Social Media Time-Saving Tips
A social media presence is imperative in today’s digital age, but merely setting up profiles on the major platforms isn’t enough. In order to maximize your marketing efforts, you’ve got to update regularly and engage with followers – all while paying attention to analytics. Keeping on top of all this is time-consuming and can prevent you from connecting with the most important people of all – your patients. Fortunately, there are strategies to help you master your social media accounts without sacrificing the care your patients deserve.
Utilize Evergreen Content
The word evergreen doesn’t just apply to pine trees. Content that is fresh and relevant, and can be repurposed time and again, is known as “evergreen content.” As the name implies, this type of content is considered sustainable and long-lasting.
Utilizing evergreen content on your social media platforms can pay big dividends in the long run. It allows you to recycle older posts, saving you the time and trouble of seeking out new material, while still remaining topical. Evergreen content requires a bit of work up front; you’ll want to take your time creating quality content initially, but once it’s finished, you can turn it into new material easily. Blog posts can become infographics, podcasts, or videos. Posting such content multiple times gives it more visibility and allows you to get more bang for your buck.
It’s important to remember that evergreen content should never have an expiration date. As such, steer clear of news articles, statistics or reports, pop culture trends, holiday posts, and more. Before long, these will all be outdated. Focus instead on things like lists, instructional tutorials, product reviews, tips, and videos.
Automation is Great, But Mix Things Up
Automating your social media updates through scheduled posts can be a great time-saver and will ensure you have a steady stream of fresh content available even when you are busy with other tasks. It works great with evergreen content, allowing you to fill gaps in your publishing schedule and keep your followers engaged. But you’ll want to mix things up by posting in real time, as well; otherwise, you risk coming across as robotic and nonresponsive.
Real-time posts will assure your followers that you are real. Opportunities for real-time posts abound, and include company events, new staff announcements, product releases, national holidays, relevant current events, and more. Particularly popular right now are Instagram and Facebook stories, which allow your audience to follow along virtually live. They are great tools for enticing people to come to your next open house or other public event, and by showcasing your “human” side, may just land you a few new patients, too.