad things?), and/or entertainment (funny things).

Guy compared your social media posting strategy with the NPR model. They always have great content, so they have earned the right to promote something. He suggested a ratio of less than 10% promotion and more than 90% content.

Be bold.

When posting on social media, you should have something to say. Take a stand on something. Don't go out looking for trouble but stay true to your beliefs. Guy also mentioned that if you post your passion that could evoke a powerful emotional response (e.g., gun control) post it on your personal account, not your company account.

Be brief.

Keep your social media post to a 50 charac50-character, 2-3 sentence body, and write it in an active voice. This will make the post more readable, give it a stronger message, and gives people space to retweet.

Credit your source.

It's good manners to share, and social media is social for a reason. So make sure you share the kudos and give the original sharer and content creator credit for their work. It is suitable for them and you, as they are more likely to re-share your posts and content. And, of course, it's good karma...

Add drama. 

Add photos and graphics to help you tell your post's story. The average internet-surfing adult has an attention span shorter than a goldfish. Adding a visual adds interest and allows your readers to grasp your story faster. By making your images, you do not have to worry about copyrights and permissions! Peg also suggested constantly checking your posts to see how they look on a desktop, tablet, and mobile.

Embrace hashtags. 

Hashtags are a great way to connect and build a conversation around a specific topic. So make sure to check the hashtag before using it to not butt into an ongoing conversation you did not intend to join. Hashtags are now widely used and are available on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. For a special event, etc.

Schedule and spread out. 

It is a good idea to spend 30 minutes a day scheduling some posts, but they should be spread over the day. This allows you to reach different people and different time zones. Peg also mentioned that everyone should find the best times to post because every audience is diverse. Apps such as Buffer, Hubspot, Socialbro, HootSuite, and Socialsprout are very helpful.

Keep calm and post often. 

Be present on social media every day, all the time. But every social media network is different. On Twitter, you can post the same tweet several times a day and you can assign different things in 8-10 tweets a day, whereas on Facebook you cannot really repeat the same post. If you are very active on Facebook and you have an engaged audience, you can post 3-4 posts a day. LinkedIn is bringing in a lot of qualified traffic, and short updates once or twice a day can make a huge difference. 

Cross post. 

Cross-posting means that you post activity from one social media network to the next. It can be valuable, but it has to make sense. Tweeting about pictures that you posted on Facebook could be more beneficial. But if you are sharing popular pins, share them on Twitter or post popular boards on Facebook once in a while; that can be useful if your audience is interested. Advice from both Peg and Guy: Pick two platforms and do your best. Pro Tip from Peg: She adds a Pin it for later link into a Google+ post!

Custom Pictures with Canva! 

LOL, there is the well-earned plug to Canva. Go and check it out - it's great!

I hope you enjoyed this summary and learned something new about social media. I certainly did.