Remember to make your social media channels work for you!
Don’t be afraid to use your social media accounts to drive people to where you want them to be! Want a customer to see your pictures on Instagram? Tell them about it on Twitter. Need your customers to visit your website? Share a link on Facebook.
Social media channels work best if you utilise them as a package; none exist in a vacuum and for maximum impact you need maximum exposure!
If you’re in charge of your company’s social media accounts, it can be really hard not to focus on how many followers or “likers” you have.
An important thing to remember is, whilst it is always a great idea to use the analytics social media channels provide to gauge your performance, the number of followers you have isn’t necessarily the best metric to measure how successful your social strategy is.
What matters most, is the level of connection and relationship with your followers, rather than the number.
Try and shift your mindset from numbers to relationships!
Sometimes “short and sweet” is all you need!
Did you know 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound? That means your immediate action needs to be to make your video offering compelling without audio.
Ensure any speech is subtitled – not only does this mean you can capture those watching in silence through choice, but also people with hearing impairments; accessibility of content is such good practice!
Make your videos short, fun and above all on brand; sharing your message by image only. Of course this is a challenge, but one that will be worth it!
Today’s tip is what we like to call our “Power of Three” – and for us is a must do every time we post on social media.
We have created a 3-point checklist to ensure your posts are the best they can be aesthetically, the content – of course – is up to you!
Have you checked your grammar and spelling?
There is nothing worse than a really great social media post with a glaring spelling mistake in the text. Always take time to proofread your posts!
Have you checked your links?
Have you added links to your post? If so, do check they’re working and directing people to where you want them to go!
Have you added images?
Adding an image to a social media post is a sure-fire way to make it more interesting. But make sure the image is relevant and of good quality before you hit post!
Apply the Power of Three to your next social media posts!
Social media is a constantly changing beast, which of course necessitates changes to the processes you are used to.
Don’t be discouraged by algorithm changes. Rather than trying to beat the algorithm, change your strategy to work with the processes of any particular social media channel.
In many cases continuing to create high-quality, varied content will help you avoid significant negative effects of the regular updates we have come to expect from our social channels!
Today’s tip, whilst mainly in reference to social media, can be used more widely in your marketing plans.
Don’t be afraid to check out what your competitors are doing on their social media feeds. Whilst of course we don’t advocate copying them, take a look into their posting history to find out: –
Use the information you gather to mix up your social media schedule a little to see if it makes a difference to your engagement and reach.
How often do you listen to your customers?
Your customers can be the best source of content you have. Through the power of social media, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips; look at the questions you get asked most often, or what customers are asking most regularly across social media. Don’t be afraid to check out how your competitors are engaging with their customers too.
By listening and creating relevant content, you can organically grow your reach whilst becoming a well-known voice within your area.
When it comes to your social media feeds, we definitely believe in the old adage that it is quality not quantity that counts!
It is far better to share fewer high quality posts, with excellent information content and sharp images than a whole host of posts which don’t give much information and don’t make the best use of images.
Images don’t have to be professionally taken – however please make sure they’re of a high enough quality not to appear blurry (on both device and desktop) and that if you’re using images you’ve found online, make sure you take note of any copyright thereon!
Putting a little extra time and work into each post will go towards creating social media timelines that work for you.
Your purpose, of course, on social media is really to try and sell your offering.
However, we really recommend you avoid flooding your feed with hardcore or overt selling.
Social media is primarily a fun way to connect with friends and brands you’re interested in and you might find if your social media timelines are simply post after post sharing what you’re selling you will see people unfollow your content.
Rather than selling, your initial objective on your social media channels should be increasing your brand awareness by increasing your following. The best way to achieve this is to create engaging and fun content.
We prefer to use the 80/20 rule – where 80% of our content is interesting, engaging, or fun and only 20% is direct selling.
Do you need to revisit your strategy?
When you’re populating your social media feeds, don’t be afraid to deviate from your plans.
We’re big fans of creating social media plans – whether you choose to do that weekly, monthly or even yearly – however it’s important to remember that a plan is just an intention of activity!
Don’t feel constrained by what you wrote in your plan – it can be so important – and beneficial to you – to be spontaneous on social media. Keep an eye on what’s happening around you and get involved, don’t avoid interesting content because it doesn’t appear at the “right” time!