Imagine the classic dragon archetype: A big, scaly lizard whose idea of social media is breathing fire on the locals, stealing their treasure and stashing it away in his mountain lair. (Editor’s note: In our classic archetype, dragons get the concept of social media. Clever girls.)
Sounds scary, huh?
Well, that dragon could be you, minus being scaly and scary. But that treasure you’re hoarding? Those bright, shiny baubles you’re keeping out of the hands of people who could actually use it? That’s your content, my friend.
You may not realize it, but you could be a content hoarder. To help you save your content-hoarding self from, well, yourself, we’re here to help you realize how sharing your content on social media will be ultimately beneficial for your site and brand! 
Content Sharing is Content Caring
Do you hold back from content sharing? Are you outright silent on social media? Are you not even on social media? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to fix a few things.
First, as we have discussed in the past, content is the lifeblood of the SEO world. And the fact of the matter is you’ve got plenty. Why, just by offering a product or service you’re sitting on mountains of potential content. Blogs, on-site content, press releases, infographics, etc. – you could have a rich, engaging social media presence sitting right in front of you that you never even thought possible.
So why don’t you?
Are you afraid of overwhelming your audience with content sharing? You worry that if you post too much, no one will care when you actually have something important to announce. We get ya, but we’re also here to tell you, don’t be!
“I just want people’s business for providing my service,” you might say. And that’s okay – there’s nothing wrong with that. But you need to make the most of the content sharing tools available to you. You need to learn to share. And the thing you need to share? That’s right – content. Because how are you going to get people’s business without them being able to find you in the vast sea of the Internet?
Why Content Hoarding Hurts Everyone
So there’s a reluctance to share your content on social media, eh? True, there’s not a clear correlation of how a Facebook “like” will pay the bills, or even how a RT on Twitter will put gas in your car. But content sharing on social media is still wildly beneficial to you company.
Content hoarding kills – conversions, that is. If you aren’t content sharing, you’re missing out the following benefits for your site/business:
- Increased traffic.
- Building engagement with customers.
- First-page visibility for your website on major search engines.
- Clicks to customers resulting in increased sales.
Yikes. And what’s worse is that your potential customers miss out on the great product or service you offer because you aren’t entirely sure why content sharing is important. Or perhaps, it’s something as easily fixable as not understanding how to make social media work for you. (Editor’s note: Not every industry has that “sex appeal” to make them social media powerhouses. But we covered how to overcome that previously.)
Content sharing on social media sites helps start that healthy relationship between your business and your customers. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram – they’re like magic portals for directly reaching out to and engaging with your customers. It also adds personality and a face to what was before a seemingly faceless entity. And your customers will appreciate the effort.
It all starts with putting a stop to your content hoarding. And we have the content sharing tools to help.
Share Freely and Share Often
“Go big or go home.” That’s what you’ve heard, anyway. After all, if you’re a content hoarder, you’re waiting for a Big Announcement™ before you hit social media.
But this adage is wrong. At least where it concerns social media.
You should be content sharing on social media all the time, not just during big announcements.
Frequent content sharing keeps your business fresh in the eyes of readers new and old. It lets your audience know you’re still active, continually updating them with news from your business, other happenings in your industry, and general information they are seeking. (Editor’s note: After all, if you have followers on social media, chances are they found you for some reason. That reason could be the industry, so filling their timelines and feeds with relevant information will only secure you as a thought leader and a go-to source for what they want to know.)
Be sure, though, that when you’re sharing industry news, you juxtapose with a healthy amount of your own content. Not only blog posts but also links to on-site content and landing pages, too. All of it is a wealth of unused content that people deserve to know about. After all, even small news makes for a good press release. Remember our treasure-hoarding dragon, sitting on his piles of gold? Your content is that gold. And your website is your lair. You’re sitting on mounds of valuable content, holding back from engaging your audience so your important announcements get more attention. And because that content is valuable, you’re doing your business harm. And so your website, with its pages and pages of copy, is as good as worthless. It may as well not exist.
When the time comes, your announcement will make an impact, sure – but it will quickly wear off once you go back to hoarding, preparing for the next big news. You won’t have anything else to engage customers and keep your momentum going.
This is skewed social media marketing. If your audience doesn’t see you content sharing on social media – spending time where they’re spending time – they won’t remember you for long. No content = no conversions.
Your business grows in value from small-yet-frequent content sharing versus the opposite. A small change in your social sharing strategy can mean big things for your business. Of course, you can go all-out with content sharing once in a while, but those opportunities should be further and farther between.
A steady flow of content sharing on social media supplements your big announcements to make a big combined impact.
How to Start Your Content Sharing Plan
If you’re a dragon undergoing a vigorous rebranding, you need to show you’ve truly changed your hoarding ways. Those people in the nearby village? Let them know you’re a decent guy. You know, spread the wealth. A little engagement would be nice. So what’s a dragon to do? Simple. Come up with one post for each social media platform you’re on. Something interesting that isn’t directly related to your business. Something that starts a conversation and gets people talking. It could be a statistic of treasure gains in the region, or a question on what people think about the impermanence of thatched-roof cottages. Something your audience can relate to.
One post. For each social media site. Then post them. That’s all we’re asking. Individually, your reach will appear small – but when you add up the number, it will be pretty significant. And that’s just for one day. Try two posts for each social outlet next week and count those numbers up.
Make social media work for you – even if you think it can’t.
Pretty soon you’ll start hungering for more and more numbers. And this time it won’t be content you’re accumulating. It’ll be customers. And that’s way better.
For more information on Social Media Management and Social Media Marketing, contact the team at SEO Inc. We will get you started on the path to social success!
