The Blog
What Should I Post on Social Media?
A social media strategy includes sharing the great content of others. If you only share your content you will look salesy. ~Jennifer Gardella, PhD
How do I find great content to share on social media?
Why is it important to share “outside content on social media?”
Let me first define outside content - simply put it is the content of other businesses and publications. The goal is find content that is relevant to your ideal client, supports your business in some way, and is NOT written by your competitors.
Sharing content on social media is ALL about providing value, building relationships, and positioning yourself as a trusted resource - that famous “know, like and trust” If all you do is share your own content, you risk coming across as self-serving, which can turn followers (and your ideal clients) away.
For example: if you are an accountant, you might share this article: Click here to view the article.
Or you might share an article from a local attorney on how to register your business.
If you are a non-profit focused on domestic violence you can share this article.
https://www.thehotline.org/resources/red-flags-a-domestic-violence-awareness-guest-blog-post/
You can also share an article from your state domestic violence organization on how residents can apply for a protected address.
For most small business owners and teams, this process of finding great content to share is both confusing and time-consuming. However, it is a critical part of your overall digital marketing strategy.
What do you do if you do not have a strategy? Well, shameless plug here:
Join Your Social Media Hour and get crackin’ on your digital marketing strategy!
Your goal is to curate and share high-quality content from other sources. This helps you build credibility, expand your reach, and engage in meaningful conversations. So now let’s turn our attention towards exploring why sharing other people’s content is essential in more detail, where to find it, and how to do it effectively.
The fear of posting the content of others on social media:
I know you might be hesitant to share outside content, fearing it will drive precious traffic away from your brand. Don’t worry; the opposite is in fact true.
Here’s why: Sharing outside content:
Builds Credibility: When you consistently share valuable industry content, you establish yourself as a knowledgeable and trusted resource.
Encourages Engagement: Your ideal clients and connections are more likely to interact with diverse content that isn’t solely self-promotional.
Expands Your Network: When you share and tag original creators, they notice you and may return the favor, boosting your visibility. You can also start to engage with others in your industry who do not compete with your business. When nurtured, these valuable connections can drive traffic to your front door.
Saves Time: Creating unique and original fresh content is exhausting. Curating content fills gaps in your schedule while still keeping your feed active.
Just remember: The content has to be relevant to your ideal clients.
How often should I post on social media?
This is a common question small business owners ask and can often keep them stuck in a cycle of analysis paralysis. Most are stuck with “how often” for both their own content and the content of others. Rather than continue to question and research, let’s start moving. I double-dog dare you to post a blog from your website on LinkedIn …right now. I’ll wait.
Oh good, you are back.
Now, in a perfect world, you would post high-quality content every single day on social media. 60-80 percent of that weekly content would be from your website, including blogs, offers, YouTube videos, insights, and specials. The other 20-40 would then be the content of others.
You would post 5 days a week to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter and Google Business Profile.
If you are exhausted because that seems overwhelming without a plan, then we can help. Join Your Social Media Hour today to get started on creating your digital marketing strategy.
3. Where to Find Quality Content
The internet is full of valuable content—you need a strategy and plan to start searching find it! If you are just getting started, here are some of the best places:
Industry Blogs & Websites: Follow well-respected sites in your niche to stay updated on trends. You can use the free version of feedspot for this.
News Aggregators: Use tools like Google News, Flipboard, or Feedly to collect relevant articles.
Thought Leaders: Follow influencers, CEOs, and industry experts on LinkedIn and X/Twitter. In X/Twitter you want to search on the right hashtags.
Podcasts & YouTube Channels: Share insightful discussions and video content related to your field. You can find this content by searching on keywords related to your business and those you collect that are related to others who serve your clients.
4. How to Use Google Alerts and RSS Feeds
You can automate the search for social media content once you have your strategy in place (yes, there is that pesky strategy word again). Try out these tools:
Google Alerts: Set up alerts for specific keywords related to your industry. Google will notify you when relevant articles are published. Just be careful! Make sure to set your alert frequency to daily or weekly (or else Google will alert you each time it finds an article!
InoReader, Pocket and Feedly: These sites and apps can also find and organize your favorite blogs and news sites into one feed, making it easy to find shareable content. They all have different pricing structures but can share directly to your social media channels with some set-up.
By consistently monitoring new content, you’ll never run out of quality articles to share on social media.
5. Leveraging Social Media for Content Discovery
Social platforms are gold mines for finding trending content. Here’s how to use them effectively:
Twitter/X: Follow industry experts, search relevant hashtags, and check Twitter Moments. When you find an account that is related to your work you can simply put it on your Twitter/X list so you can retweet often.
LinkedIn: Follow key influencers and browse the "Top News & Views" section. When you see an article that is appropriate to share, simply share it!
Facebook & LinkedIn Groups: Join groups related to your industry to find discussions and articles worth sharing. Just be careful not to directly solicit members or you could find yourself kicked out fairly quickly.
Reddit & Quora: Look for trending discussions and expert answers to share with your audience.
6. Engaging with Content Before Sharing
Sharing content blindly can backfire as some articles may have wording, images, and ads that are inconsistent with your brand.
Also, and this happens often, an article is a well-known publication could be written by a competitor.
Before hitting the “share” button, follow these best practices:
Read It First: Make sure the content aligns with your brand values and is factually accurate.
Add Your Thoughts: Don’t just share it - add to it. Tag the author, add context that relates to your ideal clients, or you can even ask a question to continue the conversation.
Tag the Creator: Give credit to the original author or publication by tagging them.
Use Quotes & Snippets: Highlight key takeaways to make the post more compelling. Just be careful to give attribution to the author. Do not create original content (like an image for Instagram) using a quote of another.
Over time, you will develop a list, of what I call “acceptable sources.” You can put these in a spreadsheet or Google toolbar menu to access when you are searching.
7. The Power of Reciprocity
Social media is about relationship and if you are out there sharing the content of others, it is perfectly OK to ask them to do the same.
You need to tell others EXACTLY what you want them to do with your content and ease into a mutually beneficial sharing relationship.
Remember, if you want people to engage with your content, you need to engage with theirs.
Like, Comment, and Share: Engage with other creators before expecting them to return the favor.
Shout-Outs & Mentions: Publicly acknowledge content creators you admire.
Collaboration Opportunities: As you develop relationships you can partner with influencers or businesses in your industry for content swaps.
When you actively support others, they’re more likely to support you in return.
8. Measuring the Impact of Shared Content
No one will EVER call your office and say “hey, I saw your post where you shared XYZ’s content, great job I would like to hire you! Additionally, this is going to take time to develop so track results with a keen eye on improving over time AND measuring month to month then year to year.
And remember - this is part of your overall business development strategy - you cannot just share the content of others and expect your business to grow - you need to be doing ALL the things.
To start to get a handle on your results, you can use these tools:
Platform Analytics: Use LinkedIn Insights, Facebook Insights, and X/Twitter Analytics to see which posts resonate. These might not all be gratis so you might need a budget.
Engagement Metrics: Pay attention to likes, shares, and comments.
Adjust your strategy based on what your audience responds to best, best practices, engagement and the overall results you are seeing based on your business development strategy.
Conclusion
Sharing great content isn’t just about filling your account or “having to post something. It is about positioning yourself as a go-to resource for your ideal client and engaging with others to serve.
By carefully selecting and sharing valuable content, you enhance your credibility and build a stronger, more connected online presence.
