Jenise Fryatt Bio

Having your content freely promoted by others who truly value it is the holy grail of social media. On Facebook and Twitter it's easy to see who knows how to make this happen. Their names are all over the place. 

Not surprisingly, these people don't rely on just one or two gimmicks. They usually have a very consistent strategy. Here are some tips I use and have observed successfully used by others.

1. Make It Easy

Buttons on websites make sharing a one or two step process. You can have buttons for just a couple of social networks or a whole slew of them. Blogger Neil Patel also recommends putting retweet buttons in the body of your post when it makes sense.

2. Post While the Posting Is GOOD

In the U.S., most social media runs on east coast time.  So make sure you are sharing content accordingly. Most of the social media interaction I receive, for instance, happens between 9 AM and 12 PM EDT on weekdays. According to kissmetrics, the highest percentage of retweets occurs around 5 PM EDT on Wednesdays. 

3. Share Useful, Entertaining or Inspiring Content

Why do people share information? Most of the time it's because they think their friends or followers will find it useful, entertaining or inspiring. So get in the habit of mining the Internet for links that apply. StumbleUpon is a great way to find great websites and blogs. Following a hashtag for a particular topic will also yield great treasures. Once I identify a blog that I think I will share in the future, I subscribe to the RSS feed. My feed reader is now a goldmine of great links that I share on a regular basis.

4. Catch Their Attention

Master the art of headline writing. This will help you grab their attention in a sentence. For great examples watch other tweets or newspapers and magazines. Whenever possible, add your opinion or thoughts on the link that you are sharing. This adds a personal touch and peaks interest.

5. Add Names

If a post relates to or might be of particular interest to certain friends or followers, I try to call their attention to it by adding their name. I find that often those who are friends of the named person will take an interest in the post as well.

6. Repeat When It Makes Sense

One tweet on Twitter is going to reach a few people who happen to be on at the time. So it makes sense to repeat tweets at different times and on different days. Facebook doesn't move as fast, so repeating your posts makes less sense. That doesn't mean you should never repeat a post on other platforms. Just be judicious about it or you may get blocked by those who find it obnoxious.

7. Build A Social Media Community

Building a community has a lot to do with tip #10 below, but more generally it's about making friends and building relationships. If nurtured well, your community will support you and share your content. You may even gain brand ambassadors, who'll promote you and your services whenever they have the chance.

8. Use Appropriate Hashtags

Hashtags are the '#' sign followed by a word, phrase or series of letters or numbers.  A hashtag on Twitter denotes a particular topic of interest or community.  For instance the hashtag #eventprofs denotes a community of Twitter users who are event professionals. By using the appropriate hashtag, you can draw attention to your tweet from those who are most likely to find it interesting and of course this group is more likely to share it with others.

9. Consistently Engage, Inform and Retweet

Regular posting helps, but broadcasting purely self-promotional content will get you ignored and possible ostracized. Engaging in conversations and interacting with the posts of others is a much more effective method of building relationships. When you do this, people are more likely to share and interact with your posts. On Facebook interaction will help to improve your EdgeRank, making it more likely you'll show up in the news feeds of others which of course makes it more likely they will share your posts.

10. Appreciate and Reciprocate

The golden rule is the best social media strategy. Answer questions, comment on blog posts, compliment those who post quality content and watch your online friendships grow. When someone shares or retweets one of your posts, make sure to thank or otherwise acknowledge him or her. A Skype call or Google Hangout will help you take the relationship to the next level.  If you really want to create a strong bond, take the time and effort to meet your online friends face to face. Friends who you've spent time with are much more likely to jump to your support online.

(Photo by Andrew_mc_d)