Marketing business continues to evolve as
social media becomes a go-to choice for most businesses. Gone is the day when
an ad in the newspaper, on TV or radio, or a billboard will do.
Keeping up with social media trends can be
difficult, which is why social media marketing services are useful. As
the trends change, marketing services understand what businesses need to do to
grow and change on popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram.
These 12 tips can help you grow your following
on social media:
1- Post at a consistent time
It doesn’t matter if you are posting on
Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform; consistency is key. Your followers want to
see your posts, so you should share them on a regular basis. This might mean
that you post once per day or you post throughout the day. Whatever you do, do
it regularly and your followers will grow.
There are varying schools of thought on how
often businesses should post on social media. Some believe that twice per day
is plenty, some believe that every other day is enough, and others have totally
different ideas. You can experiment to see when your engagement increases and
stick with what works.
2- Schedule posts at a prime time
Along with posting regularly, the times that
you post are important. The different social media platforms have different
prime times and those can vary based on your target audience. Learn what those
are and schedule your content to post at those times. If you miss the prime
times, your posts could be buried in your followers’ feeds and might not be
seen.
As you consider the best times to post,
research how people access their favorite social media platforms. If you know
that they use their phones, work and school hours might not be the ideal time.
If they use desktops or laptops, then you might consider work hours.
Investigate prime weekend times. For many social media platforms, lunchtime is
popular as people check their feeds while they are away from their desks. Don’t
forget time zones, especially if your business extends beyond your local
market.
3- Don’t neglect video
One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make is neglecting video marketing. People love to watch videos, so be sure to include them. Video, especially the first few seconds of your video, can bring customers to you. According to Facebook, people go to visual social media apps before any others as people continue to want to watch their content rather than read it.
The videos that you post should be thoughtful
and helpful for your followers. Make it interesting and creative and geared
toward your audience. Don’t neglect live video either as people do appreciate
seeing the action as it unfolds.
Be sure that you have quality video and sound
so your followers can actually see and hear it. Consider where you are shooting
the video, who is in it, what the background and lighting look like, and what
background noises exist.
Consider the length of the video and where you are going to post it. Shorter videos are better for some platforms, while longer videos are more likely to be viewed on other platforms. Research best practices and success stories before you invest social media money in video production so you can have your own success stories.
4- Use hashtags, especially on Twitter and Instagram
Hashtags can be fun on all social media
platforms, but on Twitter and Instagram, they are necessities. But before you
start using them, do some research to make sure your hashtag choices are not
established with another website. You want to support your business, not
someone else’s.
When you use hashtags, don’t go overboard.
Only use what you need and use them efficiently within the context of the post,
not just at the end in a big list. There are lists of the most popular hashtags
on Instagram and Twitter, but those are not necessarily the ones you want to
use to drive views. Pick hashtags that people would use to find your products or
services.
5- Don’t automate responses
Unless you have a massive business with an unmanageable number of followers, do not automate your responses. Customers don’t want or need automated responses, they want personalized customer service. Even if you decide to thank your followers on social media, you should try to do it in unique ways, like posting friendly memes rather than just saying “Thank you” and sounding like an automated bot.
6- Consider color schemes
If you are posting photos on Instagram, consider
using a color
scheme to make the post interesting to see. With a pop of the same
color in every photo, viewers will pay attention to your posts and possibly
even share it with their friends. The color scheme could connect to your logo,
a product, or something you are celebrating that day.
7- Know the trends
Recognizing trends is important for any
business that is trying to stay current (or even ahead) of its followers.
Reading reports about topic trends and platform trends
is time worth spending. Knowing how to use social media platforms and
understanding what people love, like Instagram Stories can grow your following,
too.
8- Be concise
When you are posting on social media, keep it
short. Use words sparing and with purpose. People do not go to social media to
read, they go to see pictures, memes, and videos. They go to social media posts
to see what is happening, but not to read big blocks of text.
A concise post includes important information
but said with brevity. You should include everything that your followers need
to know, without going overboard.
9- Use keywords
Along with hashtags, keywords can help people
find your posts with a search. If you are posting on social media to share a
blog on your website, the post should include the keywords from the blog, too.
The keywords should be precise and specific to the purpose of your website.
Just like hashtags, research the best keywords
for your social media posts so your followers can find you, rather than some
other website.
10- Complete your profiles
When you become active on social media, it is
best practice to complete all of the profiles. This way, followers can learn
about your business. They can find your website and phone number. If you have a
brick-and-mortar location, your address is included as well as the hours your
location is open. Without a complete profile, your potential customers might be
reluctant to contact you.
Your profile should also include photos of
your storefront, products, employees, and anything else that proves you have a
real business. It is best to show as much as possible and keep all of the
details up to date as anything changes. It is important to include hours for
holidays and special events.
11- Share quality content
One of the most important things to post on
social media is quality content. Most of that content should be from your
website, but it is important that you also showcase related content that helps
your followers in some special way. For example, if you own a restaurant, your
social media posts could include weekly specials or recipes with seasonal
ingredients.
These would be blog posts directly from your
website. But, you could enhance your social media by sharing information from
cooking websites about how to prepare those seasonal ingredients.
When you share quality content from other
websites, you should be sure that the content does not come from a website that
competes with your business. So, if you share something from a cooking website,
it should not be from a restaurant in your area.
If you consistently post high-quality content
on a regular basis, your list of followers will grow. The early followers will
share your social media posts with their friends and the list will grow
exponentially. You might even have some content that goes viral. If that
happens, it is in your best interest to figure out what made the post go viral
and try to replicate the event.
12- Build relationships with followers
Growing a business often happens by building
relationships. Believe it or not, you can build relationships with customers
online through your social media. When you begin posting on social media, you
will soon recognize regular names and faces in the comments.
One of the best things you can do is actually
interact with your early followers. The interaction should be positive, even if
you receive complaints. You can stay positive by sharing your ideas to fix
problems that your social media followers share. And, if the followers say nice
things, you should be sure to thank them without sounding like a bot.
You will be surprised how much your followers
appreciate interacting with you. There are several ways to create opportunities
to interact with your followers. You can add polls, ask questions, and create
customers or followers of the week/month posts.
