3 Tips to Creating Quality Content

By: Kristen Paquet, Account Executive, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc. 

You have your social media site(s) set up and ready to go. Great! So now what?

Setting up an account is the easy part. Coming up with quality content that will attract followers or fans can be a bit trickier. But you don’t need to take a hit or miss approach to content. Learning a few tips can help make the job easier. Here are some ideas to get you started:  

1. Know who your audience is. You spend so much initial investment time to set up your Facebook account, importing photos and writing your company bio that it’s easy to forget that the page really isn't for you. It’s for your audience. In order to write content that will get noticed, you need to put yourself in the seat of the person you want to attract. What do they want to read or see?
2. Focus on the 20/80 rule. I love this idea because it’s simple to remember when it comes to the content you should be generating. Basically, it means that 20 percent of your social media posts should focus on the company and talking about yourself while the other 80 percent of your content should focus on industry related topics, breaking news that impacts the industry, etc. Posting solely about a company product or service over and over isn't going to gain you an audience (in fact it might cause you to lose some people). You need to share information that your audience finds interesting, worthwhile and useful. That will keep them coming back. 
3. Simply put, engage. Being connected through social media means your audience will expect a quick and accurate response to questions and comments. Don't ignore your fans and manage issues right away. Responding to posts creates a dialogue and gives your fans a sense of community. Another thing you can do to help engage your fans is to take and post photos. People are more likely to click on links that include photos so use it to your advantage. Post relevant articles and ask your audience questions that require more than a yes or no answer. And most importantly, spend just as much, if not more time listening. Your audience will tell you what they are interested in.

Taking time to apply these simple tips can help you with writing content from the point of view of your audience and put you on the path of success. Does anyone have a success story where the content they posted resonated with their audience? Please share!