Is It Okay to Share a Blog Article on Social Media More than Once? And If So, How Many Times Can It be Reposted?
When you write a new blog post, you probably put a lot of time and effort into your research and writing (if you don’t stop taking shortcuts and sabotaging yourself). The best posts, according to Google, are those that deliver on substance. Short articles don’t add real value to a site and are a waste of time. Longer posts–we know from Big G’s “In-Depth Articles” search returns–are worth more than one would first suppose.
Let’s put it another way, and think from a visitor’s point of view. The title may indicate or outright promise to provide information about a specific query, but if it does not, that’s a trick you want to stop using straight away. Even if it does answer the question emphatically but doesn’t provide an explanation or real context, it’s just a letdown for the reader.
Why Sharing More than Once Works
The answer to sharing the same article multiple times is obvious–you’re engaging a different audience in the majority of cases. Since it’s not likely that every one of your followers is on the exact same schedule and has identical interests, as well as being in the same industry, you’re sharing with a new audience each time. However, you still need to produce more than one article to be effective and add value to your site.
This isn’t to say publish a new blog post three or four times a day (unless, of course, you’re in the news business). That’s to say that you ought to think about, plan, and execute a way to get more mileage out of each article you publish.
That’s where the tricky part comes in, especially when you consider that engagement times and publishing times are not the same. Research by organizations in the industry has found that articles published on the weekends get more shares than those published during the week. Studies also revealed that practically all shares happen well after the post goes live as most people are sharing between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m., with the span between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. being the most active.
How to Share a Blog Article More than Once
Though you are sharing with a new audience on the first, even the second go-round, perhaps the third, don’t keep resharing identical content, that is to say, the same titles. Instead, replace the titles with a fact or stat in the post; or, ask a question. Plus, you can also do a few other things to mix it up and get more out of your articles than just a one-time social share, like:
Comment on the post. Provide a little insight into what you did to put the information together or include a short anecdote to entice people who come across the subsequent share.
Challenge your audience. For those who’ve not seen the article yet, this will be an open invitation; and, for those who have, an opportunity to add their thoughts and experiences.
Include contrary data. Share something contrary to what you wrote and link back to your post, which refutes the information.
Insert an in-kind image, or infographic, or mention a specific article. If you come across another piece of content that supports what you wrote, then share it, give the author credit, and link back to your post.
By doing this, your blog posts will work for you in a way that delivers a bigger return over a longer period of time.
