Effective and Efficient Content

Even if these two terms have different meanings, for a post to be effective it must also be efficient. Let’s separate them for a minute and look first at efficient postings. For a post to be efficient it must fit the following 3 parameters.

1. Easy to read
2. Be concise
3. Limit use of abbreviations

Short and to the point will win the day since most people on social media are scanning their feed and will not spend time reading a long post. If you have a lot to say, then say it in a blog and link to it so they can read it there. The bonus is those that do click the link will be sent to your website. After you write a post on social media, reread it to see if you can make your point with fewer words. Unneeded phrases do not add value. Lastly, abbreviations can get in the way of understanding. Just because you know what the abbreviation means, do not assume that everyone does.

Another over looked point for efficient content is to be consistent with your postings. The reason that consistency helps with efficiency is that your audience will be more likely to read your posts if they can expect a consistent type of content and delivery.

Now that we know how to be efficient, we can work on effective content. Effective content is defined as content that is engaging. There are several different means of defining effective or engaging content on social media, but there are some basic rules that can be followed. The first and most important is to be noticed and to do this you need to use visuals. Posts that have a short video work best to grab attention, but pictures, infographics, charts, statistics and animation work as well.

When looking for effective content to post, here are 8 points to consider.

1. Be Customer Centric (try and put yourself in your audience’s shoes)
2. Use Visuals
3. Use a Variety of content (promotion, information, inspiration, humor)
4. Use key words or phrases that catch attention (make the first line count)
5. Ask a question (make it easy to answer or guess at)
6. Send a simple survey or poll (Quick and easy to respond to)
7. Be social (give some of your business’s personality to your posts)
8. Tips and advice (if you give you will receive, share good advice so that you position yourself as the expert)