Social media is such a “now” thing that it’s easy to forget the past. That’s a mistake, especially when it comes to content.
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media networks are great for promoting your latest content, but to maximize your brand exposure, you should consider sharing content you’re released previously.
There are, however, situations when, generally speaking, you should and shouldn’t share older content. And you should be careful where you share it.
Don’t share your older content if:
- It’s outdated or not of high quality (if it was unpopular last year, why would it be popular this year?).
- You are promoting other content, and are sharing little or no outside content.
- You are heavily promoting other content, and the older content isn’t related to that content.
Do share your older content if:
- It was a big hit the last time you promoted it.
- It relates to content you are currently promoting or sharing. Social media is a conversation, and sharing older content that is relevant to current content (yours or someone else’s) can add to the conversation.
- You aren’t promoting any other content.
- Your social media followers have increased or changed significantly since you last promoted your older content, or you’ve never promoted it on social media.
Where to share older content:
- Twitter is a great place. You have a lot of capacity, so it’s OK to tee up another dozen or so tweets (with different hashtags, of course).
- Be careful with Facebook and LinkedIn, as there is less capacity and a higher risk of turning off people who already saw it.
- Also consider social channels where you did NOT promote the content previously. For example, maybe you did not have a SlideShare account last year when you promoted your webinar archive. Now you can promote the slides on that channel.
As you consider your strategy for sharing recycled content, keep in mind the 80:20 rule: For every piece of your content you promote, the best practice is to share at least four pieces of others’ high-quality content. Doing so keeps your audience more engaged, and makes them less likely to stop following you.
One other quick point about older content: If it’s outdated, perhaps take the time to update it, especially if it was successful when first released. It can take a lot less time to update older content pieces than it does to create entirely new ones. And, then, of course, you can promote it on your social media properties.
Post written by HRmarketer / SocialEars HR team member Eric Anderson.
Labels: Eric Anderson, recycled content, social media marketing
