[Tutorial] The Guide to Social Strategy for content creators

Social networks are a simple, efficient channel for letting readers know about your digital publications. But not all shares are equally effective. For example, garbled text and broken links will attract fewer clicks than well-prepared content. To optimize your publications for best results in social media posts, you can take a few easy steps in just five minutes.

In this article, we’ll be highlighting quick fixes that give your publications a professional look for sharing on Facebook, Twitter and more.

Add a clear title

When you share a link to your Calaméo publication on social media, its title has a big place in the post. In fact, the title usually appears in a bigger and/or bold font. As a result, you should be sure to choose a clear, concise title for your publication. Even better, include keywords to interest your audience. Avoid including information like the file size and type that may distract or confuse readers.

 Get descriptive

A short description is a great opportunity to introduce your publication to potential readers scrolling through their social media feeds. Since the description text appears in the link preview, make it count. We recommend that you give an overview of your publication’s contents, in addition to a strong CTA. And of course, always review your social media post to double-check the formatting—making changes to the description on Calaméo is painless.

Showcase bold covers

Your publication’s cover image will be shown in the link preview on social media, so it should stand out! First, make sure your publication has a dedicated cover page. Next, consider the design. To catch the eye of curious readers, you may prefer a bold, colorful cover instead of a white background and small type. Check out the example below:

Check privacy settings

In order to share your publications on social media, you first need to verify that they are accessible to the right audience. You can share a private publication that has been authorized for access with a private URL. Or you may also configure a private publication for subscriber access. Your subscribers will then be directed to log in with the unique username and password that you have defined for each of them.

Select link options

Once all of your publication’s properties are prepared, it’s time to choose the link that you want to share on social media. You can either link to the overview page of your publication on Calaméo or directly to the viewer. Want to highlight a particular section in your post? Just add ?page= followed by a page number to the publication URL. Your link will bring readers straight to that page.

💡TIP: If you’re sharing a publication on Facebook, try using the Sharing Debugger to confirm that the title, description and cover display properly before you hit post.

Include hashtags

Tags and hashtags are a smart tool to help more people discover your publications on social media. A little research will tell you which hashtags related to your business or activity are most popular. But don’t be afraid of less-used, quirkier hashtags either—they can add personality to your posts. Tagging other accounts or pages should only be used when relevant, such as tagging a business featured in an article of your publication.

With these quick and easy tips you should be ready to optimize your digital publications for social media posts. And if you want even more ideas to develop your sharing strategy, head on over to our Digital Publisher’s Guide to Social Media.

We love to see the amazing content our users publish on Calaméo! Tag us @calameo on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Or show off your best covers with the #CalameoCoversClub hashtag for a chance to be featured on our homepage.

The Content Creator’s Guide to Social Media

Thanks to social media, delivering content to thousands of people at once is as easy as hitting the “Post” button. But it isn’t always easy to achieve the results you have in mind. That’s why we’re bringing you a new series all about making these channels work for your digital publishing needs. First up: how to promote content with Facebook.

Getting the most out of Facebook

For many businesses, the last decade held plenty of ups and downs from Facebook. As the social network grew to more than 2 billion users, promoting content with Facebook became a valuable source of exposure. But changes to the News Feed, privacy scandals and plenty of controversy have made developing an audience more challenging. Should digital publishers still plan to promote content with Facebook?

The short answer is yes. Although reaching your audience may be more difficult now than in the past, Facebook is the world’s largest social media network. It remains an important way for internet users to discover your publications and engage with your business. In other words, don’t let the challenges distract you from the advantages of this channel. Read on to learn how your business can take advantage of visibility, traffic and community on Facebook.

Update your Page

If it’s been a while since you updated your business’s Facebook Page—or if you’re just getting started—set aside some time to review it. The About tab lets you add lots of information that people may be searching for about your business, like contact details and opening hours. Use the “About” text box to include key words, upload your logo as a profile picture and choose an on-brand cover image for your Page.

Because Facebook Pages act like an online directory, users can arrive on your Page directly from search results. A post of yours might never have even made it into their News Feeds! Depending on your SEO, your Page might be the #1 result when people search for you. In short, it’s important to review your Page information regularly no matter how often you post.

Post thoughtfully

Speaking of posting, it’s officially time to re-consider the old rule that “more is better.” While social media best practices used to recommend multiple posts per day, the number of users likely to see them has shrunk. In 2019, the average reach for Pages with more than 10,000 followers was just 2.59%. That means a Page with 100,000 followers could expect any one of their posts to reach 2,590 people.

As a result, it may now be most efficient to post less often and more thoughtfully. For example, take the high-quality, long-format content of your digital publications on Calaméo. If fewer Facebook users will see posts about your publications, you’ll want to make them count.

First, research your Page’s existing audience to determine whether it matches your publication’s target audience. Are you sharing your content with followers who are already fans? Or do you need to introduce your publication to new readers? Knowing this will help you decide what kinds of posts to plan around your publication.

💡 TIP: Don’t forget about different types of posts! In addition to sharing a link, you can use a photo, video or poll to promote content with Facebook.

Next, examine the reach you can expect for your posts and when your followers are most likely to be scrolling their feeds. With these details in mind, you can optimize when and how often to post about your digital publications for best results.

Be realistic about Likes

Once you’ve hit “Post,” it’s time to begin tracking the response to your content. However, don’t worry too much about the number of Likes that your posts receive. While Likes used to be seen as a key measure of success, they are now usually considered a vanity metric. Follow any comments or shares you receive for a better idea of your audience’s reaction.

Because when digital publishers promote content with Facebook, they need to know how many users checked out their magazine. (Or catalog, white paper, brochure or report!) To find out, monitor how many clicks your posts receive. Combine this information with other viewership statistics, such as reading time per hour, to analyze the overall results of traffic from your Facebook posts. Then, use it to adapt your game plan in the future.

That just about covers the basics of how to promote content with Facebook, and why it should be a part of any digital publisher’s social media strategy.

Of course, depending on your resources and the size of your social media team, you may want to make use of some of the other possibilities that Facebook offers. For instance, Pages with highly engaged followers can consider starting a Facebook Group where their community can connect. And businesses struggling with the reach of their Pages’ posts may find that investing in Facebook Ads is worthwhile.

Above all, keep in mind that reviewing your approach to sharing your digital publications can reveal simple solutions for optimizing your results. Whether you have 300 followers or 300,000, a strong posting strategy will help you better benefit from the visibility, traffic and community on Facebook for your publications.

Ready to start?

Now that you’ve got all the details about how to promote content with Facebook, it’s time to turn your online documents into great digital publications. Sign up for your free Calaméo account today and explore what digital publishing can do for you!