We all know that social media success doesn't happen by accident. It's planned for.But without a roadmap, it's tough to know what you're working towards.That's where a social media checklist comes in.Rather than hopping online without focus, you act on purpose.It becomes your guide and directs everything you post.If you're ready to better manage your daily social media to-do list, this checklist is what you need.Simple steps that create a process. That process when followed will help blow the lid off your engagement!Read on to learn how to use the checklist and don't forget to grab your copy.

A Daily Social Media Checklist That Will Double Engagement

Before we jump into promotion, let’s first talk about your content.It's no secret that content marketing is key to building trust with your customers. As Ron Guirguis points out in an Edelman Trust Survey,

“People don’t just buy products anymore, they buy the companies that make products, the values they represent and what they stand for.”

Sharing the right type of content will help:

• Prospects begin to recognize you as a the “go to” resource.
• Build trust which translates into trust for your brand and product. It makes you a top choice when they decide to invest in you or your competition.
• Attracts visitors to your site, some of which may turn into leads, prospects, and buyers. If new visitors like your content, they will subscribe and share it with others. Both are key to growing a loyal following and a successful business.

But you can’t just share any content and expect to get great results. It needs to be the type of content that converts.What does that look like?

• Webinars
• Video tutorials
• Ebooks
• Case studies
• Infographics
• Reports
• White papers
• Blog content
• Vlogs

Use the graphic below to guide you through the brainstorming process. (click here to open and download full size)For each type of content, consider:

• What type of content have you already created that you could repurpose into new media?
• What type of content is your audience already engaging with? Look to your most popular content in Google Analytics and determine how you can update or create a follow up.
• What type of content do you want to be known for? Choose 2-3 topics that align with your business, product, and service.

In a world where your audience already has a massive amount of hoops to jump through, you need to make your content easy to access.Not only will content help build your brand, but it lets consumers connect with you.

90% of consumers find custom content useful, and 78% believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them.

Let's take a look at a few ways you can design a great social media content strategy.

Put Your Social Content Strategy in Place

1. Curate Awesome Content

• Search BuzzSumo.
• Look up keywords in Pinterest.
• Look through “Featured” on Slideshare.

2. Get Visual

In a split second, your audience is making a decision. Will they stop and read or move on? Will they create conversation and engage your business or interact with your competition?Given the speed content travels across social media, grabbing attention fast is critical.Without it, you may lose an opportunity forever.That's where visual marketing comes in.Great marketers know that visuals capture audience attention, increase engagement, and boost traffic. So where do you get started?According to QuickSprout, there are 8 major forms of visual content you can integrate into your social content:

• Attention-grabbing, artistic photography – Think Instagram pictures or stock photos.
• Screenshots – Useful if used right e.g. taking shots of helpful images of workflow or your products/services.
• Infographics – Come in handy when you want to convey a meaty or super long message in an easy, bite-sized and informative manner.
• Comics – Make a long story short, captivating and humorous with relevant cartoons or comic strips.
• Data visualization – Present facts, figures and statistics in a simple and visually stimulating manner through standalone graphs and charts.
• Memes – Use trendy memes tailored to fit the context of your updates or posts.
• Miscellaneous graphics – Think of diverse images that complement your content.
• Visual note taking – Think of casually designed layouts of ideas.

Incorporate each one across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more in unique and channel specific ways.

3. Don’t Forget Video

There’s no doubt about it.Video is hot, hot, hot.Creating several videos (produced and live) that support your social media strategy is a must.Here’s where to begin:

• Take key points from evergreen content, break them down into a simple bulleted list.
• Show your audience how to do something, make something better, fix their problem.
• Usually, 2-3 video scripts is enough. And they do not have to be long and complicated.

Here's an example of one our team created based on a recent Pinterest article. We use Animoto to quickly break down content into slides, add graphics, music, and any voiceover.

4. Add Personality and Branding

People invest in products and services they like, but they also buy from the companies they love. That's a factor you can't ignore.People invest in and buy from companies that represent their own values and beliefs.Of course, the product itself is important. But the way the company builds a community and sells the product is just as important.Look to Ryan Foland, a communication strategist who knows how to engage his audience. He infuses personality into his content in a variety of ways, but I especially love his stick figure drawings. They tell a story, share insight, and include his audience in the conversation.

Your mind is a powerful thing.If you say you can't, you won't.If you say you can, you just might.So what do you say...? pic.twitter.com/eqEwjjS98d

— RyanFoland #GingerMC (@ryanfoland) May 2, 2017

Think about your brand and what you can do to build a community around it.

Your Daily Social Media Checklist

Now that you know what you’re going to post, it’s time to figure out the steps you’ll take to increase engagement, traffic and sales.This is your daily social media checklist. An easy to follow list of steps to take each day.Your daily social media tasks shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes at the beginning and end of your day.If you don’t have that kind of time, then plan on giving it away.These tasks are critical to building your social media presence.So, go ahead. Read through the abbreviated version and then print the complete checklist at the bottom of the post.You're on your way to tracking and measuring your daily to-do's.

Facebook

• Reply to all comments (be grateful, generous, and giving in your reply).
• Thank anyone that’s shared your content (always monitor mentions).
• Like and Comment on a 3-5 relevant Page updates (Don’t just say “Nice!” or “Great!” Leave a thoughtful reply).
• Share relevant content to niche-specific groups. (this isn’t spammy or self-promotion, but helpful and valuable)

Twitter

• Monitor mentions via keywords and respond to any questions, needs, concerns.
• Choose 3-5 influencers to interact with. Be genuine in your replies and interactions. That will shine through!
• Make 10 new high-value connections with the help of Twitter Advanced Search.
• Schedule 3 posts to share throughout the day.
• Thank people retweeting your content.
• Thank a 3-5 new followers.

LinkedIn

• Check incoming messages and respond to any necessary.
• Approve all invitations to connect that are a benefit and make sense to you / your brand.
• Share a relevant industry article or your latest blog post to your profile.
• Drop into 2-3 groups and see if you can volunteer answers.

Instagram

• Post 1-2 times per day – a mix of blog posts, roundup tips, top tips, funny/inspirational and relatable posts.
• Share an Instagram story.
• Like one post from everyone that’s liked your content.

Pinterest

• Pin 5 images per day. A mix of your content and other people’s.
• Like 5 posts per day.
• Repin 5 images per day.
• Choose evergreen posts to pin to a specific brand “blog board.”
• Pin to group boards for added exposure.
• Update boards or titles that need to be optimized.

YouTube

• Create a new video from blog content. Use a tool like Animoto to take tips and break them down into a quick tip.Clean up your descriptions, add keywords, your URL, and tags to older, but evergreen videos.

Google Plus

• Share to Google+ 1 time per day - 1 new article and 1 evergreen.
• Share your content in specific communities.
• +1 anyone that’s made a comment on your posts from the last day.

Final Thoughts

Social media can be time consuming, but it doesn't have to be.The best way to get started is to find 2-3 of the to-do's listed above that will have the most impact on your business.Add them to your calendar and commit to them daily.Once you're comfortable with those tasks, add to it. You'll build momentum as you add more layers.Make it fun, pay attention to the dat, and watch your engagement soar.