The right (and wrong) way to repeat Facebook content

Is fresh always better?

When it comes to social media content — and this might surprise you — the answer is a big fat NO.

There are a few big myths out there when it comes to social media. Things like:

• You need to post 24/7 to get any traction
• Likes and follower count is what really matters
• Only celebrities can attract thousands of followers

But the biggest one of all is this:

You can only post content once…and then it dies a sad, slow death on your Facebook wall.

The truth is, repeating social content is actually one of the smartest ways to build your brand and leverage your limited time.

Before you throw stones at me for saying that, hear me out on why it works…  

What million-dollar advertisers do with their messaging

Before we get into social media strategy, let’s talk about advertising for a second.

Think about the logic behind commercials.

Advertising agencies spend thousands — or in the case of Superbowl commercials, millions — of dollars to create one commercial.

Because of that, advertisers don’t only show it to us once. Far from it. We’ll see the same commercial two or three times in the same night and we don’t even flinch.

Why do advertisers do that? Branding. They keep putting the same message in front of us to help us remember them and what they’re all about.

The mere exposure effect in psychology shows us that the more familiar we are with something, the more we like it. Simply being familiar with a message (or a commercial) makes us feel a stronger sense of liking it. 

Why repeating posts works

Just like advertising companies know you need to see the same message (ie: commercial) over and over for it to sink in, savvy social media strategists will show the same message (ie: post) to their audience multiple times.

We get sick of our own marketing way before our customers do. We live in our Facebook pages and we see the same messages pop up over and over. We get tired of them and so we stop showing them.

But think about it from your audience’s perspective. According to HubSpot, only 2-6.5% of your fans see your posts in their News Feeds. That means the majority of your audience are not seeing your posts.

By not repeating your best content, you’re doing a disservice to your existing audience. Repeating posts gives them a new opportunity to discover something helpful, entertaining, or inspiring that’s going to add value to their lives.

There’s also a new wave of prospects who are coming into your world every month — whether through networking functions, referrals, or Facebook ads. You need to give them a chance to know, like, and trust you by sharing (and repeating) your brand message.

Repeating posts isn’t just a smart use of your time. It’s the best way to serve your social media audience.  

Don’t believe repeating posts works? Check this out.

After working in marketing for many years, I know most business owners are hesitant to repeat posts.

Well, take a look at this…

Brendon Burchard is a high-performance coach who’s undeniably successful with social media. He’s got millions of fans on his page Brendon Burchard – Live. Love. Matter.

And he’s no stranger to re-posting.

Here we’ve got one post from November 2016…

…and the same image shared again in February.

This popular post from January…

…was repeated six weeks later in February.

This cool handwritten image was posted on his page in October…

…and repeated in March — with over 2000 more shares than the original post!

Brendon’s audience clearly likes his content the second time around. Many of his posts actually see even more engagement when they’re repeated. (I’ll share more on why that happens in a minute.)

However, there are only certain types of messages that you can successfully repeat on social media…  

The type of content should you never (ever) repeat

Before getting into the type of content you should repeat, let’s talk about the type of content you should never repeat. Because repeating this type of content will lose you followers…and respect.

You should never repeat something that’s time-bound or situational.

Imagine that you see a status update from a business acquaintance in your News Feed saying, “I went to the best restaurant last night. The ambiance was great, the service was spectacular, and the food was just amazing — traditional Greek fare. Loved it!”

Then two weeks later, you’re scrolling and see the exact same post again. That would be really odd, right? You’d say, “Wait a minute. That’s exactly what you said two weeks ago.” You’d start to question the honesty and integrity behind the account.

Repeating time-bound or situational posts is a red flag to your audience that you’re not being authentic. Once that happens, they’ll tune out to your messaging altogether.

Types of posts you do NOT want to repeat are:

• Birthday messages
• Holiday posts
• Reactions to current events
• One-off activities
• Timely news stories
• Posts about current trends
• Personal stories like the restaurant post above

To show this in action, let’s pretend you’re a real estate agent. A time-bound post could be one talking about the hottest interior design colours of the spring season. That’s something that will only be relevant for a short period of time, so it wouldn’t make sense to repeat every month.

What types of content can be repeated?

There are three questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to repeating content:

• Is this good content?
• Will it be just as relevant today as the first time I posted it?
• Are people genuinely interested in this?

If you can answer “yes” to all three, that content can be repeated!

There are a few types of repeating content that do really well. One of the best is educational content.

Educational content teaches your audience something about your industry, service, or sector. It’s something that you can come back to time and time again and it will always ring true.

Back to our real estate example…

An educational piece of content might be a post about the paint colours that help you home sell the fastest. This is going to be as relevant today as it was last year, and as it will be next year. That’s what makes it educational rather than situational — it’s timeless.

In addition to educational content, repeating inspirational content — like Brendon Burchard does — works really well.

What’s cool with Brendon’s strategy is that he actually tends to get more engagement when he repeats an inspirational post. The first time people see it, they enjoy the image. The second or third time, they forget that they’ve already seen it, yet the message feels really familiar and comfortable for them (thanks to the mere exposure effect I mentioned earlier.) So they’ll like it again and maybe even share it this time around.

Brendon comes back to his posts with the highest engagement and keeps repeating them. He’ll also strategically link to a lead magnet that gets people into his pipeline. But that’s a discussion for another day…

When you repeat your content, just make sure not to repeat it too often. I always wait a minimum of three weeks before repeating a post. The longer you can stretch it, the less likely your audience is to notice it’s a repeat post. 

How repeating posts gets you the right type of customer

This is a higher-level social media technique that helps you attract the exact type of customer you want.

You can be strategic when it comes to the type of educational posts you share.

Let’s say you’re a local plumber and you want to attract a high-end customer to your business. You could share (and re-share) posts around topics like:

• How to decide whether your guest bedroom need an en-suite
• Have your housecleaner do this each week to keep your pipes clean
• 10 luxury designer touches to add to your bathroom

These types of posts would be interesting for a high-end consumer…not so much to a cost-conscious one.

Repeating these type of targeted educational posts send a subtle message of who your service is for. The high-end customers will be very engaged with your posts; those who are price shoppers won’t be as interested.

Marketing is all about connecting with the right customers. Employing this strategy is a great way to do that.

In the end, repeating posts helps strengthen your message and make the most of your time.

It’s a smart social media practice that helps you build your relationship with your audience and position your brand.

Some of the most successful social media accounts are giving it a go. Why don’t you?

Another big online marketing myth? That getting new customers is complicated and overwhelming.

Let’s simplify the process…

What if you could talk to a marketing expert about how to get a steady stream of new customers…

And what if that marketing guy asked you some interesting questions about your business that really got you thinking…

And what if that guy actually created a custom plan to bring those new customers to your business, so all you had to do was put the plan into action?

Would you be interested in that?

If so, click here to sign up for a free Marketing & Sales Strategy Call. In just 30 minutes, I’ll gather the info I need to design your custom blueprint to turn strangers on the internet into paying customers 🤩