Blogging is a great way to build brand recognition. Many people are searching for content, often answers to questions, via Google, other search engines and social media. Blogs aren’t the only form of written content that can provide answers, but they are very common and fit the format very well.
But blogging doesn’t have to end with the blog post. You can start by creating a blog post, but a way to get more from the content is to repurpose it for social media.
Social platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and others, are designed to keep users on the platform. As someone that wants to use the platform to gain access to an audience, you have to align your efforts with those of the platform. So you have to help keep people on the platform. And that means creating content that people want to consume on the platform.
You used to be able to share a title and a link to a blog post and get some traffic. But that doesn’t work well anymore. But another way to use the same content to build your brand is to create snippets specifically for social.
1. Write The Blog Post As Normal
Write the blog post as normal. As if you’re aiming to write the best blog post in a great format with great design and structure for people that like reading blogs. Research the topic. Try to figure out the question the reader is asking. Aim to provide the best answer. Don’t even think about the snippet.
Movie directors don’t create movies thinking about how to create a great trailer. They create the best movie they can for those that will put in the time to watch the entire thing in its original format.
2. Reread For Little Nuggets
Once the post is complete and scheduled for publishing, read back through it. Not for editing and things like that. We’re talking after all of that. Go back and read it and this time look for little nuggets. Maybe they’re little tips. Maybe they’re quirky, but useful quotes. Anything that you think might work well on social media.
For a 500-word blog post you’re probably going to find at least one or two of these. You may even find a few more. If you’re just starting out don’t put too many restrictions on what might become a snippet.
3. Share On Social
Once you have a couple snippets, share them on social media. You can use a scheduling software. Or you can simply add the snippets to a sheet somewhere and schedule times to share on social throughout the week. Go to your sheet of snippets, grab one and share it.
4. Reshare On Social
And don’t be afraid to reshare content on social media. Many of these platforms are designed to keep the content fresh. Something you share today will likely never be seen beyond today in a person’s feed. It’s all about the new content. It’s kind of like the nightly news that way. Nobody really wants to watch the news broadcast from yesterday.
That’s okay. Accept the platforms for what they are and align with them. This can mean that you can share and reshare the same tip or answer or any of the above multiple times especially if the content is timeless information.
5. See What Works And Adapt
Aim to do this for a month. Let’s say you’re creating one post per week. That should give you about 15 or so snippets for the month. You can even reshare some of those so you’ll get at least one item to share each day on social media.
A month won’t give you much information, but it should give you an inclination of what people are interested. Lean towards more of that type of content. But leave some room for experimenting. Try different types of quotes and tips and anything else that might have a chance of working. You don’t know until you try.
Conclusion
This is a little extra work, but it can pay off. You’ve already written the content. Don’t try to force a title and a link onto social. Lean in to what those platforms want. They want content that their users can consume on their platforms. Reuse your blog content to create text content for social. You can do it on an image or with an image for a platform like Instagram.
Try it out and see if you can use the written word to bring more awareness to your brand.