8 Questions to Consider Before Posting on Social Media

Before you hit the send button to post a status or send a tweet, are you sure your message is sound? It is easy to mindlessly send something on social media without thinking twice. All the dashboards and apps make posting simple, sometimes ‘too’ simple. Posting content or sharing on social media without consideration of guidelines necessary for utmost value and engagement from your prospects could hurt your company in the long run.

We’ve taken in account our own experience with social media content creation and management, as well as taken inspiration from Forbes Social Media Etiquette:12 Step Checklist and Social Media Marketing Checklist to create an 8 question social media checklist that every social media post should be evaluated upon.

The Social Media Checklist

1. Is the message informative or interesting?
2. Is the post, tweet, or update too wordy?
3. Does the URL work?
4. Did I use the right industry keywords, trends, and hashtags to maximize views?
5. Have I posted too frequently today?
6. Did I proofread and use spell check?
7. Would I feel comfortable with anyone seeing this?
8. Did I incorporate an image, video, infographic, etc?

1. Is the message informative or interesting?

We’ve found that the most valuable social media content is either informative or interesting. Your goal is to create or share content that will get the target audience to like, share, or comment under your post. Companies that use social media as a tool to inform or entertain the audience are much more likely to engage with prospects. Engagement with your prospects is key for creating leads and sales down the line. To determine if your post is informative or interesting, here are some things to consider.

• Is the content interesting enough for prospects to comment on or share?
• Will others care about it or is it only me?
• Is there added value for prospects reading this post?

2. Is it too wordy?

There’s been plenty of research on the perfect length for social media posts. Generally these lengths are ideal:

• Twitter
  • 71 to 100 characters

• Facebook
  • 40 to 55 characters – We’ve seen longer posts do well in certain situations but typically, stick to a shorter format. It will be refreshing to your prospects who are accustomed to being bombarded by long posts on Facebook.

• Google+
  • 60 characters

We recommend these lengths because in most cases, the shorter and more concise the post, the more likely it is to be shared. This is especially important on Twitter because if you post a tweet of 100 or less characters, the person retweeting can also write their own input. Also, shorter lengths make your prospects more likely to read your posts when scrolling through their feed.

3. Does the URL work?

Always double check to make sure your link works. This is key, otherwise you will appear to your prospects like you are not detail oriented. Also, it is important to evaluate whether or not the link is appropriate for the message you are trying to send. Does it add value to your prospect? If not, don’t post it!

4. Did I use the right industry keywords, trends, and hashtags to maximize views?                                                          

In many ways this question must answer this: Things to keep in mind:

• Is this post too ambiguous?
• Will my prospects understand my message?
• Am I using too many abbreviations in this post?
• Am I utilizing current trends and industry keywords?
• Am I using appropriate hashtags?
  • Using too many hashtags or irrelevant hashtags can make you sound like a teenager. It’s best to stick to using trends and industry terms.

5. Have I posted too frequently today?

Social media frequency and keeping a consistent social media presence is important for developing and maintaining relationships with prospects and customers. However, if you post too much, you can annoy your followers. The topic of the appropriate amount of your social media posts is highly researched and here are the findings:

• Twitter
  • 3-5 times per day

• Facebook
  • 2 times per day

• LinkedIn
  • 1 time per day
• Google+
  • 3 times per day
• Pinterest
  • 5 times per day
• Instagram
  • 1-2 times per day

6. Did I spell check and proofread?

It happens to all of us. You accidentally put “there” instead of “their” or forget a letter. This of course looks sloppy to your prospects so always spell check before posting.

A trick we do in our office is reading our social media content aloud before posting. Many times, your ears can pick up on things that your eyes cannot, so use them!

7. Would I feel comfortable with anyone seeing this?

This is a very important question to consider. Once you post something on social media, it’s there for life. A company’s sharing history can be searched and found easily. Also, screen shots can be taken of content immediately, so make sure you think before you post. Here are some questions to consider:

• Could this post potentially offend someone?
• Is this well thought out or am I writing this in the heat of the moment?
• How would I feel seeing this post/tweet/update in a month, a 6 months, a year, etc?
• Does the post/tweet/update I’m sending fit with the organization’s guidelines, brand and marketing strategy?

8. Did I incorporate an image, video, infographic, etc?

Visuals are the most important factor in social media, according to research by  Wishpond and Hubspot. If there is a way to incorporate images, videos, infographics in your posts, do it. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Visuals are processed 60,000 x’s faster in the brain than text, meaning when your prospects are scrolling through social media, they are much more likely to interpret and retain the information provided in your visuals, than information in written messages.

• Using images on your Tweets increase the likelihood to be retweeted by 150 %
• Tweets with images get 89% more favorites than those without
• Posts with images receive 94% page views than those without
• Businesses who market with infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t
• Videos on landing pages increases average page conversion rates by 86%

Using a social media checklist is a great way to create awareness of what you are posting and how you are portraying your business. It is a easy step that can help you create a social media presence that is in line with the image you want to portray to your prospects and customers. Simply print out our 8 question checklist and review it when you’re about to post, tweet, or share.

For help with social media strategy and implementation, contact us at (330) 963-3664 or RobFelber@felberpr.com