Posting & Outsourcing Social Media

In Part I of this two-part series on social media, I talked about understanding social media and the many questions that arise when considering social media for your business and brand. Today’s post addresses the six fundamentals of posting and whether outsourcing social media is right for you.

Who?

Who are you trying to reach? Who cares what you have to say? Choosing your audience dictates the platforms that are best suited to your business and the best mode of engagement. Who you are communicating to and what they want to know or need to hear and from what resources they want to get it is crucial when looking at your need to post.

What?

What’s more important, what you want to say or what your audience wants to hear? I personally do not want to know what your favorite meal is unless you are educating me as to the health benefits that it could potentially provide me.  I am sure I am not alone in this sentiment. What you say has to provide value and relevance. I know it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon and begin to post about every hashtagable message imaginable, but who does that serve and what is the reason for doing so?   We need to communicate content that others can or want to relate to with the intention of providing value.

When?

When are you posting?  Are you posting at times that would gain greater engagement, greater readership? There are now many social media tools that allow us to know almost with the exact preciseness of Big Ben’s clock when we should post and on which platforms to increase engagement exponentially. Some tools tout over 600% increased engagement by not only choosing the right content, but also the times they should be posted. Imagine that! Not only does this support your efforts to connect with your ever growing audience, but it allows you to work on your content and not work at getting your content out there.

Where?

Out of all of the social media platforms, which is the best one suited for you and your business? Let me start by saying, it’s not all of them! You must evaluate the product you are selling and the message you are trying to convey to the specific audience you are trying to reach.  You certainly wouldn’t be snapchatting about retirement plans, would you? A study found on statsista.com shows that 52% percent of users at the time of the study were between the ages of 16 to 24 and only 5% fell within the ages of 45 to 64, the demographic likely to be interested in that topic.

How?

How will you nurture and engage your audience? How are you going to deliver your message to your audience? This not only looks at frequency but also systems.  If you believe that you can keep up with the demands of social media all by yourself,  I encourage you to consider if this is a viable long term strategy.  Systems are crucial to optimize engagement and minimize over-posting, which deters current and future clients.

To effectively nurture and engage your audience you need systems that not only automatically post for you across platforms, but alleviate the tediousness of this work. Outsourcing social media, for example, can really make a difference in your effectiveness. It can also save you time and allow you to remain focused on what you do best.

Why?

If you are still wondering why it is important to post, here’s my final thought on posting social media: You post so that you provide value and that value is what draws people into YOU and your brand.  You assert your authority and you stake the claim on being THE expert in your field.. Value brings customers, clients and patients. In my experience, when you over deliver there is really no need to sell. Your content, along with the value and expertise you provide, does the selling for you.

When looking at the advantages of social media, consider it as another extension of your brand. Think of it as such and you will begin to make more intentional choices on the Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of posting on social media. Focusing on these six fundamentals allows you to have the right balance of content and frames your engagement with your audience.

Dr. Isaura Gonzalez is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Executive Coach.  She is the Founder of LIA (Latinas in Action) and Co-Founder of LEO (Latinos Empowering Others) part of the Latino Leadership Alliance.  She is, also, the Founder of Latina College Corner, an organization geared toward the professional and personal development of students of all ages.  Dr. Gonzalez has been Adjunct Faculty for the last 20 years within the NY Tri-state area.  She has contributed to “Being Latino”, an online magazine, a guest speaker on National Public Radio (NPR) and her articles have been featured as a LINKEDin contributor.