26 February 2013

Social Media

5 Social Media Marketing Tips to Succeed

Social media platforms have undoubtedly become some of the most popular websites over the last couple of years, continuing to grow with millions more users registering every month. Comparing the amount of businesses which have social profiles with those that don’t, the difference is clear. A presence on social mediums also now has an impacting effect on search engine optimisation, bringing more influence to rankings than ever before.

With the digital landscape changing ever so quickly, it can be of course, difficult to keep on top of what’s happening regarding new platforms, tools and algorithm updates to ultimately become a prominent figure through social marketing.

Below are the top 5 recommendations to assist your social media marketing strategy this year:

∙ Create a mix of posts – The initial theory when posting on social media is usually something along the lines of – ‘everything must be business.’ This however, is not entirely true. If you are to properly engage with your customers and potential clients, you must give them something worth their while to read. Mundane, almost ritual posts will eventually be the death of your profile. But this does not mean you should post about walking your dog in the afternoon! Think out of the box; think part business, part intriguing. Drop the bait for a big discussion about current happenings within the market, inform your followers of your exciting brand new product release, post snippets of informative blog posts, THEN towards the end of the week perhaps, post a light-hearted poll or comical meme to attract attention and show your audience that you are actually human (contrary to popular belief).

∙ Utilise available features – Social platforms are increasing the possibilities for online propositions with more tools and features available than ever before. These analytical dashboards should be researched and used to their full effect – there are many out there, including external tools which are free to download and use. 

∙ Implement Visual marketing – Multi-dimensional content propels your business marketing. Newcomer platform Pinterest has seen the biggest growth, breaking records in doing so. Image sharing provides the most plentiful reach, an example being Facebook’s own EdgeRank algorithm which actually ranks image posting far greater than simple text updates.

∙ Assist your audience – Help your audience by providing them with useful information about your market; price comparisons, expectations for the coming months and even brighten their day by posting about topics which are completely off-subject i.e. the amazing car featured last night on Top Gear or the best shopping vouchers which are have just come out for a limited time only (you get the idea).

∙ Use Analytics Effectively – Your analytics dashboard is key to fully understanding where your traffic is coming from. Create conversion goals and set up funnels to refine your tracking system, compare results and export your findings in a presentable format…Google Analytics will give you much more in-depth data which isn’t readily available on social media platforms. You can easily review which SM platform is attracting premium traffic and which campaigns are working across various times at which they are launched. You can then use this data to implement enhanced strategies after these trial periods.

By Sam Hurley

Image By Mkhmarketing