Social media has become part of everyday life and has affected the way businesses reach out to their respective target audiences. The three heavy hitters of social media everyone should be aware of are: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. When used properly, these tools can truly be an effective means to growing your business.
I had the opportunity to attend a webinar on The Secrets to Success on Social Media #WLW14 (which actually broke a world record with over 34,000 participants). Senior marketing directors from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were online and discussed the advantages of social media and imparted some tips.
Let’s look at some best practices shared during the webinar:
1. Completeness and accurate information about your business
Make sure to have your business name easily visible, along with associated contact information such as website link, twitter handle, address and phone number. Be clear about what your business is and does. This ensures that you are easily reachable and there is no confusion as to what your company’s products and services are.
2. Crisp, clear and compelling images
Your profile picture should be easily recognizable, whether it’s the company logo or a related image. There should be no doubt when a user clicks on your page as to which company they are viewing. Choose an eye catching cover photo on your Facebook page. Since the cover photo takes up so much real estate on your Facebook page, it is crucial to have something that is compelling to your audience.
Post photos that are relevant and clear.
Tip 1: Ensure images are properly re-sized for each social network’s dimension requirements.
Tip 2: Include links, hash tags and call to action in your cover photo and description to generate more traffic and leads.
3. Generate traffic by good conversation and content
Use appropriate hashtags when posting and piggyback off of these to drive intriguing conversation. If you are using an unknown or yet-to-be popular hashtag, create momentum and awareness on these new hashtags. You may just create one of those really famous and widely used tags that will gain you a big following.
Utilize rich media in your posts. Studies show that pictures and videos are most likely to be shared than anything else. Leverage this to create conversations around media pertinent to your industry.
Good conversation encourages participation and interest – this will increase your following and help you generate potential business opportunities.
4. ABU aka Always be Updating
It is important to keep your social networks always fresh and relevant. Your social media should be a living organism, constantly growing and evolving. Update your cover photos on a regular basis, keep your feeds moving, try new tactics by using videos, images, etc. If your network is stale and rarely changing, your following will drop. The online world demands a dynamic environment.
A common question that is asked is: should I be posting the same thing in each social network?
The answer is quite simply no. Each network has its own purpose and your marketing strategy on each platform should be different. Posting the same thing will only annoy and bore your users and encourage them to hit that Unfriend or Unfollow button.
4 key takeaways - Keep things clear, Interesting, Fresh and ABU.
