Have you ever sat and stared at your Instagram feed and loved all of what you have created?

And then the next thought to take over was, I wish more people had seen this post that I crafted.

We take so much time, whether we are business owners, influencers, or just posting our personal stuff on any of the social media platforms that we want people to see all of what we share.

Numbers matter especially when it comes to being a business owner or influencer sharing on any social media platform. Today, though, we aren’t going to talk about increasing our numbers. Instead, we are going to talk about the lifespan of all the different creative content that we create.

WHAT DO I MEAN WHEN I TALK ABOUT CREATIVE CONTENT

For the purpose of this blog post, I am going to cover the main social media platforms, search engines including Pinterest, and blog posts. I will break them down so that you can compare the different pieces of your content plan and see how long that piece of content is going to be seen.

Social media moves fast. It seems to move faster and faster and as the days go on and more people continue to join. However, just because it moves fast doesn’t mean that you can’t have the impact that you want to have.

Let’s jump in and have fun talking about the different platforms that we love to spend time on and craft content for.

THE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS AND THEIR LIFESPANS

Now, these numbers aren’t to scare you into not using a certain platform. These numbers are meant to inform you and remind you that each piece of your content plan has a purpose.

What do I mean by lifespan?

By lifespan, I mean the average amount of time that people will see and interact with your content. This doesn’t mean that your content just disappears. It just means that it isn’t shown to as many people after this lifespan is over.

I am going to start with one of my favourite platforms, Instagram. Is anyone else obsessed with IG? I absolutely love it. I am NOT a fan of all the videos now because I loved the platform and their focus on static images but I still love what they offer. I could get lost looking at Instagram content for hours.

Instagram

On this platform, your content has a lifespan of 48 hours. Now there are multiple forms on content on Instagram and they are all a bit different.

The 48-hour lifespan is going to cover the content that you post to your feed. This doesn’t include Instagram Reels. Since IG Reels are being pushed even more now, you can sometimes find traction after ten days of posting your reel.

Your Instagram stories on the other hand have a lifespan of only 24 hours. Remember that you can also save your stories to your highlights so that they will always be there.

Instagram is all about engagement. The more that people engage with your posts, the more people will see them.

Facebook

With Facebook, the lifespan of your content is going to vary. They have an algorithm that makes it so that your content reaches about 75% of your audience in the first two hours after posting. Within five hours of posting, you will receive a majority of your activity on that post.

This doesn’t give you much time to get in front of your audience on Facebook. Now you can understand why growing your audience can take a bit more time when it comes to Facebook. It really comes down to how relevant your content is and how engaged your audience is with all of the content that you share.

YouTube

Do you have a YouTube channel that has content in it that you want your audience to see? When it comes to YouTube, you have around a 20 to 30-day lifespan for the content that you share.

YouTube is going to also be SEO based so it will continue to grow and show your content to your audience if you are using your SEO properly. By sharing your YouTube content to all of your other social media platforms, it will also help to continue to bring traffic to that content.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is different than most other platforms. LinkedIn is based on professional relationships being built and is all about networking.

Your content on LinkedIn has an average 24-hour lifespan. However, sometimes your posts can have a lifespan of months. Remember that engagement again, is key to this platform. Build relationships and post consistently.

Twitter

I don’t use Twitter often. I am inconsistent when it comes to this platform. This is one of the fastest-moving platforms that you can use. When it comes to Twitter, the number of followers that you have will depend on how long your posts are seen.

For some people, your content on Twitter can be seen for only seconds. For others, it can be around 15 minutes. On this platform, you are truly fighting to be seen more than any other platform.

Tik Tok

Who doesn’t love watching videos on Tik Tok? I personally do not use Tik Tok as I don’t feel I would be interesting enough for that platform. (Probably all in my head.)

Tik Tok seems to have taken over and that means that your content will have a shorter lifespan because of the amount of content that is being shared on that platform. If you have a post go viral then you will see that your content will have a longer lifespan.

The first few minutes are the most important time for your content on Tik Tok. If it doesn’t go viral, your content is going to have a hard time being seen. This means that the lifespan of your content can be instant.

Pinterest

Pinterest is one of those platforms that I could spend hours on. I want you to remember that Pinterest isn’t a social media platform, it is a search engine. That means that it will rely heavily on SEO for your pins to be seen.

The average lifespan of a Pinterest pin is around four months. You are going to want to make sure that you use images that are relevant to your content, keywords that are being searched, and an enticing headline.

Blog post

Blogging is a long-term content strategy and this is why. Your blog content is going to have a lifespan of two years!!!

TWO YEARS!!

Now look back at all of the other content that you are sharing on those other platforms and nothing can compare with two years. This is why EVERYONE should have a blog.

Are you now going to consider starting that blog that you have been thinking about?

Remember that your blog lifespan is going to also depend on SEO. Your SEO is important when it comes to the content that you create on your blog. It isn’t only about the keywords that you use. It is about how you use those keywords.

TIPS TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR CREATIVE CONTENT

You now know the lifespan of certain social media content that you are creating but I want to share a few tips that can help you with all of the content that you are creating.

Consistency matters

This doesn’t mean that you are going to post multiple times a day on each platform. No one has time for that and if you do, please come to me because I have some things that I could have you work on. (Laundry may be one of those things.)

Yes, you can certainly post multiple times a day but that isn’t always beneficial. When I talk about consistency, I talk about working within your schedule and the amount of time that you have. If you can’t post every single day, it isn’t the end of the world. It may mean that your account grows slower but there is nothing wrong with that.

Engagement matters

We post and post and post and then we wonder why our platforms are stale. We are forgetting the biggest component when it comes to all of the social media platforms that we talked about today. Here are 11 ways you can improve your blog engagement.

RELATIONSHIPS

You can’t expect to grow if you aren’t building and growing relationships. This means engagement. You need to comment on the people that you follow. You need to comment on hashtags that you use. You need to get out in front of people or you are just going to be lost among the crowd of all the other users.

Analytics matter

They are there for a reason. You need to look at your analytics or you are wasting valuable information. See when your followers are most active. This is going to help you post when they are there and are ready to see your content.

Don’t get consumed with all of the analytics that you will see but using it to your advantage is possible.

Content matters

Are you sharing content that your audience actually wants to see?

Are you sharing content that your audience is going to learn from?

Your content matters and it is going to be the thing that makes or breaks you. Make sure that you are speaking to your ideal audience and giving them the content that they are searching for.

Your plan matters

When it comes to posting on social media, you need to have a plan.

What are your goals for your creative content?

When you focus on the objectives of the content that you are creating, you can create goals that are going to help you reach those objectives. You can’t just show up and post what you want.

If you are new to planning out your social media, the easy way to start is to begin with a monthly theme. What do you want to focus on for the next 30 days?

You will want to remember if you have any new products, promotions, or services that you are going to offer. You will want to add these to your content plan. By giving your content a direction, you are creating a plan of action.

If you are looking for help with any of your creative content, I have room for one more small business content client and I have room for two more single platform content creation clients. Please reach out and I would love to show you how I can help.