4 things to check before you post
Aug 22, 2024
For those of you who are anxiety girlies, like me, you may be nervous to post on social media if it's not something you do regularly. That's normal. Like anything, social media takes time and practice. It's okay to be nervous, but don't let that stop you from posting!
To help you breathe a little easier when you have to post, here are the four things I always check before I post anything to my socials.
1. Cohesiveness - Does this look and sound correct in relation to the rest of your content and your brand?
Don’t get me wrong — cohesion is not the same old thing every single day. It’s not putting new words on the same template. It’s strategically using your brand colors, your logo, your voice, and your perspective to communicate specifically to your audience.
It’s good to mix up the format so viewers don’t get bored or assume they’ve already seen this, but we also want to give them clues as to who wrote this and why they should stop and engage. That’s what cohesion does. It tells viewers that this post is from you and gives them a reason to pause and read more.
2. Readability - is all the text legible and easy to understand? are the hooks catchy?
Readability is exactly what it sounds like. Can viewers read and understand your post? Cohesion helps them know they should pause and read more. Readability ensures that they can access the information when they do pause to read.
This sounds like a “duh,” but you’d be surprised how many graphics I see with text too small to read, or how many reels I come across with an indiscernible hook.
”What does that mean? Why did they write that? Is that even real?” These are questions you don’t want your audience to ask. So make sure it’s readable!
3. Balance - is the design balanced and beautiful, or is something way off? do you have a balance of types of content, or are you too heavy in one area?
Balance is another often overlooked aspect of content creation. It never pays to be “one note” (in content or in food). We, as consumers, want to see variety and diversity.
Remember when TikTok was mostly people doing the same dance to the same song over and over again? How quickly did you scroll past those videos after a while? Lightning speed!
Balance ensures that you are covering all the content pillars at your disposal evenly, that you mix upbeat posts with more serious content, that you entertain and educate in equal parts. This is also important when you think about when you’re posting certain types of content. Did you put all the heavy stuff at the beginning of the month and all the upbeat content at the end, or is it spread out in a more balanced way?
Balance keeps our audience coming back for more.
4. Alignment - is the topic of this post aligned with your strategy, your brand, and your audience?
Strategy is key. This is why we’re posting in the first place. When you plan each post it should be for a specific reason — to educate, entertain, commiserate, and draw in your ideal client. If it’s not doing that, what’s the point?
If a post isn’t in alignment with your overall brand or strategy, it’s not serving you or your audience. You’re just posting to post, which doesn’t move the needle forward and in some cases may move it backwards.
Alignment is the most important thing to check before you post.
Your Turn
- Do you check your content before you post it?
- Which of these items is most important for you? Which area do you feel weakest in? strongest in?
