By Teri Lichtenstein

1. Listen before you leap

If you are thinking of starting a new social media platform for your business, take a step back and listen first. All the social media platforms have tools whereby you can search for specific keywords and listen to the popular conversations that are taking place around your brand offering. This is a great starting point to help you develop new content ideas.

2. The best things in life are for free

There are so many fantastic free tools that will allow you to get an understanding of what type of content your target audience is looking for and where you can meet that need. This will help you to create content that people want to talk about. The Google keyword planner is a great place to start searching for fresh content ideas.

3. A picture speaks a thousand words

Use info graphics, images and videos more often than text. Your audience will be more likely to share a story told with imagery rather than words. With so many free image-editing tools available online, the world is really your creative oyster.

4. Get mobile

Is your website and blog optimised
for viewing across all devices? 
 It is essential to ensure your content can be easily accessed and shared across multiple mobile interfaces.

5. Ask and you shall receive

As your social communities grow, don’t be shy to specifically ask for comments, suggestions, sharing of ideas, recipes and information. It’s a great way to increase engagement and keep the discussions going. Remember to allow enough time and resources to moderate the comments and manage the discussion.

6. Keep it varied

Vary the length of your blog posts. “Stock” content is the meaty section of your blog. It’s original and typically long-form, and insightful and is what will keep people coming back for your expertise. “Flow” content is shorter and usually made up of excerpts
and curated links from the web. By adding your own commentary you will give a personal touch and provide an expert opinion. Remember to cite all sources and d references.

7. Create a maze of links

Have you ever been to a website to look up one thing and landed up clicking on an interesting link within the page, then another, then another? 
By placing your links seamlessly within words and phrases in your content, you are not interrupting your reader, but at the same time more likely to
get them to read additional content and stay on your blog for longer. 
In addition, at the end of each post, suggest similar content and you are more likely to get repeat visitors and subscribers.

8. Repurpose and repurpose again

Content creation is a time consuming resource. Maximize the efficiency of your content by identifying opportunities to repurpose existing content into other formats. For example:

·      A blog post – video (‘talking head’)

·      A series of themed blog posts – a report or e-book

·      A video demonstration – a how-to checklist

·      A report – an infographic

·      A slide presentation – a series of branded schematics

 

As a dietitian using social media, your content is your intellectual property and your competitive advantage. It is important to invest the relevant resources to get this aspect of your business marketing right. By spending a few hours creating your content editorial plan, you can easily have three months worth of tailored content ready to roll out and save a lot of time creating ongoing content on the fly.

FoodBytes offers social media management and support where you will receive a tailored content editorial calendar with three months worth of content ideas developed around strategic themes relevant to your business objectives. For more information about this service, email Teri at [email protected]