10 Beginner Tips on Making Social Media Work For Your Business

If you’re reading this you know how important it is to have a digital marketing strategy for your brand. And if you’re still wondering whether or not utilizing social media platforms is a valuable use of time, think about this: 79% of internet users use Facebook, with the vast majority of them checking the platform at least once daily. And while Facebook isn’t the only platform they’re utilizing, there are a myriad of opportunities to build and grow on other networks. Here are my top 10 tips on how to get your business started on social media.

  1. Decide which key networks are best for your brand. Unless you have the time and resources to fully utilize every social platform, you’re better off focusing on one or two networks at first. I firmly believe that it’s better to excel on a couple platforms than to do a mediocre job using five or six.
  2. Identify which social networks your target audience is already using. Depending on the type of business you run, not every platform will work for you or help with what you’re trying to achieve. It’s best to determine where you’ll be best received. Joining Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a popular choice due to their size and influence, but keep in mind there are millions of users on Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Where will you make the most impact? Experiment with a few and track your progress.
  3. Define your goals. Though you may be inclined to dive right in (it’s only natural!), I recommend coming up with a few goals to help shape the way you approach your strategy. Questions to consider: Are you trying to increase sales? Raise awareness of your brand? Strengthen loyalty? Improve customer service? Have a brainstorming session with some of your team to hone in on what you’re trying to achieve.
  4. Study your competitors. You likely already know who they are, so do a simple search to snoop around. Visit their websites and all of their social media profiles, taking notes on the content they consistently post, if their followers are engaged, and how often they are sharing updates. You may also want to take note of which content performs best for them (based on likes, comments, and shares), as well as the tone of voice they use and how their followers are reacting to it.
  5. Consistency is key. I cannot stress enough the importance of sharing content on a regular, consistent basis. If any of your platforms appear to be abandoned, this signals a lights off in the digital world. Don’t let your fans forget about you. Post as often as you’d like, but ensure your content is of high-quality and offers value. Consistency helps foster a stronger relationship with your followers that will keep th em coming back for more.
  6. Create a content calendar. Whether it’s for just a week or for months in advance, a calendar will help you plan your day-to-day content as well as seasonal themes. Don’t post just to post. Plan for the big holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day), but also strategize for smaller events, like July 4th, or National Cheeseburger Day and other food holidays. It’s perfect okay to spontaneously post too — things come up and changes occur — just roll with it.
  7. Re-purpose your content. Now I don’t mean post the same photo on each platform every single time you share content. While pushing a photo from Instagram to Facebook is very okay, try not to do it every time, on every platform you utilize, with the same copy. Shake things up knowing that each platform has a different style and a different audience comes with it. More importantly, you should be taking a piece of content and turning it into other types of content. For example, share something that can also be turned into a blog post, a video, a recipe, or an infographic.
  8. Define your voice. One of the biggest mistakes I see brands making is having an inconsistent voice or tone. Determine your communication style by thinking about how you envision the dialogue between you and your audience. Will you be serious, fun, light-hearted, edgy, sexy, aggressive? Thinking about your values and your personality will help set you apart from your competitors.
  9. Provide value. The second biggest mistake I see is when companies oversell their product or service. Social media should always be a two-way dialogue and not you talking at your followers. Earn your trust and gain loyalty by providing value with your content and not over promoting yourself just to temporarily win someone over.
  10. Reassess your goals. After a couple of months, carry out a social audit. Identify what resonates w/ your audience and what type of content they prefer. You can do this more often by simply looking at your last 10 posts and determining where you were the most successful in engaging your target audience.

Social Media Speak: 5 Tips on What to Say and How to Say It

 

Social Media Speak

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the importance of defining your brand’s voice and tone. Aside from that, knowing what to say and how to say it is crucial to your success. The following tips will help you gain customer interest, increase engagement, and boost loyalty to your brand.

  1. Use emotion. Social media platforms are primarily used to connect with other people. Show your audience the people behind your brand by being open, transparent, and authentic in all of your communication. Tell a story by sharing behind-the-scenes content and using everyday language.
  2. Put emphasis on the customer. Instead of talking about yourself and what you have to offer, make your copy engage the customer first. For example, instead of a restaurant saying “We just launched our Burger of the Month and we’ve really outdone ourselves. Come try it!”, you are better off saying “Get your burger fix this weekend by trying our April Burger of the Month. Can you handle it?” Do you see the difference? The second option makes the copy more about the consumer instead of you just selling the product to them. Remember, nobody wants to be sold. They want to be interested in your offer and feel that they made the choice to buy in.
  3. Keep it simple. Avoid too many numbers, statistics, or technical jargon. Be clear, concise, and entertaining. Depending on your brand, Emojis are a useful way to add a new layer of expression to your content. Copy that includes 1-2 Emojis (avoid overdoing them!) will receive more likes, comments, and shares.
  4. Provide great customer service. Often times brands think that providing good customer service means they handle complaints well. While that is true, there’s much more to it. I cannot stress the importance of engaging with your audience. You can post high-quality all day long, but if you’re posting and forgetting, you’re missing out. Respond to comments, ask questions, and join in on the conversation.
  5. Create meaningful relationships. To build on #4, I recommend getting acquainted with your audience. The more you engage in their conversation, the more they’ll remember you in a positive way. You will become more than just a brand to them. As mentioned in this post, it’s great to have a “person” behind the brand. Be consistent, genuine, and present with all of your communication.

Follow these guidelines to foster a meaningful, genuine interaction with all of your customers. In no time you will be on your way to creating loyalty and brand advocates that will significantly help increase sales.

Social Media Platform Analogies: If Social Media Platforms Were Places…

Social Media Platform analogiesIf you’re new to social media, you’re probably wondering what each of the key platforms is all about. You’re also in the right place — here — reading this blog. Many people don’t know how to effectively use each platform to its potential or they’re not using them correctly. Each one is designed with a specific purpose in mind and to get the most for your business, you’ll need to know what they’re designed for.

First, let’s think of social media as a telephone. The most important thing you should know is that it’s a two-way dialogue between your customers and your business.

Wrong: Using social media as a monologue, talking way too much about yourself and blaring about why your products or services are special

RIGHT: Using social media as a two-way dialogue, listening to what your customers have to say and providing a way to help them

Second, let’s think of the social media platforms as if they were places…

Facebook is like a bar. Think of it as a fun, casual place to meet up with friends. Here’s where you’ll catch up with old pals, update friends on your whereabouts, share family photos, tell jokes, or make weekend plans.

Instagram is like an art gallery. Maybe you’re showing off your newest piece. Maybe you’re scrolling through your friend’s artwork. Photos, collages, videos, but still, conversation.

Twitter is like a house party. You’re chatting, connecting, networking, sharing information, making friends. Here’s where you’ll make the most small talk in short, but ongoing sessions.

LinkedIn is like a job interview. Here’s where you’ll show off your professional side. You’ll have a more refined, educated tone in your writing. It’s a place to showcase your resume, employment history, and portfolio. You’ll make connections, pitch ideas, recruit or be recruited.

Pinterest is like a bulletin board. You’ll share ideas, projects, inspirational quotes, and anything creative on a digital bulletin board. Your boards can be seen and shared with others who are either prospective or current customers.

YouTube is like a movie theatre. It’s huge, loud, in your face, and a gold mine for videos begging to be watched. Grab the popcorn and press play.

Now that you have a better idea of how each platform works, start brainstorming ways that you can most effectively use them. It’s okay if your main goal is to promote your product or service. It should be. But remember it’s not just about self promotion; it’s about connection with your ideal customer base, gaining followers, and increasing customer retention.

How to Use Hashtags to Increase Your Instagram Followers

How to Use Hashtags

With more than 800 million active users on Instagram, it’s essential that your business is taking advantage of the platform. I’ve worked with many brands over the last few years, and more than ever, my clients are requesting to put an emphasis on Instagram over other platforms. But posting photos with basic captions isn’t going to cut it. It’s important to be mindful of each and every post, but more specifically, the hashtags you are using to get your content noticed.

Instagram’s algorithm is constantly changing in an effort to show you the most engaging content. Hashtags are a must. They’re one of the most effective ways to leverage your posts and boost the organic reach. They also help organize content and drive awareness to marketing campaigns. After coming up with high-quality content and effective copy, the next step is to identify which hashtags will give your brand a boost.

1. Do Some Research. 

Start this process right in the Instagram app. Go ahead, grab your phone now while you read this. Tap the instagram icon and then hit the magnifying glass icon at the bottom left of your screen, between the home and + icons. In the search bar at the very top, look up some keywords that are specific to your niche, making sure to click the “Tags” section for results. For example, if you’re a restaurant owner, you may want to start with #food. Seems simple right? There’s more. You’ll see results for both your search and for similar hashtags. The goal here is to really hone in on your target audience. While searching for #food is fine, you’ll get tons of posts with that hashtag which isn’t too helpful. Why not? Because it makes it difficult for you to stand out. To really get specific, search for something like #italianfood or #burgers, depending on what your business or service entails. Like following an Instagram user, you can also follow a specific hashtag: just search for it and click “follow” and the posts will start appearing in your feed.

2. Add Hashtags to Your Bio. 

Most people aren’t aware that including a hashtag in your bio makes it a live link leading to a hashtag page. To do this, head to your page (click your avatar in the lower right corner), then tap “Edit Profile.” In the bio section, list any preferred hashtags. Though this doesn’t make your profile searchable within those hashtags, there is a clear benefit to adding them here. If you regularly use a branded hashtag (for example, @BostonBurger_Co uses #bostonburgerco), a user will be able to click that hashtag and see all posts that use it. Having your own branded hashtag allows people to mark their own posts, signifying its relation to your brand, but also allows followers to search through those posts. In other words, if someone comes to your profile for the first time and wants to see what your brand is all about, they might click on your brand specific hashtag to see what others are sharing.

3. Encourage Fans to Use Your Hashtag.

More often than not, fans of your business want to share the experiences they have with you. It’s no secret that social media users tend to overshare. As a business owner, that should excite you. The more people are sharing your brand, the more exposure you get. For free. Why not give them a specific hashtag that represents your brand and collectively groups all related content together? Let’s go back to Boston Burger Company‘s hashtag #bostonburgerco. Because the brand includes this hashtag on all marketing material, including each and every single post they share, fans begin recognizing that this is the way to get their post included in the mix of, well, what’s important to be seen. Trust me when I say that if you’ve got a fan and they know there’s a chance of you seeing their post and liking it (or better yet, reposting it!), they’re going to use your branded hashtag. Not only are fans basically giving you content — again, for free — they’re creating a whole portfolio for your company that other users can see.

Four Ways to Get More Traction to Your Website

Four Ways to Get More Traction to your websiteMore often than not, your website is the first way a consumer will try to find information about your business. You’ve likely spent a lot of money getting it up and running and frequently update it in hopes of keeping content fresh. But are you posting the right content? Are you sharing content that will not only pique a visitor’s interest but convert them into a customer? Here are four ways you can guarantee that a potential customer will spend some time on your website and see you as a valuable resource.

Let one thing be known. The internet is massive. There’s a ton of content out there, making it difficult to stand out. Instead of just throwing up blog posts, you’ll need to create compelling content that will attract attention and have a positive impact on your search optimization (SEO).

Three things your content MUST do:

  1. Educate and entertain. When someone comes to your website, they’re usually seeking information about the product or service you are offering. Make sure your content educates them and answers as many questions as possible. Eliminate any doubts and increase the chance of them buying from you. But it’s not just about educating. It’s so important to make your content entertaining, helping you stand out from the crowd.
  2. Connect. Want to win? Connetconnect with a potential customer on an emotional level. Why? An emotional connection creates trust and can turn a potential customer into a sale and valuable influencer.
  3. Convert. The goal of every piece of content you share should be to convert. This could mean increaseing social media followers, generating leads, or creating sales. Conversion = revenue. Without revenue, what’s left of your business?

Now that you know what makes content effective, here are four types you can use on your website.

  1. Infographics. Keeping it simple, they just work. People would rather look at a visual than read a long, wordy blog post. The text on your infographics should be clear and concise. The design should be colorful, yet not busy. Infographics are highly shareable and have a greater chance of being promoted over a photo or video.
  2. Contact Pages. Most contact pages are simple. Simple is fine, but won’t help you stand out. Instead of having a bland, basic contact page requesting someone’s information, create something that will actually make a customer want to reach out to you. Personalize your form so the visitor feels like they are speaking to you. Instead of traditional lines like “Phone Number” and “Describe your issue”, try things like “How can I reach you?” and “Tell me more!” It’s okay to keep things simple, but adding a little creative flair that showcases your personality will never hurt.
  3. Resources. If you’re going to write a blog post (which you should!), don’t half ass it. Make it such a good source of information that it’s not only share-worthy, but something that a customer will either refer back to or something that will create a level of trust. Own your service. Own your knowledge. Share what you’re good at and the customer will recognize you as a trusted source.
  4. Videos. I mentioned that your average person doesn’t really want to read pages and pages of content. Video is king. Create short and entertaining videos that detail the product or services you offer. When making a video, think about what you’d likely share with friends. Does it educate? Entertain? Engage? If you can say yes to all three of those questions, your video serve its purpose.