Today, class, we’re going to explore two hacks that will enhance your social media posts. See the Argyle Social Social Media Marketing Hacks – Part the First here.

The Hack: Building Smarter Links

The Issue: There’s nothing wrong with plain links. Really, “www.insertURLhere.com” is a fine enough link. It will get a weary cyber-wanderer to your page. But what if it could be better? What if you could turn that plain, tired link into a stealthy tracking device?

The Solution: Take advantage of web analytics parameters. These powerful snippets of code can be added to the end of a URL, making it insightful, trackable, useful. Smart URLs paint a richer picture of your social traffic. You can get concrete data about when people clicked on the link, which sites visitors are coming from, etc., etc. And using that data can make your social marketing plan more strategic.

Don’t worry about how to add analytics parameters to your links. There are tools out there that do all the work for you. We suggest Google’s URL builder to get started. Or, if you want more advanced link-building, Argyle has you covered.

The Hack: Getting the Most Out of Your Content

The Issue: Social media is a dark, endless abyss into which Facebook posts, tweets, small woodland creatures and all things not bolted to the floor will fall and never return.

…

Maybe that’s wee bit dramatic. But seriously, if your followers don’t see your post before it disappears below the first couple of page scrolls, they aren’t likely to see it at all. And since you’re producing excellent, practical content (more on that in Part 3), it would be a shame if it didn’t reach your whole target audience.

The Solution: Don’t be afraid to re-post some of your best content. Put away those skeptical eyebrow raises and follow me. It is decidedly not spamming to post content that your readers will find useful. If you are careful about which posts you reuse and how often you re-post, it can be an effective method of driving traffic and engaging your followers.

However, there are some rules of etiquette. If Miss Manners were into social media, she would say:

1. Do not re-post everything. Not every post is worth the repetition. Only re-post content that     remains particularly relevant or generated good dialogue. A quick look at the analytics of your     posts will give you insight into which posts are your greatest hits.
   
2. Do make minor changes to your re-posts. Tweak the headline or mention something about the interesting conversation the post sparked. You don’t want your readers to feel like you’re being lazy or redundant. That’s the way to lose followers fast.
   
3. Do not continue re-posting if the content is not generating clicks and buzz. For example, plugging the same blog post seven times will be seen as spamming your readers. Do not beat the metaphorical dead horse. Or a real one, for that matter.

As a bonus, this is super simple to do. You can easily schedule follow-up tweets with many social media platforms. (I hear social media management from Argyle Social does this really well.)

Thanks to Phil Buckley of Media Two for this tip!

Do you have any tips for optimizing your social media posts? Leave them in the comments section. And watch for Part 3 of Argyle Social Social Marketing Media Hacks, where we’ll explore how to create excellent content.