The internet is saturated with content. It's already not easy to carve out a place amid the plethora of posts, articles, and videos that proliferate every day on the web, but staying visible for a long time is even more difficult!
So, if you want to learn more about the lifespan of your web content depending on the social media where it's shared, and if you want to learn how to maximize that lifespan, the essentials are in this article!
The blog post: the content with the longest expected lifespan
The lifespan of a blog post would be about 2 years, according to an Izea study. More precisely, an article will have received 99% of its impressions 700 days after publication — roughly 2 years.
However, it is possible to keep an article alive for the very long term:
- First, by encouraging sharing on social networks: for example, posts that include an infographic or a video are more likely to go viral to be shared regularly;
- Then, by sharing the article yourself on different networks (not only on the day of publication, but also by republishing it regularly afterwards);
- Finally, by updating the post to refresh it and keep it up to date.
Also read: Blog: 4 republishing tools to boost your old articles.
Pinterest, the social network champion of longevity
Among all social networks, Pinterest is number one when it comes to the lifespan of posts.
Being an image-based medium, the key to consistency on Pinterest is to publish colorful visuals that attract attention. Also don't hesitate to share long-format content combining image and text — notably infographics.
YouTube: long-term content
A YouTube video receives the majority of its views after about twenty days.
However, the video platform is the world's second search engine, which means that internet users can discover your videos well after that deadline.
You should therefore focus on “timeless” topics, long-term solutions that can interest your potential viewers for years.
Using targeted keywords and relevant phrasing in your video titles also increases your chances of being found by users searching for information on YouTube.
LinkedIn: 24-hour window
LinkedIn post visibility is limited to roughly 24 hours.
But how can you attract traffic through this professional network beyond a single day?
- Add your best content to your LinkedIn profile; this will give it extra visibility;
- Join groups to share your content with relevant audiences;
- Use LinkedIn Pulse to give your content a second life after its initial publication.
Instagram: better than Facebook and Twitter
With a 21-hour lifespan, Instagram posts fare relatively well.
And it’s possible to keep your images alive much longer on this network:
- By using relevant, popular hashtags which will make your posts easier to find;
- Identify your most popular Instagram posts and reuse the formulas that work.
Facebook: time is limited
5 hours: that’s the time allotted for a Facebook post to be seen and receive interactions, according to PostPlanner.
To remedy this and grab a few precious hours, here are the solutions offered in the infographic:
- Use Facebook ads to sponsor a post: costly, but effective;
- Pinning a post to the top of your page can highlight and boost it;
- Recycle your posts from time to time: it's rare for someone to remember a Facebook post they came across six months earlier.
Facebook content has the second-shortest lifespan. It only lasts about 5 hours. That means you can post 2 to 3 times a day on your Facebook page without driving your audience away.
Snapchat: only a few seconds
Content posted on Snapchat has an extremely short lifespan, and that’s normal since that’s the very idea of this network. Snaps generally last only 10 seconds, which means they can disappear almost instantly.
In contrast, Snapchat stories have a much longer lifespan — about 24 hours on average — but they never reappear.
Twitter: the shortest lifespan
Given the flood of tweets published every day, it’s hardly surprising that the lifespan of a Twitter post does not exceed 18 minutes.
However, it is possible to give your tweets a reprieve and make them more visible over the long term.
- First, pinning a post to your profile is a good way to highlight it;
- Again, repost your most popular content to get the most out of it.
In short, here is the lifespan of your content on social media:
- Blog post: about 2 years
- Pinterest: 4 months
- YouTube: 20 days
- LinkedIn: 24 hours
- Instagram: 21 hours
- Facebook: 5 hours
- Snapchat (or TikTok): begins to degrade immediately, unless it goes viral
- Twitter: 18 minutes
4 tips to increase this lifespan
As you’ve seen, for some of these platforms we’ve presented small tips to put into practice. But more generally, here are a few things to know to make your content last.
1. Publish quality content
If your content truly sparks readers' interest, it will automatically be more durable.
2. Plan your publishing calendar holistically
If your content appears on the various social networks at the right time, it has a better impact and therefore lasts longer.
3. Find the right publishing frequency
If you publish too much, you risk driving your readers away. Conversely, if you don't publish enough, you risk losing them!
4. Refresh your existing content
A post or article that resonates can be updated and reshared. Find the right balance to get the most out of your content.
Also read: How can you optimize updating your content?
Conclusion
You now know the lifespan of your content depending on the social networks where it's published. For networks where content doesn't disappear, you also know how to increase that lifespan and refresh your content. So it's up to you to act!
If you need help with your content strategy, find the right person for you on Redacteur.com.
The article How to extend the lifespan of your web content? first appeared on Redacteur.com.
