If you’re trying to market your business, you most certainly need a social media strategy to be effective. In 2016, internet users had an average of 7 social accounts, up from 3 in 2012. See this and other social media statistics.
Using social media can improve your search engine ranking, increase your brand awareness and create a connection with your clients. Being consistent is key. Here are a few tips to consider:
Follow People and Be Social
Find your customers, industry partners, even your competitors and start following them. Subscribe to feeds, repost and share content, leave meaningful comments to their posts and tag company pages when promoting other businesses. Building relationships with others broadens your social media presence.
Assign a Dedicated Social Media Expert
Consistency is key. Daily engagement increases your impact. To stay on top your efforts it would be helpful to have a dedicated member of your team manage your accounts. They can reach out to others for ideas and feedback. It’s helpful to create a calendar of topics you’d like to highlight or assign others on your team to submit entries.
Position Yourself as a Value Source
Don’t be too salesy. You’ll turn your readers off when your posts are mostly self-serving. People will be more willing to share, like or comment on your posts when they feel it is valuable. Highlight community events your company gets involved in, share insight on topics within your industry or offer best business practice ideas to engage your readers.
Use a Tool for Post Management and Responses
Choosing the best time to post isn’t always during working hours. Using a source like Hootsuite will help you schedule your posts across multiple social media streams as well as manage your content with analytics and reporting features.
Learn the Dos and Don’ts of Hashtags
Now the most popular form of categorizing content on social media, you want to make sure you’re using hashtags properly.
- Limit hashtags to two per post.
- Avoid starting tweets with hashtags or inserting them into the middle of sentences.
- Avoid overusing the same hashtag.
- Incorporate appropriate industry hashtags relevant to your business.
- Learn the proper way to use them across different social media networks.
Check out this blog post for best key practices in using hashtags.
Post More Photos
Photos peak more interest and result in more engagement. Sites like Instagram and Pinterest are gaining popularity and are primarily driven by images. There are even tools like Landscape that allow you to properly fit images for all social media channels.
Include a Call to Action
Your ultimate goal is most likely to generate business. Try to inspire your readers to take action from your posts, whatever social media channel you are using. Finding the right terminology can be tricky. See this blog post on call to action phrases.
Don’t be intimidated by social media. Start small with a strategy that fits your business goals. Once you begin you’ll pick up momentum from others. Hopefully, these tips will set you on the right path.
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