9 Top Social Media Tips
It’s a common misconception that if you can create a social media account, you can manage it successfully. Social Media Management is, in fact, a skill, that requires time, thought and tactics.
At Emarkable, we have a dedicated and talented social media management team, with each individual crafting their knowledge and know-how over a number of years. If you are setting up a social media profile for a business for the first time, we know that it probably feels a little bit daunting.
Learn how to master your strategy with this Social Media Tips, crafted by our Inbound Marketing team.
1 Listen
Potentially the most valuable thing a business can do when it comes to Social Media is Listening. Gone are the days when brands could tell people what to believe; now people are telling brands what they want and it’s time for companies to stand up and pay attention. Monitor social media closely to find out what people are saying about your industry and deliver on it; this could be tweaking your brand message, providing them with valuable information or simply becoming more proactive when it comes to engaging with customers online.
2 Expand from just Facebook
Being on Facebook makes sense for a business, especially a business-to-consumer organisation. It is the most
popular Social Network in the world so why would you not be on Facebook? The trouble with a lot of business’ social strategies is that they think Facebook is enough. There is a much more interactive audience on Twitter that you are missing out on, not to mention potential business connections on Twitter. The trick to finding the social networks that your brand will work best on is looking at what you offer, what people want (Listen!) and analysing the audience on each platform to see if they add up.
3 Create a keyword List
You want your Social accounts to be found, yes? This comes down to a number of things, one of the most important is optimising your content so it comes up in relevant searches. This means your biographies and about sections, as well as your social posts, need to include your ideal keywords. The first step is to create a keyword list, full of the words you want to target. Keep this nearby when you are planning your posts.
4 Make a list of objectives
Yes, another list, but who doesn’t love a good list? Having a clear list of your social media objectives will keep you on track, making sure you don’t get caught up in typical social posting trends (and by that we mean posting very irrelevant pictures of cats and pugs). Examples of objectives for a social media strategy include:
• Increase Newsletter Sign Ups
• Increase Online Purchases
• Improve Bounce Rate on Website
5 Keep a list of social media influencers in your industry
Okay, last list (maybe). Have an accessible list of social media users in your industry who have a notable influence among your target audience. This list could be comprised of media personalities, bloggers or similar companies. the idea behind this is that you have a reference list to hand of people who might be able to further improve your social media reach, particularly on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. For example, if you are a business that creates luxury spa products and wants to reach out to the consumer market, you will benefit from interacting with beauty bloggers that have a high social following and large influence on what people spend their money on.
6 Have a target market
Who are you trying to reach on Social Media? Are you hoping to target techies? Maybe your audience is mostly
female? What about age groups? All these things will help you choose where you are on Social Media, as well as what your message should be. For example, if you are selling High Tech Fishing Gear, Pinterest is not likely to have your target audience; Twitter and Facebook most likely will. Similarly your brand message will want to target active, technology minded people.
7 Use Hootsuite to schedule
Hootsuiteis our favourite social media tool at Emarkable for a variety of reasons. The most valuable of reasons is how much time it saves you. Hootsuite enables you to schedule a bulk of social media posts, and even allows you to post the same thing across all your profiles instantaneously.
8 Make engagement top priority
Let’s get this straight; as much as you might think it is, brand promotion is, or at least should not be, your top priority. Your primary goal should be to create as much engagement as possible. The more people engage with your content, the more people see it, the more people start clicking those links. Without engagement your brand won’t spread so you should make it your mission to craft enjoyable and informative content that people want to comment on and share.
9 Adopt an 80/20 policy
As previously stated, simply promoting what you do will not get you very far. At Emarkable we suggest clients take an 80/20 policy when it comes to the content you share on your social sites. What does that mean? Well, it means that 80% of what you post is valuable, educational or interesting content relevant to your audience with the other 20% of what you post giving over to promotional content. Within this policy fits our 3-cs of Social Media Content
Social Media is an imperative part of any Inbound Marketing Platform; it is not enough to go in with out a plan and
simply share without purpose or objective. At Emarkable, we are proud of our knowledge and expertise when it comes to Social Media Management; these tips should help you form the basis for an exceptional Social Media Campaign. If you are looking for something more, contact us on 01 808 1301 to discuss how we can assist you with your social media campaign, and more.
In the meantime, be sure to download our Intermediate Guide To Social Media, which includes more tips to help you craft an effective and results oriented social media campaign for you business.
For more guidance on Social Media, check out this Blog posts:
How to Handle Customer Complaints on Social Media
