One of the hardest things for any small business owner? Content creation.
Many photographers don’t even bother blogging because they already feel so overwhelmed with creating fresh and engaging content for social media. “I’m already swamped just trying to keep up with Instagram and Facebook,” they think. “I can’t blog too!”
But this is looking at it backwards. A blog doesn’t have to be one more thing to add to your to-do list. In fact, if you do blogging right, it can actually make a lot of things (including social media) a whole lot easier.
The key lies in how you use your blog posts. If you’re just writing your blog posts, hitting publish, and walking away, you’re doing better than all the photographers who aren’t blogging at all. But you’re still missing out on a great opportunity to free up your time and make your life easier. Because a blog post is a social media post (or two…or three…or four…) just waiting to happen.
Don’t believe me? Try it and see! Here are my 5 favorite (and super simple!) ways to repurpose blog posts for social media.
My 5 Favorite Ways to Reuse Blog Posts for Social Media
Quote Post
It doesn’t get easier than this—use an extract from your blog post and just copy and paste to social media. Most of your blog posts will have a sentence or short paragraph that could stand alone to inspire, educate, or entertain your audience. Like this:
Overview Post
Whenever you write a blog post, get into the habit of writing a quick summary of it. (Bonus—you can probably use this as your meta description too. Make sure it includes your keywords!) I mean, you could just say, “Hey, there’s a new post on the blog, be sure to check it out!” But readers are more likely to take you up on the invite if they have a glimpse into what they’ll find—something that piques their curiosity and makes them want to learn more. Like this:
Cliffs Notes Post
Rather than a sneak peek of what clients will find on your blog, just give them the information in a super short and sweet format. If you’ve used headers, a list, or bullet points in your blog, a Cliffs Notes post is ready-made and waiting to be used. Like this:
Call to Action Post: Most of your blog posts will include a call to action. This is simply an invitation to readers to do something, be it to book a session, subscribe to your email list, or leave a comment. You’ve already invited them to do something on your blog, so see if you can include your CTA on social media too. Like this:
Discussion Post: Is there anything in your post that could inspire discussion? Asking questions is a great way to engage your audience on social media. Some of these questions can help you get to know your audience better and address their pain points. (For example, “Have you ever done a professional photoshoot? What do you wish you had known beforehand?”) But it’s okay if your question is designed simply to invite interaction from your audience. (For example, “Are you a pink-for-girls kind of person? If you were doing a photoshoot for a baby girl, what color scheme would you choose?”) Like this:
Getting more mileage out of your blog doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with these tips, but remember that you don’t have to stop there. You are an artist and an entrepreneur, which means you’re a creative person! You have the imagination to look at your blog posts from a new angle. As you do, you’ll find your own original and easy ways to use your blog content on social media and leverage your blog as a tool to engage with your audience.
What are your go-to ways for using blog posts to create social media posts? Or has this post inspired new ones you’d like to try? I’d love to hear your ideas! Share with me in the comments.
