4 Ways to Use Social Media for Content Research

Business owners who have begun the process of content marketing and starting a blog for their company should note that they can use social media to help facilitate this process. One often overlooked methodology that should be considered is using social media for article research that will be published on your website or through offline publications. There are numerous ways that you can use social media to begin and complete the article research process. Here are four:

1. Take A Poll.

Polls are a great way for you to use social media for article research. When you take polls, you collect data that can be used as statistics you reference in articles that you use to advance or explore a specific subject. Luckily, there are a wide range of ways that you can take a poll via social media. For example, you can create a Twitter account and begin following people, some of whom will follow you back. Next, you can include a link to a poll you’ve compiled and ask your followers to complete it. You can use similar strategies on other social media networks like Facebook and Pinterest. Keep in mind that Facebook features a survey option, and you can implement it to gather the information you want.

2. Use The Research Findings Of Others.

These days, more and more people are publishing their research findings via social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Since this is the case, it’s a good idea to go on these platforms and do a keyword search for articles that cover topics that you want to explore and produce content about. For example, let’s say that you’re a food researcher and you want to access articles that already detail the information you want rather than having to do your own background research. If you want your article to include detailed information regarding the effect that apples have on removing cholesterol from the heart, you could enter a phrase like “Health Benefits Of Apples” into the search field of Twitter. Once you press enter, you’ll be exposed to tweets that have already been sent which incorporate information pertaining to your keyword request. In many cases, these tweets will include a link that takes you directly to an article covering the information you’re in search of.

3. Post Pictures And Ask Questions.

As many internet marketing experts know, pictures are incredibly popular in the world of social media. The existence and ongoing popularity of Instagram is proof of this principle. Now that you understand this reality, it’s important to recognize the fact that you can use pictures to increase the likelihood that people will answer the questions you wish to use in your article research. To get this process going, start posting pictures and determine which ones are getting the most active engagement from your followers. You can then take this information and use it to post pictures that generate interest in addition to questions related to the article research you want to do. Because most people like to think that their ideas are appreciated, asking for an individual’s opinion is oftentimes a highly effective way to get valuable information that contributes to your article research. 

4. Build An Online Strategy.

As you begin the process of requesting information and sharing ideas with your social media followers, you need to start watching their activities and posts to determine which things they’re interested in and what types of information they respond to. In getting this information, you’ll be able to develop an online strategy that empowers you to get the data you want for your article research faster. 

Further Considerations

As you begin the process of using social media for article research, it’s important to note that there are a plethora of strategies you can implement to optimize the process. One such process is becoming a thought leader in your field. Once you do this, you will gain credibility in the minds of the general public and increase the likelihood that they will gravitate towards your social media sites. To become a thought leader in your field, it’s critically important that you produce valuable, accurate publications concerning your area of interest. You should also be sure to connect with other thought leaders in your field.

Another great strategy that you should incorporate to ensure that you are successful in getting the article research you want is the use of hashtags. Hashtags are search tools used via Twitter so that people who want to discuss a certain topic can easily find information about that subject. For example, if you want to talk about apples, you can preface your tweet with this hashtag: #apples. This makes it easier for individuals looking for this type of information to find the data they want. 

Yet another technique you should consider implementing to have success when using social media for article research is to make it fun. People gravitate towards social media for entertainment purposes, and that’s part of the reason that having fun is important and advantageous even if you’re trying to cover a serious research topic. There are several ways that you can make the process fun, such as offering prizes to individuals who complete your polls or surveys. 

Conclusion 

These days, more and more people are interested in optimizing their business functions by producing high quality, informative articles. Part of making this process happen is gathering the research necessary to make your articles factual, relevant, and engaging. As stated above, you can use social media to gain this information and thereby produce interesting, engaging articles. By using some or all of the article research techniques outlined here, you will likely have great success.

Good luck!