Top 5 Social Media Strategies

Generating brand exposure and engaging current and potential customers are essential for any business. Social media can be a great way to extend your company’s key messages and presence online. Don’t know where to start? Or do you have social channels up and running but don’t know how to really make them work for you? Here are some top social media strategies that will help you build your brand in a genuine and meaningful way.

Choose social platforms wisely
Social media platforms have different uses and audiences. The most widely used platform may not be the best way for your business to engage your target audience. It is essential to keep your brand voice consistent. Think first about who you are trying to reach, and which platforms they are on.

Consider a few key platforms:

• Facebook is a good tool if you are looking to build brand awareness and engage directly with your customers through promotions because this social platform is large and influential.
• Instagram consists of images and videos so this is a good fit for brands with strong visuals and businesses that want to engage young adults.
• Pinterest is very popular with women and also very visual. If you have great products to display, this platform may be a fit for you.
• LinkedIn is a professional social networking site that would be perfect for businesses that want to engage with corporate influencers and focus more on business content and topics.

Create authentic, engaging content
Interesting content, regular engagement and compelling visuals create positive interactions with customers. It is important to keep generating new social media posts and content that will engage viewers. Social media is always changing, so keep tabs on what new changes are coming to the platforms that your company uses so you can keep your content fresh and meaningful. With algorithms on Facebook, unlimited character size in Twitter’s direct messages and the trending content tab on Instagram, there are many ways to attract new viewers but your content needs to be up-to-date.

Be authentic when creating your content and post things that are relevant to your viewers. If your viewers respond well to videos, make sure to continue to use video but also share articles, images and other updates so that the content isn’t all the same. Don’t be afraid to try something new with your content.

Create a community
Sharing your business offerings periodically on your social channels is acceptable, but make sure you are creating an inviting environment where people can share their own stories and comment on your posts. Ask engaging questions in your own posts and respond in a timely manner to any customer inquiries or complaints on your pages. This will help build positive relationships with customers and credibility for your business.

When you post content, make sure to monitor what people are already posting and saying about that topic. If you join an existing conversation by using a trending hashtag on Twitter, make sure you understand why people are using the hashtag. If there is negative sentiment attached to the hashtag or it doesn’t make sense for your brand to join the conversation, think twice before posting.

Easily learn what’s working… and what’s not
Don’t guess when it comes to tracking your brand’s social media progress. Analytics tools are helpful because they allow you to monitor and report what posts are the most successful and potential areas for improvement. You can find basic reporting features in some platforms or purchase a subscription for a more robust analytics tool. Some tools allow you to mention not only how often people are talking about your brand, but also whether the mentions are positive or negative.

With analytics tools, you can also identify potential crises for your business or industry and observe what your competitors are doing on social media. Are there things you can learn from their successes? Are there gaps where they could be engaging customers better?

Never stop learning
Stay on top of social media trends and individual platform updates by regularly reading blogs and websites that share trends and tips. Not every trend or conversation will be relevant to your business, but it will help you recognize new ways you can engage customers online.

Determine what your goals are for social media and then identify the best way to measure those results. For small businesses, you may not get millions of followers but your focus isn’t just on numbers. Look at the quality of your interactions with your online communities and how people are responding to your social content.

Your social media channels should encourage a two-way conversation. Take time to get to know your customers and online audiences so you can create content that is meaningful to them- not just a series of sales pitches for your company.

Remember: Always keep your audience in mind and stay true to your brand.