Social Savvy: 3 Ways to Stretch Your Blog Posts

The content you create for social media doesn’t need to be a one-hit wonder. That blog post you wrote can – and should – serve multiple purposes and live a good long life in your online marketing arsenal.

Here are three powerful ways to stretch your blog posts – and other content you create such as videos or slideshows – to its full potential.

#1. Create multiple social media posts
A single piece of content should yield a minimum of 20 snippets of information that you can share across social media platforms.

Whenever you publish a new post, your next step should be to ask yourself how you can extract as many posts as you can from it. You can then use these posts over the following weeks and months to fill your social posting calendar.

Start with the obvious: Find at least 10 ways of introducing your post to your readers and write with a variety of networks in mind. For instance, you could come up with six different tweets, two Facebook posts, and two pins.

Then, dig a bit deeper and extract things like meaningful quotes, quick tips and useful links that can be shared on their own.

#2. Find new ways of presenting the same information
Different people engage with different types of content. Your content should adapt to that fact.

Take a look at the insights you share in your piece and ask yourself if they can translate well to other mediums. Here are a few ideas:

•    Top pick lists make great slideshows or videos.
•    Travel tips translate well to infographics or quick-tip posts.
•    Multiple property reviews can easily become an e-book.
•    Photos you share in your post can become albums on Facebook or Flickr.
•    Your travel videos can become a playlist on YouTube.

#3. Build up your client reference library
If you’re paying attention to the questions your clients ask, you’re likely already creating content that responds to their needs. (If you’re not, it’s time to get started.)

With a bit of planning, you can put the social content you work so hard to create as an invaluable resource when clients come with questions.

“Wondering what the experience is like about a specific cruise ship? We have a blog review about that.”

“Not sure what you should pack for your two-year-old on your family vacation? Let me send you a link to our recommended packing list.”

How great would it be to have this information at your fingertips and ready to send? It can happen if you play your cards right.

For more ways to get better mileage from the content you create, check out 7 ways to stretch the life of your online content.

Travel industry specialist Sophie Bujold is an expert social media strategist
and speaker. Sophie’s passion is helping travel professionals make sense of social media and learn to use these technologies to achieve greater business success. For more insights from Sophie, sign up for her weekly email tips. (It’s free)