The best content strategy for brands in 2023

Social media has changed drastically through the years. We’ve seen Instagram go from a casual photo-sharing app to a playground for influencers and brand deals. We’ve seen TikTok change from a lip-syncing app for teens to being the most downloaded app of 2022. So, of course, you never know which app is going to be the next big thing. With this in mind, it’s common for brands to use multiple platforms to expand their reach.

When you follow a brand across its platforms, you’ll often see the usage of the same content. Reposting content on all channels is a totally normal thing for a brand to do. It ensures everyone is getting the information on the channels they already spent time on, and it’s also cost-effective to reuse content instead of creating net-new content per channel. That being said, brands can often make the mistake of using the same content and the same copy on the same day on their socials. We’ve all seen the classic “Post to Facebook” content pop up on a brand’s social. If they’re following social media best practices, this means a wall of useless hashtags and (of course) the same messaging.

Here's how to reshare content without being repetitive across your brand’s socials. Class is in session!

Keep the audience in mind

First, know which demographics you’re talking to across your platforms. Often your audience will be a range of people, but each platform can reach a different sub-section of that audience. For example, we’ll be using a post we did in mid-September following our partnership with the Canadian Film Centre.

We posted about our work across three different platforms, and each one had a different message depending on where we were posting. On LinkedIn, you’re always talking into a bubble of other industry heavyweights, so there’s no need to sacrifice your brand’s tone of voice, but LinkedIn is the one to be the most formal and buzzwordy.

However, when posting on Instagram there’s more room for incorporating a more casual tone of voice within brand guidelines. And TikTok? The more comedic and meme-driven, the better. Tailoring your message and copy to the exact people to whom you’ll be talking on your respective platforms is essential to your reach, and to keeping people on board with your message. A meme that lands with the Gen Z audience on TikTok might go right over the heads of the industry players on LinkedIn.

Diversify using various mediums

Another way to cross-post without making identical carbon copies is to change the way your information is presented. Above, you’ll see how we communicated our content on LinkedIn. For Instagram and TikTok, we went a different route by utilizing the same images but in a video format.

The popularization of video content with Instagram Reels and TikTok gives us a new way to utilize images that aren’t just posting a static social media carousel. Instagram has told us over and over that video content is the priority, so it’s worth the while to reimagine some posts as videos instead. After all, 66% of people said they’d prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service.

Stagger the content distribution

Just because you’re posting the same content across your social media channels doesn’t mean it all has to go out on the same day. Of course, if you’re doing something timely like a product drop or rebrand then disregard this section, but for standard content, staggering the posting schedule can also be a way to keep the conversation going for a longer period of time.

This means that you may post an Instagram infographic on Tuesday and then the same infographic with different Facebook post copy on Thursday. This way, you communicate the information across all channels, but also will feel less spam-y. As we also know, there are different peak hours for posting across platforms so keeping that in mind also gives your content a better chance of engagement.

The truth is, reposting is a tactic that saves time and resources. It’s important to present that information in a manner that keeps the platform and who you’re talking to in mind. Having an assortment of content and multimedia will give your social media presence the push it needs to stay educational, but not make people want to hit the unfollow button.

On the hunt for a social media partner? Super Duper Studios is a digital branding agency in Toronto. We specialize in game-changing visual identity, websites that make sense, and double-tap worthy social media content. Nice to meet ya! Email me at rebeca.mackinnon@itssuperduper.com and let’s chat.