Like everything else you do in marketing, successful social media interaction requires that you have a game plan. Here are a few social media marketing tips to keep in mind as you plan your business’ social media strategy for Facebook and Twitter.
Remember Social Media Interaction is Reflected in Search Engines
Your company’s engagement in social media affects your search engine profile, so think of it as an aspect of your overall search engine optimization plan. Make positive use of this fact by creating social media content that is relevant, links to reliable sources, and invites interaction.
Brand Your Conversations
Be committed to making your social media presence consistent with your business strategy. When starting out in social media, identify one or more words that embody the heart of your business’ values that you want to communicate to your audience. Base the content of your tweets and Facebook posts on these areas. Tweets can also be used to generate buzz about specific marketing initiatives.
Use #Hashtags on Twitter to Make Your Tweets Searchable
When mentioning these words on Twitter, use hashtags (#). For example, if your business is about marketing, using “#marketing” in tweets will allow your posts to come up when people search that topic. You can also post your twitter feed on your website to increase exposure.
Determine What Kind of Followers You Want & Speak Accordingly
The kind of follower you want will dictate the voice you adopt as well as the content of your tweets and Facebook posts. A young, hip, techno-savvy crowd would be more responsive to edgy or humorous content, but a corporate crowd would be more responsive to content that is more straight-laced and to the point.
Following Back
Make it a practice to check in on your fan base. When someone you know follows you, it is considered polite to follow them back. Search engines look at the ratio of followers to those you are following on Twitter. It is considered more favorable to have the number of your followers exceed people you are following. Be careful who you follow. You don’t want your company’s name showing up as a follower of a porn star.
Welcome New Followers
When new people follow you on Twitter, it is polite to give them some type of “shout-out” (recognition). This could be a well crafted “direct message” that is given to all new followers. If you have a special promotion going on, you can include it in your direct message. Some businesses use the welcoming message as a way to cross promote and ask people to visit their Facebook page. You can also give a welcoming message that mentions the handles of some of your new followers in a status update.
Ask Questions
Asking questions is a good way to engage readers and get a conversation going. Open-ended questions are best because they allow the responder to say more than “yes” or “no.” On Facebook, engagement increases the number of people who say they “like” a particular post or your page in general. Questions on Twitter can yield a response, a retweet or garner a new follower. Search engines pay attention to responses, likes, and retweets, which works well for your search engine optimization strategy. You can use the “ask question” option on Facebook, located next right above the status update field.
Post Pictures/ Videos.
Pictures make for good currency on the Internet. Studies show that people are more likely to be engaged by pictures and videos. Using one or more photos for every Facebook post can pay dividends. Pictures are more likely to get a comment or a “like” response on Facebook, so use the option to attach images.
Include Your Social Media Handles and URLs on Your Business Cards and E-mails
Websites are Internet real estate that should be treated like properties in the brick and mortar world. One way to invite social media interaction is to treat your profiles as a prime real estate by letting people know what your social media URLs are. It’s a good idea to include your website, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn URLs on your website, on your business cards, and in your e-mail signatures.
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Contributed by Amanda Finch, VP Operations