Three terms should always guide your content writing: right time, right place and right message. Timing is everything in freelance content writing. There is no place where such advice is more relevant than social media.
A well-timed tweet or blog post can have a ripple effect. If people connect your business to a current event or a famous celebrity or athlete, it can mean good things for your bottom line. Good timing is as important to content as the words and ideas it contains. Even the best content falls flat if it is shared at the wrong time.
As a small business owner, you can use three strategies to always make good timing an asset in your content:
1. Build content around important days and events
Sales for all sorts of businesses will spike around holidays and special occasions. It is worth taking the time to craft a blog post or article that draws inspiration from these moments. People will respond to clever, insightful or humorous content that is tied to a specific holiday or special occasion. If you sell sports equipment, for example, creating Olympic themed content during the Winter Olympics or Summer Olympics is likely to cast a wider net than at a different point in time. Sharing this type of content on social media can also mean an avalanche of retweets and shares and put your business and your products before thousands of new eyeballs.
2. Tell your unique story
Bring a human element into your content offerings by sharing your story with your target audience. Why should they do business with you? What makes you stand out from the crowd? Highlight the unique aspects of your business and use that as a selling point in your content. If your business is green, use that to appeal to an environmentally conscious target audience. Everything from your graphics to the hashtags you use on Twitter conversations should be geared to highlighting your unique story. When people know you better, they will be more invested in what you say.
3. Invest in your followers
You only become an influencer in social media and elsewhere in the online world by being good to your followers. Make them feel like they are a special and important part of why you do what you do. Pay attention to the people who are actively engaged with you on social media networks. Find ways to reward them for their loyalty to your brand by offering them a special discount or using your growing online clout to bring them into the spotlight. Investing in your followers is better than any advertising campaign and it only costs a little extra time each day.
John C is a seasoned writer and editor who counts multiple publications and websites among his extensive freelance portfolio. John puts his talents to good use on assignments that include covering major sports teams and athletes, writing about the great outdoors and chronicling business news and trends.
