Are you looking to promote your own brand or that of a company?
When considering social media marketing, there are a great many tools available, but one of the oldest and most useful is that of social publishing. Though that sounds like a very broad topic, social publishing falls into a few categories that may be leveraged. Here’s the quick and dirty – blogging, sharing sites and social news sites.

Are you seeking to become a thought leader? Do you have unique insights into your chosen area of expertise and feel that you have something to offer your peers? In this regard, you may consider building a blog, wherein you can establish your personal brand and market yourself to the world at large. This is your owned space, content created belongs to you and may garner you attention and opportunities for revenue.

Are you established on a social network?
Sharing sites, such as Youtube, Instagram, Pintrest and even Facebook provide the ability to build following on an earned media platform. You’ll need to consider the nature of the media you want to create and share. If you are more comfortable with video editing, perhaps a v-log is a better direction and Youtube excels at hosting and sharing that kind of content.

Are you building new connections?
As you start to create content, keep in mind that others may pick it up and it may take on a life of its own. Its important, should it be hosted on your own site, that you consider Social Media Optimization (SMO) and create quick and easy ways for it to be shared. A lot of sites offer plugins and other tools for sharing and RSS feeds.

If you are pushing out your content on a social share site, consider how you will build relationships with those networks and their users. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a big consideration given that using a share site will give you potential access to a larger digital footprint as users find and share your content with their networks. This will drive your content to the top of search algorithms, securing a greater visibility.

The other category of social publishing we haven’t touched on yet; social news sites, is the last area where you can drive brand awareness through the promotion of your content. Sites like Reddit can be instrumental in getting your message out to a large audience. But its important to remember to be careful in crafting content. While social news sites have the potential of establishing you or your company as a thought leader on the bleeding edge, should you make a misstep its a long fall from grace.

Summary of social publishing importance
In the creation of digital assets – videos, blog posts, white papers, press releases and photos, all of this generates reusable social content. This content builds an online presence and helps in establishing brand awareness. Consistency in message and posting cadence will help build confidence and respect in the market. All of these elements will lead to increased site traffic and advocacy as customers begin to share and in some cases defend the brand.