Social Media Posting Schedules are the key to getting 100% out of your time and efforts in marketing.
You know this already! So why haven’t you done it yet?
Probably for the same reason I hadn’t.
The idea of creating a successful posting schedule for one social media platform sounds constrictive and time consuming, at best. Not to mention mind boggling. I mean, where do you even begin to start?!
Well, fear not. I finally took the plunge and figured it out. Follow the steps listed below to start your own today!
Step 1: You need to figure out what you want each social media platform you use to be about. What do i mean? Well, if you post the same things on all of your social media sites you are going to bore your followers. Not to mention, what works for one social media platform does not work for all. You want to offer different versions of yourself on each platform so your fans will want to follow all of them. If they get the same info from you with just one platform they wont feel the need to follow the rest which in turn equals less audience and reach.
Example: Here are the “themes” for each of my social media platforms.
- Blog – Writer and Author: meaning I will talk about things involving my writing career, industry I work in, genre I write in and niche I belong to.
- Facebook – Personal: meaning I will be more personal in my approach of what I post on here in regards to my writing, career, industry, genre and niche.
- Twitter – Author: meaning I will promote my career as an author and connect with other authors and leading members in my industry. I will be witty and to the point. No in-depth conversations.
- Google+ – Author: meaning I will promote my career and link up with other authors and leading members in my industry and I will do it with pictures and videos.
- Pinterest – Writer: meaning I will pin things that pertain to the craft of writing and inspiration for stories.
- LinkedIn – Author: Meaning I will promote my career and any and all writing experience I have obtained by posting videos, podcasts, presentations, and listing my work experience and classes I have taken.
- Tumblr – Writer: meaning I will posts eye catching graphics, gifs and videos that pertain to writing. I will also include links to my blog posts and other articles I find helpful for writers.
Step 2: Now it’s time to figure out what kind of posts get the most notice with each social media site. If you’ve been doing this awhile you can check over your stats to see what your audience liked the most, what post caused the most interactions, etc. If you are new to the scene you can use this as a guide. Just remember that this a “guide”. To really reach your particular audience you need to pay attention to what they like and don’t like and that will take time.
- Facebook – Photos / Videos / Quotes / Follower Engaging Questions and Calls to Action / Link (with Graphic) to Blog Posts / Announcements / Contests
- Twitter – Short links to your blog post / short links to interesting articles about your industry, genre & niche / short quotes / Trending Topics that relate to your author brand / Announcements / Contests
- Google+ – Photos / Videos / Industry News / Links (with Graphic) to Blog Posts / Announcements / Contests
- Pinterest – Blog Posts (with eye catching graphic) / Infographics pertaining to industry / Photos that Inspire
- LinkedIn – Link to Your Blog Posts / Videos / Presentations / Photos of Books/ Announcements / Job Postings
- Tumblr – Photos / Videos / Gifs / Blog post links / Links to other articles
Step 3: Next you need to figure out the best times to reach your audience on each social media site. Again, this is something that you will have to figure out over time but here is a general guideline to start with.
- Best Time To Post : Weekdays between 6-8am & 2-5pm
- Optimal Amount of Posts: 3-10 per week
- Best Time To Post: Weekdays 1-3pm
- Optimal Amount of Posts: 5-(no limit) per week
Google+
- Best Time To Post: Weekdays 9-11am
- Optimal Amount of Posts: 3-10 per week
- Best Time To Post: Weekends 2-4pm & 8-11pm
- Optimal Amount of Posts: 5-10 per day
- Best Time To Post: Weekdays 7-8:30am & 5-6pm
- Optimal Amount of Posts: 2-5 per week
Tumblr
- Best Time To Post: Everyday 9-11pm
- Optimal Amount of Posts: 1-3 per day
Step 4: Create a basic weekly posting schedule to refer to for inspiration and guidance when filling out your actual social media posting schedule.
Example: Below is an example of my basic weekly posting schedule.
This is a very basic schedule template that I use to help keep me in line with what I want to post.
Explanation:
- My Blog Post Link – Where I feature the current article I wrote on my blog
- Ask A Question – Example: What is your all time favorite book romance? or ask a fill in the blank question like: If I had a million dollars I would ________ .
- Post a Picture – Find a photo, e-card or poster that represents the writing industry, the genre I write for or the niche I belong to.
- Advertise Work – A post about that either talks about what I am working on, announces any upcoming events or published works, or links to my books and any book deals I might be offering.
- Call to Action – Where I post a specific action to my followers that requires them to do something. Example: Taking a quick 1 question survey, sharing a link, or asking their advice/input.
- Post a Video – A short clip of something that pertains to my industry, my personal career, the genre I write in or the niche I belong to. It can be a funny video, a serious video or something instructional.
- Feature A _____ – Where I feature a fellow writer, author, leader in my industry, or fan by mentioning them and why I recommend them (or are grateful to them) and linking to their website or product.
- My Blog Post Link – Where I feature the current article I wrote on my blog
- Post a Quote or Saying – That pertains to my industry, genre or niche
- Post a link to relevant content/news – Where I retweet relevant content or share from an article or post
- Advertise Work – A post about that either talks about what I am working on, announces any upcoming events or published works, or links to my books and any book deals I might be offering.
- Connect with Peers – Where I strike up a conversation (tweet) to a fellow writer, author or industry leader.
- Tweet a Trend – Where I look at the current topics trending on Twitter and post a tweet about it
*Remember – Your Twitter feed gets inundated with tweet every second. Unless someone is specifically looking for your tweets you will need to post the same things multiple times (in different ways) in order to have the best chance of being seen.
Google+
- My Blog Post Link – Where I feature the current article I wrote on my blog
- Post a link to relevant content/news – Where I post relevant content or share from an article or post
- Post a Video – A short clip of something that pertains to my industry, my personal career, the genre I write in or the niche I belong to. It can be a funny video, a serious video or something instructional.
- Advertise Work – A post about that either talks about what I am working on, announces any upcoming events or published works, or links to my books and any book deals I might be offering.
- Post a Picture – Find a photo, e-card or poster that represents the writing industry, the genre I write for or the niche I belong to.
- My Blog Post Link – Where I feature the current article I wrote on my blog
- Pin Writing Inspiration – Find Pins of pictures that inspire stories, writing prompts and inspiration quotes
- Pin Writing How-To’s – Find pins of articles and graphics that show how to perform a certain writing task.
- Advertise Work – Pin a photo that links to published works, or links to my books and any book deals I might be offering, etc.
- Pin Research Material – Find pins that will help aid in researching a book.
- My Blog Post Link – Where I feature the current article I wrote on my blog
- Connect with Peers – Find people and groups in my industry to connect to. Pick someone I have worked with and write a recommendation or verify a skill of theirs.
Tumblr
- My Blog Post Link – Where I feature the current article I wrote on my blog
- Post a Picture – Find a photo, e-card or poster that represents the writing industry, the genre I write for or the niche I belong to.
- Post a link to relevant content/news – Where I post relevant content or share from an article or post
- Advertise Work – A post about that either talks about what I am working on, announces any upcoming events or published works, or links to my books and any book deals I might be offering.
- Post a Video – A short clip of something that pertains to my industry, my personal career, the genre I write in or the niche I belong to. It can be a funny video, a serious video or something instructional.
- Post a Vine or GIF – something eye catching and trendy that is relevant to my industry, genre or niche.
Step 5: Use the basic social media posting schedule to create an in-depth hourly/daily/weekly/monthly posting schedule. Click on “The Social Media Publishing Schedule Template Every Marketer Needs” for step by and step instructions and a FREE CUSTOMIZABLE TEMPLATE.
Looking for program that will allow you to set up posts for all the social media sights in one place and track traffic? Check out HootSuite!
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