Get your brand recognized using social media
With billions of interactions happening on social media every day, businesses can no longer ignore the importance of social media marketing. Likes, retweets, shares, pins, upvotes, follows, subscriptions and many more social functions occur at an unprecedented rate, and your brand needs to be in on the action! In this article, we highlight some important basics of proper social media usage to maximize your online brand marketing.
A common digital marketing rule of thumb that 80% of your posts should be about engaging your audience and reaching people while 20% of your posts should be about your brand. We refer to this as the 80/20 rule.
People won’t care about the local auto shop constantly posting photos of completed cars, if that same shop can grab people’s attention by posts about local affairs, giving back to the community and developing relationships with customers. As you read the rest of this article, keep the 80/20 posting rule in mind.
Write content for all readers, not just your customer base
How many times have you sped along the highway and watched countless giant billboards compete for your attention? The daily use of many different social media platforms produces a similar experience as you scroll down your news feed. Unfortunately, many brands and businesses fail to employ proper techniques that grab consumer attention, coming on too strong with nonstop sales pitches directed at the consumer. Me! Me! Buy me! Pay attention! After a while, consumers grow numb to the constant barrage of needy exhibitionism.
By way of example, which of the following links would inspire you to click on it:
“Generic Flooring Company is open for business! Visit our website and contact us today!”
Or
“Generic Flooring Company is available for all your flooring installation needs. One visit from us is all you need because we do the job right the first time!”
The second link is the superior choice because it offers the reader a greater insight into the services offered and the quality of work to expect, and accordingly, it will leave a better image in the reader’s mind. Which brings us to the next point:
Diversify your posts
Remember this isn’t the stock market or a mathematics equation where you can plug in social media posts with certain buzz words and expect automatic returns. Today’s internet consumer reads multiple platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Reddit and more) so if your followers see the exact same headline and photo five times, they have no incentive to click more than once. It is a missed opportunity to engage your audience.
While putting out identical information over multiple platforms saves time, taking a few extra minutes to make each headline and/or description for unique to each outlet can make a world of difference. Here’s a basic guide to building a good post on some popular social media outlets:
Timing
When it comes to posts, timing is key. In research done by CoSchedule, the optimal time for a Facebook post is between 1pm and 4pm during later days in the week and on weekends. As with anything, this will vary with your specific target market and you may note you get more responses to posts made at different times. Keep track of your progress (i.e. likes, comments, clickthroughs, page views, etc.) to get a better understanding of when your optimal timing is. For example, if you own a running shoe company, you may find early morning posts get more response. If you make craft beer, you may draw in a late night crew.
For Twitter, CoSchedule’s results are pretty similar with 12pm to 3pm, with peak time at 5pm during the week. They also found that Twitter users are 181% more likely to be using the social media app during their commutes. Click here to look at the rest of the findings!
Build a community around your brand
Just like in the real world, people naturally form communities around certain interests, hobbies and professions. The internet is no different. When I first discovered my passion for aquariums, I immediately checked out analogous Facebook groups, subreddits, Instagram users, and Twitter. Whenever I had a question, it was fairly easy to get an answer from a professional with experience who would usually link to me a product, forum or blog to further help with my needs.
Through these methods, I found a reputable and local fish store that offered all the aquarium products I needed, (shoutout to The Hidden Reef in Levittown PA) and possessed great customer service and an enormous selection of healthy fish. Now my tank is beautiful and lively and I was able to make it so by using social media to conduct the bulk of my research. The community that forms around a product or an entire hobby can do wonders for a company’s local SEO rankings.
TL;DR
It may seem like a daunting task to promote your brand on the various social media programs but building your brand online is much like making a big snowball. Once you get the ball rolling, it naturally grows bigger and starts to come together. The key components to a good social media campaign include: composing thoughtful content for your audience, diversifying your posts, building a community around your brand, and timing your posts effectively.
Here are some additional tips on how to get your social media links on your Google results!
