Do This, Not That: Email and Social Media Edition

The average global consumer is very well connected; according to Smart Insights, they are spending an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes a day on social media. But their connectedness doesn’t end there – 99% of those who use email check it every single day, with some of these people checking their inbox up to 20 times a day or more, according to HubSpot.

Those statistics are not exactly “news” in 2022, but they should give you pause as you aim to market your content. True, you have many ways now to reach your target audience, and you know that they are present where you’re trying to be… but on the flip side, it is now more challenging than ever to have content that actually sticks out to them. Luckily for you, there are some practical ways that you can make sure your content marketing efforts are set up for success. 

To break down some tips that will optimize your strategy, we’ve compiled this list of common efforts we see in email and social media marketing that could be improved, along with how to implement those changes. 

1. DO schedule your content ahead of time. DON’T leave it up to chance.

So, you’ve created the perfect email to share a new piece of content with your audience. The subject line is enticing and the content keeps the reader engaged. Or, if it’s social media, you have a caption about your newest blog that intrigues the user and a graphic that grabs their eye. On all accounts, this email or post is going to get some clicks, right?

After you’ve sent the email or post, though, you notice that it’s not performing as well as you thought it would. Why? 

One thing that can often be overlooked in posting is the timing of the post. There are many tools that allow you to schedule your social media posts and emails at a predetermined time. When you select when to send it, there are some common rules to keep in mind. For instance, you should avoid holidays and consider your audiences’ locations. 

With email, there are some also commonly agreed upon “best days” and more favorable times of the day to post – here’s a blog with some more details on that. 

If you can find a tool that analyzes the best times to post for your specific audience, this could be a particularly strong asset. 

Above is an example of scheduling out social media posts via Sprout Social, a social media management platform. It automatically aggregates data from past posts on various social platforms and even suggests the times that will be the best for your entire global audience. 

2. DO vary your approach. DON’T give it a “one size fits all” effort.

It can be tempting to get everything out and posted as quickly as possible. When bloggers fall into this habit, they can easily lose out on engagement they might otherwise get if they only tailored the piece of content a bit more.

For social media, this looks like changing the format of your post slightly for each platform. For instance, on LinkedIn, you may want to share a bit about why you made the piece of content or some backstory. LinkedIn’s posts could be longer, whereas Twitter limits your characters to 280. 

It may seem tedious, but simple tweaks can really help your content have that much more reach.

Here’s an example of how our approach may differ for Twitter versus LinkedIn:

For email, this is a bit different, but the fundamental goal is still to tailor your content to your audience as best you can. Here’s some examples of what this might look like for email:

• Vary your email designs and formats for different themes
• Segment your larger email list into different audiences; vary by interests, time zones, or other factors that might distinguish them

There are many ways to tailor your content to different platforms and different audiences. Don’t let this be too daunting, however. Over time, you can get the hang of balancing uniqueness with some recycling and “working smarter, not harder.” It’s all a balancing act. For instance, maybe a social media post can begin the same way, but feature different hashtags by platform based on what is popular there.

3. DO emphasize the importance of the visual components. DON’T make the design a last ditch effort. 

One thing that can often seem like a hurdle for those who are trying to get their content created and distributed as quickly as possible is the look of it. Many bloggers will default to sending a text-heavy email with few graphics or visual breaks. Likewise, many social media posts will neglect to use graphics that attract attention. 

An email that looks good elevates its quality. An instagram post that looks bad makes it seem unprofessional and uninformed. 

An email with visuals will increase the odds of users reading your emails, according to Drip.com, and will even nudge them toward the CTA (call to action) you’re working toward. Drip also cites that humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than they process text, which could really help you as you try to capture your audience’s attention in a few short seconds.

Luckily, there are many tools available today for people who may need some assistance with visuals. 

For email design, there are many tools that give you templates where you can drag and drop your own images and text, but that have a unique look on their own already. A few platforms to consider for this: MailChimp, SendinBlue, Constant Contact, HubSpot and many more!

For other graphics to include in your blogs, or for posts on social media, you’ve probably already heard of Canva. We recommend this for the ease of use and the huge selection of templates, fonts, and different elements for design. 

In conclusion…

The tips we’ve been over today have been an attempt to help you elevate your content marketing game. There are many best practices that require a bit more investment in time and effort, but yield an incredible ROI in terms of engagement, ultimately resulting in more traffic to your site and more revenue in your pocket.

If we could sum it up, the most important thing is to take your content marketing seriously, and give it dedicated effort, rather than treating it like a box to check off.

For more tips on distributing your content, social media, email or more, check out some of our other blogs below:

• 3 Proven Strategies to Easily and Quickly Boost Your Site’s SEO
• How to Create an Email Newsletter That Increases Your Site’s Revenue
• Medium, Quora, LinkedIn, and Publications: Which One is Best For Your Website?