The internet is a network of links. Each link is forwarded to a content, and a content is a post. The massive and populated internet is actually made of links that connect to one another forming a "web" of contents that are posted to be seen, shared and understand. Beside search engines, social media networks that are also dedicating themselves for such services, are making these posts as their contents to promote.
During a creation of a content, article writers gather all information they need for what they are about to share. And typically within departments, the written content is then sent from one desk to another for further review and/or to be edited, After all the steps are done, the content is then posted on a website. This content will then become a posted link on various social media network. And at the end, these link becomes one out of millions that populate social media network, and the internet as an almost endless source of information.
Social media posts are contents that, in some cases abbreviated to more casual in its way of approach. These posts are written for nothing more than to get attention. These posts are written in such a way that they can give powerful signals to the social media users, and optimized for index by search engines. With that in mind, creating and treating social postings should have the same amount of attention as creating and treating the content itself. With the attentions and proper strategy, social posting can have its own gravity that attract anyone and anything that passes by.
Contents are created, edited and shared because it is beneficial to the writer and/or the company. If the content is then posted on social media and don't give anything of value, the post will just become one out the many that disappears in just a small amount of time, making the post a wasted time.
Social media is not a random outlet or a sounding point. It is not a place for blind self-promotion. Social media is becoming a tool that the users interacting with it should be wielded with care and forethought. Furthermore, content and social must be integrated into one strategy.
Google and other search engine giants that have spiders to crawl and index web pages and contents will never be as fast as how social media's ability to deliver information in an almost real-time. By depending on search engine spiders for a content to be seen, the content will need a relatively more time to be seen, making it a not up-to-date source of information as if compared with social media.
Syncing content and social strategy can be a way for a website's and/or blog's content to reach targeted audience at the right time, giving them popularity and attract discussion with its own ability to blend with the masses.
Social Schedule and Content Schedule
Content should be posted regularly on a site/blog for search engines to appreciate it. And just like content post scheduling, social posts should also be scheduled regularly. This might be overwhelming, but most social networks, just like search engines, usually need at least one (quality) post per day.
On Twitter, where people are expected to post more frequently, social media management tools like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, can schedule tweets for the future. Scheduling posts in advance also ensures no social network is neglected or forgotten; furthermore, a set schedule will help.
Building Anticipation
Curiosity is one thing that can drive people's attention for more. A warm-up post and a teaser for something yet to come can generally take high amount of expectation from regular website and/or blog visitors.
If the date when the full content will be published is included in the warm-up post or teaser, regular users are expected to come and see to satisfy their curiosity. Delayed post can give distrusts and heavy criticisms.
Know and Write for Audience
Posts should be tailored for the targeted audience, the same way as it is with contents. A good article shared with the correct audience can spark discussions. And with discussions, people are responding more with what they want to talk about.
Information from what they talk and discuss can be gathered to understand what they want and expect in the next social media post.
Respond to Questions
Comment box has been a place where compliments and/or criticisms can have powerful impact. As a place where people can also share their own perspective and view, comment box on social media can also be a place to ask.
Responding to question can further enhance conversation and popularity. And this is also able interactiveness that can attract even more viewers.
Social media network, as well as blogs have all Just like you’d answer every comment on your blog, answer every follower. Let no tweet go ignored, no Facebook question unanswered. On Facebook and other social networks, aim for a response within at least within 24 hours (weekends excepted); on Twitter, where users expect a faster turnaround time, aim for an answer within a few hours.
Conversation to Interact
Social media has social aspects. Any shared content on social media can have interactivity. Asking the readers for their opinion about a controversial post can seize the opportunity to promote the content, and start a debate for conversation at the same time.
As a social creature, humans are social beings that appreciate conversation of any kind as long as it attracts their interest. Controversies has always been seen as something that have its own gravity field. And with the ability to interact within an interesting article has long been one of the many reasons people are online today.
Share and Curate
Original content and posts are what everyone is expecting. Writers have their jobs to create something interesting out of a blank paper (blank page). There can be time when there is no more original content inside blog and/or website to be posted on social media.
Curating: sharing a link roundup, sharing other's posts and sharing infographic, take on a controversial article, etc. can be done to add something meaningful for an article aimed for a social media post.
Optimization
Social posts can, and will show up in web searches. And with optimization, these posts can generate higher viewer.
Key phrase and keywords can be included to each post on social media, and make it fits naturally. Since social strategy aims for people, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) deals with search engine, the focus should always be for humans.
Key phrases or keywords inside a post should fit naturally. If it doesn't, the post will have a probability to alienate the audience with its over-optimized social presentation.
Teamwork
A website owner can also be the writer, and the person who engages social media. This can be seen in most personal blogs. But it is always a good idea to work in a team since others can spot others' weaknesses and correct it.
A post on social media is the first introduction a reader will have with the shared content. A poor presentation about what the content is actually about, and if it’s littered with incorrect typos, the chance that the viewers will give affections by appreciation, or at least read what the content is all about, will significantly decrease.
The other advantage of teamwork is that each person can focus on what they do best.
Progress and Goals
Just like the reasons for anything created, all have hopes to achieve. For sharing articles, both short-term (increase of customer interaction or site pageviews) goals and long-term objectives (increase of customer satisfaction, increase brand awareness) should be kept in mind.
Progress can be tracked in several ways to ensure that everything is going as expected. The tracked progress can also report how the post appeal to the audience.
Using Microcontent
Microcontent, being used as a more general term indicating content that conveys one primary idea or concept, can be accessible through a single definitive URL or permalink, and is appropriately written and formatted for presentation in email clients, web browsers, or on handheld devices as needed. Microcontent is also described as a short content, like headlines, which need to be immediately clear and inviting to readers, and which still make sense when removed from their original context.
With the rise of microcontent, social and content are becoming more linked than ever before. With its relatively short and interesting form, any microcontent shared on social media network can have just as much impact as the whole content itself. What makes this fragmented pieces of contents have the ability to go massively viral and popular, is that these pieces are much more easier to consume. The segmented pieces, all with the ability to convey messages on their own, can jump from one conversation to another, to be absorbed easily by readers.easy to be absorbed
Social media sharing is increasingly becoming micro, with many startups making it possible to share fragments of contents instead of the entire thing. About 82 percent of microcontent sharing happens through copy and paste, and at the form of its segmented pieces, microcontent's form made it easier for users to share.