For years we have been talking about using content to promote your brand online. Relevant content is one of the best ways to show your customers and prospects that you are an authority in your field and should be a key element in your overall marketing strategy. Whether you are a realtor showing potential buyers that you know the mortgage process with articles about getting approved for your first home loan or a mechanic sharing information about the attributes of several types of tire tread, giving your online visitors information that they need, at a time they need it, is a great way to get attention and start the process of getting your next customers to “know, like and trust” you.
But getting the information posted is not the golden ticket. Once you have an interesting mix of content being posted consistently on your social media sites as well as your website, you need your readers to do more than just read the posts, you need them to engage! Engagement is when your page visitors share or re-tweet your post, click through to the links you include, make comments that will be seen by their fans, respond to your call to action or actually contact you to buy your product or learn more about it. Getting social media browsers/followers engaged can be a challenge. Here are some tips that might help you get your fans responding to the great content that you are providing through your online pages:
1. Post good content more than once.
Social media is a fast paced environment. Facebook and Twitter don’t show everyone everything so your post might not get to all of your followers. And even if it does, they might miss it in their feeds. So when you post something really good, re-post several times over the course of a day or more. This will increase the odds for the content to be seen.
2. Pin a post to the top of your feed.
If you are fortunate enough to have regular visitors to your site or if you are promoting your site through a campaign, pin a great post to the top position to ensure that the visitor sees a provocative post as soon as they arrive. You can unpin after a time so it doesn’t become boring but pinning is a great way to hold something in priority position.
But getting the information posted is not the golden ticket. Once you have an interesting mix of content being posted consistently on your social media sites as well as your website, you need your readers to do more than just read the posts, you need them to engage! Engagement is when your page visitors share or re-tweet your post, click through to the links you include, make comments that will be seen by their fans, respond to your call to action or actually contact you to buy your product or learn more about it. Getting social media browsers/followers engaged can be a challenge. Here are some tips that might help you get your fans responding to the great content that you are providing through your online pages:
1. Post good content more than once.
Social media is a fast paced environment. Facebook and Twitter don’t show everyone everything so your post might not get to all of your followers. And even if it does, they might miss it in their feeds. So when you post something really good, re-post several times over the course of a day or more. This will increase the odds for the content to be seen.
2. Pin a post to the top of your feed.
If you are fortunate enough to have regular visitors to your site or if you are promoting your site through a campaign, pin a great post to the top position to ensure that the visitor sees a provocative post as soon as they arrive. You can unpin after a time so it doesn’t become boring but pinning is a great way to hold something in priority position.
3. Keep your visitors with you.
Providing links to additional content on your social media pages or your website is a great way to build your rankings and position yourself as an authority in your market. Make sure you set all links to “Open in a new window” so your visitors won’t have to leave your site to go to the link. If they open in the same window, the link replaces your site and it requires effort to get them back.
4. Ask for a Share in advance.
If you are posting about another business or person, be sure to let them know about it and ask them to share in their social media circles. Sending an email with a link to the page is a great way to make it easy for them to find your post where they can easily comment, like and share. This is especially effective if you are showing a before/after story or sharing a link about a complementary service company (IE: You are a remodeling company and are posting a shout out to a plumber who did an exceptional job for you.)
5. End with MORE.
Try posting links to additional information at the bottom of your posts. If your post is truly engaging and relevant, your reader will appreciate similar information. You can post things like “See more photos of …” or “You may also enjoy…” and include links to the additional articles. If you have shopped online, you have probably seen this marketing tactic at work!
6. Optimize your pages.
When you set up your social media profiles, be sure you provide complete information and where possible, articulate the best audience for your posts. Facebook allows you to select geographic as well as audience type. If you are a local business, keep your posts local where they will do the most for you! No matter how relevant a post is, if the reader is a thousand miles away from your local business, they will probably not click through to your offer!
7. Advertise with Social Media.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc are all giant data aggregators. They know a lot of information about their members. When you advertise with them, you can use that information to help make sure your post is seen by the right audience. You can pay to “boost” your page or a particularly good post to improve the number of times you are seen in feeds. You can also use paid advertising to run “ads” which can be demographically specific and will be run in the News Feed on desktop and mobile sites, as well as the right-hand side of Facebook and their partner sites. This type of advertising can be relatively inexpensive and you control your spend by setting a maximum or daily budget.
8. Get Interactive with your posts.
Calls to action are meant to do just that – get your reader to DO something! In your content marketing strategy be sure to include posts specifically designed to get user interaction. Try posting great images or humorous posts and include a call to action in the post to encourage a response. Use calls to action like “Share your favorite Christmas gift” with a post about yours or “What do you think about…” when offering a new product or service or use surveys.
There is no better place for a potential client to get to know you and your company than in your social media pages. It is a comfortable place for them to learn about your product and see how others react to you. A great way to start them on the Know-Like-Trust journey with your company. I call it “Meeting for a cup of coffee online! A consistent stream of information is essential for your strategy to be effective but the pay-off is worth it. Developing an active and beneficial social media community is a worth-while investment of your time. And if you don’t have the time, hire an expert to help!
If your social media strategy is in need of an upgrade, contact us for a free Social Media Audit. We can help you get started or improve your online presence with one of our Essential Marketing Plans.
Providing links to additional content on your social media pages or your website is a great way to build your rankings and position yourself as an authority in your market. Make sure you set all links to “Open in a new window” so your visitors won’t have to leave your site to go to the link. If they open in the same window, the link replaces your site and it requires effort to get them back.
4. Ask for a Share in advance.
If you are posting about another business or person, be sure to let them know about it and ask them to share in their social media circles. Sending an email with a link to the page is a great way to make it easy for them to find your post where they can easily comment, like and share. This is especially effective if you are showing a before/after story or sharing a link about a complementary service company (IE: You are a remodeling company and are posting a shout out to a plumber who did an exceptional job for you.)
5. End with MORE.
Try posting links to additional information at the bottom of your posts. If your post is truly engaging and relevant, your reader will appreciate similar information. You can post things like “See more photos of …” or “You may also enjoy…” and include links to the additional articles. If you have shopped online, you have probably seen this marketing tactic at work!
6. Optimize your pages.
When you set up your social media profiles, be sure you provide complete information and where possible, articulate the best audience for your posts. Facebook allows you to select geographic as well as audience type. If you are a local business, keep your posts local where they will do the most for you! No matter how relevant a post is, if the reader is a thousand miles away from your local business, they will probably not click through to your offer!
7. Advertise with Social Media.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc are all giant data aggregators. They know a lot of information about their members. When you advertise with them, you can use that information to help make sure your post is seen by the right audience. You can pay to “boost” your page or a particularly good post to improve the number of times you are seen in feeds. You can also use paid advertising to run “ads” which can be demographically specific and will be run in the News Feed on desktop and mobile sites, as well as the right-hand side of Facebook and their partner sites. This type of advertising can be relatively inexpensive and you control your spend by setting a maximum or daily budget.
8. Get Interactive with your posts.
Calls to action are meant to do just that – get your reader to DO something! In your content marketing strategy be sure to include posts specifically designed to get user interaction. Try posting great images or humorous posts and include a call to action in the post to encourage a response. Use calls to action like “Share your favorite Christmas gift” with a post about yours or “What do you think about…” when offering a new product or service or use surveys.
There is no better place for a potential client to get to know you and your company than in your social media pages. It is a comfortable place for them to learn about your product and see how others react to you. A great way to start them on the Know-Like-Trust journey with your company. I call it “Meeting for a cup of coffee online! A consistent stream of information is essential for your strategy to be effective but the pay-off is worth it. Developing an active and beneficial social media community is a worth-while investment of your time. And if you don’t have the time, hire an expert to help!
If your social media strategy is in need of an upgrade, contact us for a free Social Media Audit. We can help you get started or improve your online presence with one of our Essential Marketing Plans.
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