By Susan Linning
So you’ve jumped on the #SocialMedia bandwagon
and have opened accounts on every social media platform under the sun: a
professional, customized, Facebook fan page, a Twitter and Google+ account, and
even a LinkedIn page to keep up with your professional connections. You’ve
experimented with YouTube and Pinterest in order to appeal to a more visually
oriented audience. Now, you may find yourself asking, “What’s next?”
There’s a big difference between simply
participating in social media marketing and developing a quality social media presence.
Below, find some of our top tips for making the most out of your online
initiatives.
Be original: While there’s definitely something to be said for
retweets and posting industry articles/links, be sure to include original
information and to banter with your online audience, too. Make your posts and
tweets interesting, informative, engaging and FUN. Your fans/followers want a
unique reason to like/follow you instead of the 500 other similar businesses out there.
Network with other businesses: It may seem counterintuitive to follow your competitors
on Twitter, or to “like” their pages on Facebook, but connecting with your
competition via social media can be extremely valuable. Not only will
these networking efforts keep you abreast of the latest industry trends,
promotions and marketing tactics, but you may also be able to establish
cross-promotions or develop a mutually beneficial online relationship.
Spelling and grammar go a long way: Even though this is the age of the Internet, “LOL,”
“BFF,” and “OMG,” it’s no excuse to slack on proper grammar, spelling and
punctuation. Your audience will appreciate well-written status updates, tweets,
and email blasts, and it also reflects well on your business and brand.
Be personal – but not TOO personal: If you run a small business and have established close
relationships with your customers and clients, it may be appropriate to add a
personal touch to your Facebook updates or tweets. Give a shout out of
congratulations to the newlywed couple dining in your restaurant or post a
photo of the cute, new puppy a customer brought by your salon, but leave out
the images of last night’s meatloaf.
Use visuals: Visuals almost always produce a higher rate of
click-throughs, impressions, interactions, likes, retweets, etc. Remember that
you only have a small window of opportunity to grab your audience’s attention.
Visuals are a great way to stand out in a newsfeed!
The best way to improve your social media
presence is to continuously experiment, pay attention to the level of audience
interaction and invest in social media education or online learning
opportunities.
No one is an expert right off the bat!
Susan Linning is president of ECHO SOCIAL MEDIA + MARKETING of Miami, which develops and executes social media and integrated marketing strategies, creating custom content and maintaining pages on social media platforms. ECHO also provides blogging and copy-writing services.
Read Susan Linning's recent guest post on Pinterest here.
Most of the internet users spend a significant amount of their internet time on the Social Media sites. That makes it an excellent medium for advertisements and promotions. Although total advertising expense on it is relatively low when compared to the overall advertisement spending over the internet but it is growing and will soon catch up.
Posted by: Les medias sociaux | 02/04/2013 at 07:26 AM
Most of the internet users spend a significant amount of their internet time on the Social Media sites.
Posted by: Nonprofit | 02/08/2013 at 01:20 AM
Great advice to promote your professional activity.Now a days social media is becoming one of the most popular marketing tool.Good resources for better social media impact.
Posted by: rosathomson719 | 02/11/2013 at 09:49 AM