Social Media for Dealers

Coming up with new content for your social media efforts can be tricky — it’s not necessarily something that comes naturally to anyone (even us!). A big question that tends to loom when content picking gets slim is “Can I re-use some of the content I’ve already written?”.  The short answer is yes. Yes, but with caution and care. Using the same material over and over can be repetitive, boring and people will inherently lose interest quickly. Would you want to read the same post, with slight changes, over and over again? Nope, you’d stop reading, and so will your customers.

Repeating content has its pros — it makes your life a tad bit easier (phew, a break from writing so you can wear your other RV dealer hats!), it helps you introduce your writing focus to new readers, and it helps you emphasize key points and topics that you want to make sure your audience hears (and understands).  All good things!

With that said there, just re-posting blog writing, copy and pasting old tweets, rewriting the same old Facebook update, and re-linking to that YouTube video for the 100th time will work against your dealership’s social media efforts. Here are a few tips that can help you reuse your content wisely:

1.  Re-read & update

Before you hit the “post” button, take a quick read through the material you’re reusing.  Is there anything that can be updated/added/removed?  Could you add a spiffy new image or an update line?  Do what you can to make sure that your re-posted material is as relevant and current as possible.

2.  Add a different spin

Change up  your blog post headline to give your content a new/different angle, write a new intro focusing on a different aspect of your topic, add new tags and keywords to reach different audiences.

3.  Try a new platform for that old material

Instead of just re-blogging your “How to winterize your RV” blog post, pull out key excerpts and turn them into tweets or post small portions of the writing to Facebook.  Conversely, see if you have any tweets that could be turned into longer, more informative blog posts.

4.  Limit reuse to “once in a while”

Don’t make a habit out of reusing your old writing.  Do it here in there, when timing and events call for it, but don’t make it a regular habit.  Need a ratio?  Think one out of every ten posts (or once every two weeks).  One of the most important aspects of social media marketing is providing fresh (& juicy) content.

Filed under: Blogging, Quick Tips, Strategy, blog content, Blogging, content, recycling content, RV social media, social media, social media writing, writer's block, writing, writing slump