My Daily Checklist for Dominating Social Media

This article first appeared in Advisor Perspectives on February 4th, 2021, and can be found here. 

Well, it’s not a secret anymore.

At Twenty Over Ten, I have a weekly checklist to maximize our social media efforts. I’m a huge believer in checklists and implementing this one maximizes our social media reach effectively and efficiently.

Best of all, this checklist can be adjusted to fit any advisory businesses’ schedule. That’s because it comes down to three things:

• Creating new content weekly and publishing it to your website or blog;
• Building a habit of engaging on social media every day; and
• Sharing your content to attract your own engagement.

That’s it! But, there are a few things you must do to really improve your daily social media strategy. Read on for a day-by-day breakdown to boost your social media marketing in the new year.

Monday: Laying the foundation for the rest of the week

9 AM: Create the content that will inform your strategy for the rest of the week. Your foundational piece of content could be a blog post, video, infographic, or a case study. Anything that is timely, educational and will pique your audience's interest will work. However, no matter what content you create, it should be optimized for search (SEO).

But what does SEO involve?

SEO helps your content get in front of the right audience. SEO includes:

• Keywords: Using analytics data or even recommendations from similar searches can help you determine what sort of keywords your audience is using. Use these to create titles and fill your headers and text;
• Images with alt text: Images and alt text improve SEO and reader experience;
• Header tags: Headers, H2 through H5, should include the primary keywords you are looking to target;
• Links: Links improve the reach and credibility of your content;
• Meta descriptions: Think of this as ad copy, it’s the elevator pitch and synopsis of your content. Keep it within 160 characters and include keywords when possible; and
• CTA: A call-to-action will provide a clear “next step” for visitors, driving them towards your goal.

If you use video as your content for the week, then always include a transcript. Many algorithms cannot “read” videos and a transcript will provide context to search engines.

4 PM: Comment on at least five other posts and begin building a habit of interacting on social media.

Repeat after me:

Comments = Currency

Commenting on another post generates reciprocity. I recommend commenting on five posts a day, at minimum.

Building a habit of commenting every day will snowball your social media efforts and garner greater engagement for your content. Expect to do this daily!

Tuesday: Post and share

10 AM: Finish your content’s final touches and publish it on your website. Then, get ready to share it on social media.

We distribute shared content at different times and days of the week because many users have more than one social media account and will often check them all at once.

Serving your posts at different times reduces the chance of getting treated as spam and increases the likelihood that users will discover your content on another platform.

1:30 PM: Share your content on Linkedin and Twitter. [Pro tip: Remember your audience demographics differ across all platforms, so tailor the post content for each platform like in the example below.]

4 PM: Comment on at least five other posts on any social media platform.

Wednesday: Share even more

8:45 AM: Share the week’s content on LinkedIn. Adjust the approach of the context to vary from the first post.

3:30 PM: Create a community-focused Facebook post. Post info on local events, talk about something new in the area or a personal interest. The goal is to spark a conversation.

Facebook is often the best platform for community-focused posts, which are a great way to tap into your local community and become a knowledge source.

4 PM: Comment on at least five other posts on any social media platform.

Thursday: The weekly newsletter

9:30 AM: Send out a weekly newsletter. Leave a lasting impression and encourage engagement by including something personal in your content. When creating your newsletter, pay special attention to these attributes of your newsletter to increase your open rate:

• Subject Line: Make it short and direct, but also intriguing.
• Sender: Use a personal name, not a brand name.
• Timing: We’ve found 10 am works best, but make sure to always check your own data.
• List segmentation: Segmenting your email lists is essential to create tailored messaging.
• A clear CTA: A call to action provides readers with a clear next-step after reading
• Use the right tools: Tools like Lead Pilot can help you segment your audience, schedule newsletters and analyze reader response.
• A/B testing: Write different subject lines and emails to see what your audience responds to most, then repeat what works.

3:30 PM: Create a post on social media that includes a link to your newsletter like the example below from Chad Chubb, CFP®, CSLP®. [Pro tip: Include a subscription link for any new readers to get future updates and improve your lead capture.]

4 PM: Comment on at least five other posts on any social media platform.

Friday: Finish the week with something fun

10 AM: Post something personal and non-service related. Give your audience a glimpse into what makes you who you are. If this makes you uncomfortable, then post something about a book you’re reading or a hobby.

4 PM: Comment on at least five other posts on any social media platform.

Make your own schedule:

Congrats! You made it through the week. Feel free to use this schedule, but conduct your own tests and apply these principles to your own data. These tasks can be done whenever you have the time, but remember, these three are critical:

1. Create new, SEO optimized content and publish it to your website every week. This will inform the rest of your week's content strategy.
2. Comment on at least five other posts a day. Remember, comments = currency.
3. Share your content on social media, adjusting the context and timing of your post to “drip” on your audience.

Cover these steps in your next social media schedule to boost your social media presence and increase your following in the new year.