Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Every time you write a new post, you share it on the social web, right? Well, how’s that working for you?

It’s unfortunate, but most Twitter and Facebook feeds look like a graveyard – no likes, comments, or shares. That’s because no one shows you how to use social media properly.

Today, I want to share with you the strategies that I have used to maximize the number of social shares I get from each post. Social media traffic can play a big role in growing a site as you might have seen in my 100k challenge.

Effective content doesn’t depend on SEO friendliness or quality of editing, say B2B marketers responding to an Optify survey [download page] released this month. Instead, it’s all about engaging and compelling storytelling. Asked the 3 most important elements of successful content, survey respondents resoundingly chose this element (81.5%), far ahead of others such as originality (52.6%) and custom content (49.2%).

This focus on storytelling may be why these marketers tend to see longer content formats and personal contact as more effective. Almost 8 in 10 consider case studies to be effective in engaging prospects and delivering message, with white papers (73%) and in-person events (72%) following. By contrast, formats such as advertorials (18%) and community threading (20%) are seen as effective by only a minority of respondents, presumably as they don’t allow for the same level of engagement....

Do you know that there is an acceptable length for every type of content you make to optimize its readability and its SEO ranking?

Yes, there is a reasonable length for every type of content available and it is wise to follow them in order for you to attract as many readers as possible.

The lengths vary from social media networks to target audience. Facebook has no character limit yet the best content length for it is just around 40 characters while Twitter which has the famous 140 limit character has an optimal content length of up to 100 characters only.

The purpose of content is to be able to promote your business or brand in all available channels across social media without spending a lot of money for promoting your business. Knowing the criteria or limitations when making content saves you time, money and effort.

Now if you live in the world of B2B marketing, you have been inundated with statistics for the last four years claiming sales is being disintermediated by today’s empowered buyer, with statistics like “57% of the buying process is complete before a buyer talks to sales” or “70% of the buying process is now digital.”

But Sirius, to their credit, looked at this again. According to their research, more than 50% of buyers talked to a sales person at the beginning of the buying process. For more complex purchases, the figure increases to two-thirds!

The most impactful “content” according to their research? A sales presentation. Not a video. Not a white paper. Not any of the content we produce as marketers. But a real live presentation from sales....

Want more people to see your content?

Have you considered new methods of sharing content?

Look beyond the big social networks to expand your influence, increase exposure and grow your following.

In this article I’ll share 10 platforms, sites and tools to use to increase your reach and get your content noticed.