Social media marketing is a highly effective means of getting the word out about the products and services you offer. But, so many times I see small businesses really aren’t maximizing their online real estate on social media.
And that makes me sad. I want to see businesses succeed…online and off.
Now you might think social media marketing simply means sharing a few posts each day, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Create Consistent and Complete Social Media Profiles
After determining which social media platforms are right for your business, the first step is to create consistent, complete social media profiles. Let me repeat that: consistent and complete profiles.
Ideally, all your social media profiles should have the same — professional — headshot, as well as similar descriptions of who you are and what you do. I say “similar” because each social media platform has a different amount of space you can use. Remember to focus on the solutions you provide and the benefits to your customer.
By being consistent, your visitors immediately recognize who you are and what you do. And they know they’re in the right place when they find you on additional social media platforms.
Social Media Marketing Hosting Live Events
In the past, a “live event” meant “in person.” While there are still live in-person events, social media has expanded the definition with the invention of “Twitter parties” and live video services like Google Hangouts, Periscope, Blab, and Facebook Live.
These services make it easy to brainstorm, collaborate, educate, train, and share information. When live events are combined with a custom hashtag for the event, it makes it easy for everyone to find all the information online.
It’s even easier on Facebook, where you can create an event page or host the event in a group. I think Facebook Live is going to be the one to watch.
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Congratulate People on Social Media
If you notice anyone having a special day on any of your social media accounts, be sure to congratulate them and wish them well. It’s a good chance to make a connection with someone whom you’re friends with or connected with that you don’t necessarily know well.
While a lot of people may be doing the same thing, people still like to be noticed for their achievements, accomplishments and special days. If you know their mailing address, it’s a good idea to also drop a card in the mail to make it even more special…and help you stand out.
Use More Images on Social Media
Let’s face it: people love images. And posts with images get FAR more likes, comments, and shares than text-only posts. However, you should always include text with the images (for the keywords).
There are lots of ways to create great looking images using websites like Pixlr and Canva, or smartphone apps like Word Dream and Typorama. You can do something as simple as a quote on a nice peaceful background and see a huge difference in the amount of engagement from your connections.
Use Social Media to Survey Your Audience
A great way to use social media to help get more engagement is to use it as a way to survey your audience to find out what they really need and want. Just don’t give them too many choices.
Think of it like getting a child ready for school…give them two (or three) choices: this or that? Give your audience a choice between two (or three) different logos, packaging designs, videos you can create, or webinars that you will host. Then, ask them to vote or decide. Some social media platforms have a polling feature, while on others you can simply ask “A, B, or C?” and have people respond in the comments.
Finally, if you want to maximize your social media marketing it’s important to be truly engaged. Don’t put everything on automatic or hire someone to do your engagement for you…to be truly YOUR brand, you have to inject your personality into your profile. Make intelligent and purposeful comments, share freely, and you’ll begin to maximize your social media marketing efforts.
P.S. Need some ideas to jump-start your social media engagement? Get more than 100 post ideas in my free guide, Social Fuel: Your Guide to Launching Social Media Engagement.
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