You did it. You created GREAT content to share! Maybe it’s a white paper, or a video of your storefront, or a blog that display’s your level of expertise in your industry, or an offer that the general public just can’t resist. No matter what the content is, you want to share this content with your target audiences. So how do you best leverage the various social media channels to share your story? It’s easy, you need to develop a cross-channel plan.
A cross-channel plan is simply a distribution plan (yes, traditional marketing methodologies do apply to social media marketing) for your content. You create the content once, and then plan the distribution of that content to your target audiences. Be sure to assign a timeline and person ultimately accountable for each action. Let’s look at a few of the steps on how to re-purpose your own content:
- Define your audience
- Select your distribution channels (blog, newsletter, twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.).
- Customize a unique message for each social media channel. The message should be consistent, but stated in a tone and way that is reflective of the channel and its audience.
- Include a call-to-action. Do you want the audience to print a coupon, download a white paper, or share your message? Ask for what you want.
- Be engaging with your audience on each channel. Post related information, ask questions, and respond to others. The key is interaction with your audience.
- Add Social Sharing buttons to encourage others to share your content. Learn more from Mashable.
- Consider using a tool to manage your distribution across channels, such as ping.fm, hootsuite, or Expion. Learn more in Hubspot’s 99 Ways to Help You Generate Leads with Social Media
Looking for an easy way to tie several channels together? Constant Contact’s Simple Share is a great example of a tool that allows you to easily share content across social media channels. With just a few clicks, you can customize a message for each channel and share your newsletter on Twitter, LinkedIn and/or Facebook. But don’t limit yourself to a newsletter, you can also share a campaign, an event registration, an invitation to a grand opening, or even a coupon, all with just a few clicks whenever you choose.
About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group ~ The Edmiston Group provides senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business growth.