Length: 3 minutes (559 words)
Updated: February, 19th 2023 – Removed Unionmetrics
We are nearing 2018 and it’s time to step up your social media game. If you are a reader who either doesn’t have any social media accounts or struggling to embrace them – then this is for you!
Follow these four rules to SUCCEED!
1 – Dedicate time and be committed
To have a solid social media presence you need to spend a couple of hours a week and be constantly on top of things. Social media platforms (i.e. Twitter) allow you to network with a variety of people and to make connections you are usually unable to make. But, mastering the art of virtually building relationships takes time and devotion! For example, if a potential customer asks a question on one of your platforms and doesn’t receive an answer within twenty-four hours – heck even a couple of hours – you can lose that customer. Their thoughts and demands can change so quickly that by the time you reply, they have moved on to a different business or have changed their minds.
2 – Quality, not quantity
Your content needs to be able to stop a follower who is sifting through their feed, catch their attention, and have them click the link or your profile. It needs to be pretty damn good. If you have lots of crap content going out daily, people will begin to unfollow you. Create up to four personas representing your target audience when you are creating content. Use them to guide you to the content that your followers will enjoy.
What to post:
Internal content: stuff you create
External content: stuff you find
Inspirational content – stuff that positively influences a follower
Promotional content – stuff that acquires leads/customers
Behind the scenes – stuff that showcases your culture
3 – Know your target audience and use it
It doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of time creating social media content if no one is listening. Learn who your audience is and target them specifically to create a community on your social media platforms. Figure out your audience demographic (genders, ages, locations, interests) by doing research, using common knowledge, and looking at analytics.
Engage with others:
- Follow people
- Mention people
- Share other people’s content
- Send direct messages
- Respond to posts
- Comment on and like others’ posts
How to find the right people:
- Identify the people your ideal audience is following
- Research to find out the #hashtags your ideal audience is using to incorporate in your own posts
- Find out where your audience is
4 – Trial and error – fix and repeat
Social media is always changing so it’s important you know how to adapt to it. Keep up with the new stuff by actively being on social media.
If you realize that you aren’t getting the interaction you had hoped for one type of post, find out why and change it for a better response. Use the tools that have been made for this exact situation. There are so many programs out there that gather all the information and put it together for you.
Suggested tools:
- Hootsuite (https://hootsuite.com/)
- Facebook Insights
- Instagram Insights
- Iconosquare (https://pro.iconosquare.com/)
- Squarelovin
- And much much more!
Do you feel prepared to begin or improve your social media presence?
Yes? Perfect. Ready. Set. Go!