You’ve probably already heard the expression “Content is king”; and when it comes to social media, this statement couldn’t be more true. While there are, of course, other ways to get traffic from social media, content will usually help you get the most – and the best – traffic. The reason why is simple – content means value, and people want more value.

What does content mean exactly?

Content can take many different forms, such as:

• Articles on your blog
• Whitepapers and essays
• Media (images, videos)
• Presentations
• eBooks
• Infographics

What type of content drives social media traffic?

Any type of content can help you drive social media traffic, although definitely some more than others. It all depends on how much value that content provides, but your type of business, or the social network used, can also play huge factors.

For example, your audience might be more visual; in that case, they might respond better to visual content, such as images and videos, or presentations, and that type of content would help you drive more traffic. In other cases, a good article or a long, but value-ridden whitepaper can help you drive more social media traffic – that usually being the case with more business-focused individuals.

The best thing to do is find out what type of content your audience responds to the best, on the various social networks you use. Start by checking your Google Analytics, but it’s important to also take into account how many shares your content gets on social media, as well as how much engagement they get. Many times, you’ll find that when one of your posts gets a lot of engagement (likes, shares, retweets etc.) they are also more likely to drive more traffic back to your website.

Why is content such a great source of social media traffic?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons why content is such a great source of social media traffic is that it provides value to your audience.

On social media, you can’t always sell your stuff, so great content could be one of your main ways of getting targeted traffic back to your website, which has better chances to lead to sales.

Great content is also one of the few ways that you can actually stand out on social media among your competition.

How can you maximize your social media traffic with your content?

The more value your content provides, the better your chances of driving more traffic. However, that is easier said than done, and it can be difficult to post regularly and maintain a certain level of quality, but I’ve found it’s sometimes better to post more rarely, than post content that your audience won’t be that interested in. There are, however, other “tricks” that will help you get more social media traffic with the help of your articles, whitepapers or other types of content.

In order to maximize the social media traffic you get from your content, it is recommended that you follow a few steps:

• Add social sharing buttons to your content so that people can share it with their friends
• Post the content on all your relevant social media accounts and repeat over time
• Write a short description when you post content, so that people know what they’ll be getting if they click on your link
• Find relevant groups and communities that could be interested in your content and post it there as well. Be careful to also engage with other users in the group, so that your post doesn’t get flagged as spam.
• A catchy title can make a huge difference – I’ve often found that the better the title, the more traffic I get back. A good title will help spark debates and discussions on social media, which in turn leads to more traffic.
• Cross-post everywhere to build brand recognizability. The more people see updates from your site, the more often they recognize it and start clicking more. Of course, you need a unique enough brand for that. Go through lots of website name ideas before choosing yours.

Are you using content as a means to get more traffic from social media? What types of content have you found to be most successful?