Now that 2023 is over, it’s time to start 2024 on the right foot.
So we decided to look at the 6 major social networks (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X) and we analyzed 6,302,491 pieces of content to see what performs the best.
And more so we looked at recent content over the last 30 days to figure out what is working “now”.
Data from what worked in early 2023 or prior years doesn’t help much in figuring out what you need to do to get the views and engagement you want today.
Hence we focused on recent posts for this analysis.
So, let’s look at the data first.
And then I’ll show you how I’ve been implementing it so you can see the results.
What type of content generates the most engagement?
This chart breaks it down clearly.
Short-term content is what people are consuming and looking for.
Plus TikTok has changed the way we consume content.
The average TikTok user spends 95 minutes a day on the app consuming short-form videos.
And now most platforms are pushing short-form video.
Now, just because the chart shows people prefer consuming short-form videos, I wouldn’t focus your effort on creating short-form content.
I would create both numbers 2 and 3 on the chart.
Which are long-form videos and record your podcast/expert talks/interviews on video. And then take that longer content and chop it up into short-form content.
Just like how I record my podcast Marketing School in video format and chop up the content.
That way you can kill two birds with one stone and go after more social media views.
But what about text-based content?
Text-based content was in the other bucket in the first chart.
Keep in mind not all social networks accept text-based content.
But if you are like me and enjoy creating it, not all text-based content is equal.
Here are the best-performing versions of text.
As you can see people still love “how-to” and “listicles”.
I get they have been around for ages, but that is what people prefer. And that’s what is getting the engagement.
But what if you don’t have the time to create shorts or even text-based content?
User-generated content
You can always encourage or even compensate your community for creating user-generated content.
And if you are going to leverage it, not all social networks care for it.
Here are the social networks where user-generated content performs the best.
Now the real question is, how do you get more engagement based on the above data?
The secret to social media success
Well, the answer starts with X.
To explain it, first I want you to check out my X feed.
Do you see how I am putting tons of content each day on X?
It’s because X is unlike other social platforms.
See, if I post on LinkedIn 4 or 5 times a day or even on Facebook or Instagram, it affects the reach of all my content.
Most social networks penalize you if your content is crap.
They only want you to post your good stuff and they will reward you for that.
The issue is what you think is gold may be crap to someone else.
So, the only way to ensure that you are only posting good content (or mainly good content) is to test it out first.
I take all my ideas and test them out on X.
Some hit well and get 500,000 plus views like this one. And others may get a few thousand views.
In many cases, I know what will do well because I have done this long enough, but I am still wrong many times.
Once I have my winners and I make sure I post at least 1 thing a day that hits, I then create video content around that topic.
I typically record them in batches… at least 10 a week (I travel a lot hence I batch and create a backlog).
That way I have enough content to post on my social profiles each day.
To keep things simple, you can do what I do… just look at my LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook accounts.
I am reading the X content (the posts that did well at least) word for word on camera.
And then posting it on every social network I’m on.
As for the description text, I just take it word for word from X and use it for the other platforms like LinkedIn along with the video version.
That’s it…
Now look at my social media views before I started to do this:
Before
After
TikTok
After
Before
After
YouTube
Before
After
Before
After
As you can see it has worked extremely well for most social networks except for Facebook.
Take the data from the charts above. Copy my strategy of posting on X first. And then turn your winners into social content for all the platforms.
Your views will go up.
Conclusion
Even with organic reach declining on most social networks, you can still get more engagement.
I have. You can see it above.
You can too.
Heck, I am in B2B and I’ve done well with the strategy.
It’s easier to implement if you are in B2C (we’ve tested it on B2C as well).
So, what’s your plan for 2024?
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