The art of social media.  Some people seem to have the “gift” and some people don’t.  What distinguishes the great social media leaders from the rest of the pack?  They just work a little bit harder, and like every other part of business, it requires just a little bit of strategy ahead of time.

Stick with us while we breakdown the what, when, and how of an effective social media strategy.

What Do You Share?

Think about your inbox, Twitter timeline, and Facebook news feed on any given day.  Could you imagine trying to process all of that information?  Most of it is junk, if yours looks anything like mine.  According to the New York Times, the average consumer processes 2 iPhone hard drives (34 GB) worth of data every single day.  We also consume nearly 100,000 words of information in a daily setting.  That’s like reading the Art of War nearly 10 times in one day.  So how do your words and data cut through all the other junk?  Follow these guidelines:

1. Post content that makes you say “Wow”.

You want your readers to think “Wow, this is really useful/funny/interesting/incredible/(insert words here).”  Wow-worthy posts make people stop and think, digest what they have just discovered, and store it away in their memory.

2. Post content you would be willing to email to close friends.

As you write or share content on the web, think to yourself about specific people that you would want to share this with.  If you can’t think of a single person the message will truly hit home with – delete, delete, delete.

3. Ask yourself, will my followers appreciate this message?

You should be posting content that is so helpful that your audience should be willing to thank you for sharing it.  Think about it.  Are you delivering a benefit to your followers, and ultimately, to your follower’s followers?  Your audience loves getting great content that they can share with their own friends.

When do you share?

If you’re working with an agency like ours, you will have the data to show you when you should share content.  For the rest of the world, knowing when to share your content could be the difference between having your information processed, and never seen at all.

1. Facebook – Focus on Fridays

Studies show that people engage more with their Facebook profiles towards the end of the week.  This is when the consumer is starting to think about their life outside of work.  Their weekend is coming up and they are curious what their friends are doing or what is going on around town.

2. Twitter – Think breaks.

Find off hours during the course of an average day to post to twitter.  This is when your market will be heading to and from lunch, or between meetings and will have time to check their phones for updates.

3. LinkedIn – Start the day

LinkedIn is meant for professionals.  Most professionals check their email and use services like LinkedIn at the start of their day, making it the perfect time to grab their attention.

How do you share?

You know what to share and when to share it, but how do you share the content effectively?  Having a consistent strategy will show your content off in the best way possible.

1. Consistency is king

Your consumers enjoy familiar things.  They like to know what they are going to get when they interact with your brand.  Boost your chances of success by developing a consistent style of writing and sharing.  Keep your tweets consistently short of 130 characters to allow room for quoted tweets, mentions, and retweets.  Place links early in the post text.  Use photos regularly to display the topic more vibrantly.

2. Pretend you are on Letterman

Readers love “Top 10” lists, “5 Easy Steps,” and “3 Quick Ways” involved in their content.  This lets them know they can read the article quickly and rest assured that they won’t miss a critical point by skipping over it accidentally.  The more you can give list-style content to the audience, the more they will appreciate your commentary.

All this may seem like a lot to process, but with a little practice (our a team like Radius on your side) you will be a master of social media in no time.