In talking with other solopreneurs and small business owners in my community about social media, I’ve found that their biggest challenges are:
A. Finding the time
B. Finding content that interests their audience
It’s rather nice that by addressing B, you can also alleviate some of the stress of A!
Having a pool of relevant content sources available to post and tweet from each day cuts down on the foraging work you need to do – and that saves precious time.
Some ideas for having a constant supply of content at your fingertips:
Keep Your RSS Reader Well Stocked
Subscribe via RSS to quality blogs that post quality articles – and that do it consistently. Follow at least 10 that are focused on your industry and provide info on the types of topics your audience can really sink their teeth into.
Get on Twitter
If you’ve already got an account, great! If you don’t (even if you have no intention of actively tweeting), sign up and start following Twitter users who primarily tweet about the topics you and your target market care about (To find them, search by topic or hashtag). Twitter provides a virtually endless stream of links to content. Sort through your Home Feed to find what strikes a chord and share on other social media networks.
Be Smart – Be Briefed
As a rule, I try to keep my in-box clear of e-newsletters, but SmartBriefs are an exception. Sign up for a SmartBrief specific to your industry or niche (they cover nearly every business discipline) and get a daily digest of featured blog articles, news and videos specific to your interests – delivered directly to you via a single email. Peruse the latest and greatest, pick and choose, and share the best links with your social media fans and followers.
Consistently sharing content that matters to your connections starts with having a well-planned and sufficiently substantial inventory of sources at your fingertips. You’ll need to devote some up-front time and energy to the cause, but it will pay off in the long run as save you significant amounts of both!
Your turn! Where do you find quality, relevant content to share with your fans, followers and connections on social media? Please share your tips and tricks!
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[…] and interact with your audience on those marketing channels. Luckily, your blog posts can serve as content for your social media posts, so you can kill multiple proverbial birds with one stone when you publish new blog articles. And […]