Social media is a lot like surfing: you have to keep riding that wave and post regularly to keep your audience engaged.
While it is possible to post too often on social media (making followers think your posts are spam), you’re likely not posting enough. At minimum, you should post something new every day just to remind your audience that you exist. If your post isn’t amazing, don’t worry! Your followers will just scroll past your content, and that’s okay. It’s better to post something than nothing at all.
Having trouble thinking of something to post today? Here are a few ideas to keep things fresh:
Original Posts Ideas
To help you find images to go along with your posts, check out the repositories referenced in “Finding Photos for NMSU Extension Network”
Posts Shared from other Creators
Your posts don’t always have to be original. Sometimes it’s better to position yourself as a curator of content instead of a creator of content. Social media platforms make it easy to re-share content from others on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. For example, New Mexico county extension offices on Facebook can share content from these sources and more:
NMSU Learning Games Lab
Your neighboring county offices
Schedule Posts In Advance
You can schedule posts to be published later on Instagram and Facebook. This is useful when you have a block of time to work on posts now, but might not later. If you know of a future event or special day where a timely post would be relevant, you can prepare your posts beforehand and save yourself the effort in the future. You could even schedule out posts for a whole week, month, or season and run your social media with a “set it and forget it” mindset. However, current events may make scheduled posts inappropriate, so be aware of what’s posting soon.
The key to keeping your audience engaged and to growing your audience is to post consistently. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way.
Written By: Jeffrey Buras, Social Media Specialist, buras@nmsu.edu