A few weeks ago I was on a podcast and I was asked what makes a person a good blogger.
I think there are a few things, but one of the first things I thought about was that to be a good blog writer you had to be a voracious blog reader.
I think the same is true for social media.
You need to be a voracious social media consumer to be a great social media content creator. Whether it’s for personal or professional.
I think many of us in the professional world are casual consumers. We scroll through the feeds when we’re bored. Maybe we create a piece of content here or there.
The next step would be the casual creator. Someone that creates more than the average number of pieces for social media. And not just rants and raves to get things off their chests. They’re creating content to engage with people. They’re focusing on what works and improving with each new piece.
If you’re looking for more social media success for your job then here are a few tips that will help.
Tip #1. Consume More
Maybe you consume a lot of social media. Maybe you’ve read that we consume too much social media.
Forget it. If you want to improve your content creation for professional reasons it’s time to start consuming more.
All types. Inside and outside of your industry. The key is to look for what is working. What are the best people on each channel doing? Look for similarities.
And this never stops changing. It’s like music. What’s popular now will change in five years. Michael Jackson made a disco album, a dance album, rock album and a new jack swing album during his peak years.
Content evolves. To succeed you need to commit to constant consumption while paying attention to what is working.
Tip #2. Create Exponentially More Content
I’m a believer that quantity leads to quality.
You won’t read that in many other places. Most people push quality. As if you can just start creating quality from scratch.
You don’t tell a toddler to only do quality first steps. You tell them to try as many times as they can until they start walking. And even when they get the hang of it they’re falling every three steps.
If you’re serious about social media in a professional setting you have to exponentially ramp up your creation. Even if it’s going to be bad for awhile.
Tip #3. Track Engagement & Awareness
Engagement is something we naturally track on social media. Even as casual observers and creators. We track comments, re-shares and that kind of thing.
Continue doing that as you ramp things up. It doesn’t tell the whole story, but it tells most of it. You can learn by number of views and positive versus negative feedback.
But also track the awareness of you and your company brand. The number of branded searches and visits to your company website. The number of incoming links and media mentions.
Tip #4. Ask For Criticism
When you’re trying something new, like a new video format on Instagram, ask for feedback and criticism. Reach out to an individual follower and ask why they didn’t leave a comment or why they didn’t like it.
The more you learn the better you’ll be.
Tip #5. Commit Long-Term
You’re not going to become a great social media creator in a month or even a year. You can see great improvement, but most that try quit way too soon. Look at your favorite accounts. Chances are they’ve been at it for years. You have a long way to go to catch up.
Conclusion
You can certainly do great things on social media. It’s not going anywhere. It’s a reality for anyone in marketing and business today. The tips above are ways you can go from being just a casual consumer to a great creator.