Colorful recycling bins floating in a promising sky

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Finding Fresh Material for Social Media

Customers sometimes ask, “How can organizations like mine keep coming up with fresh material to share on social media?”

Well, here’s a very short answer that might make it easier to find material. And the best part is you already know the mnemonic.

  • Reduce: Chances are you do a fair bit of public communication (product announcements, reorganizations, new officers, announcements, price adjustments, recalls, etc.). So, just create shorter versions of your public messages. And don’t limit yourself to text, try producing micro-videos, blogs, and podcasts. When you do use text in formats like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, look for animated GIFs, or create picture memes to make your point. Just be sure your creations are congruent with your organization’s brand.
  • Reuse: Do you have an ad campaign? Tweet about it! Share it on Instagram! Post it on Facebook!  Then try promoting your posts for greater exposure. Remember, it’s not the “likes” that help stretch your reach, it’s the “shares.” So make sure your repurposed messages are worth sharing.
  • Recycle: Keep all of your good ideas in a file and resurrect the good ones, whenever you can. Recycle other people’s good ideas. Tweet about your old posts. And link-link-link!

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” It’s good for the social media environment, too.