Social Media may have been around for a couple of decades now, but social media can still be a pretty intimidating area for many organizations looking to ramp up their digital marketing strategies. The intimidation is often because there are so many social media networks to choose from. The actual amount of work that goes into social media is usually more than people expect, and there are many “best practices” to consider. This post was written to help anyone get a little bit more from their social media marketing efforts by providing social media tips and going over some best practices.
1. Choose your social channels carefully
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, Vimeo, and Reddit are just a few of today’s most popular “social media” platforms. It can be hard to keep up with all the different social media channels available, but the main thing to remember is that not every social network is the same. With so many social networks available, and new ones being introduced to the market all the time, it’s important to keep in mind that each social network has its own distinct demographics, content tone, and market of users. So, not every social media network will work as well for every business or industry, and it’s important to choose social media channels that best align with your organization’s industry, business goals, and target market.
Different Social Networks Have Different Media Use Requirements
Also, each social network requires different technology. For example, some are exclusively mobile app-based, while others are both mobile and desktop-based. Some are very media-dependent, while others are not. Each social network has different media use requirements that you will want to consider to ensure you can keep up with posting consistently on each specific social channel – which is the next tip.
2. Post consistently, whether it’s daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly
One of the most important strategies for social media is consistency. Whether you are posting daily or weekly, consistency is the foundation for a good social media strategy. No client or follower wants to hear from a brand sporadically. Posting consistently and reliably will show your followers that you are consistent, reliable, organized, level-headed, and trustworthy. Other ways to incorporate consistency into social media involve keeping your tone and aesthetics consistent for each social channel.
In any case, the main point is that consistency is key in social media. If you find yourself with the ability or need to post a lot across many different platforms, social media posting consolidators like Hootsuite and others can help in planning and scheduling posts to go live across multiple networks.
Do you need some help getting things off the ground? Contact us today!
3. Different industries have different social posting requirements and abilities
The idea that social media requires daily posting is subject to the industry. Not every industry has the same social media posting requirements or abilities. Different industries have different social posting benchmarks.
Social Media Case Study: Beauty Salon
For example, a beauty salon’s social abilities and requirements would differ from those of an accounting firm. The beauty salon sees clients more often and may be able to produce several images a day from clients which are great for social media use. The salon may be encouraged to post these images on social media channels daily because competitors also post daily. Also, followers of salons and similar people with aesthetic interests will enjoy this content on their social media feeds and are more likely to engage. If they want to ensure that their clients—who are generally brand loyal and repeat customers—become or stay repeat clients, and choose them again in the future, they want to stay top-of-mind. Posting on social media can help with that.
Social Media Case Study: Accounting Firm
On the other hand, an accounting firm will not have as many social-worthy images to use that social followers would appreciate (although they could get creative). They also may not see their clients as often, and their competitors may not be posting as often, which all adds up to a smaller demand for posts. Instead of posting daily, an accounting firm could post weekly, monthly, or even quarterly. It would also make sense to stand out from the crowd. Social media is about being social, posting sharable content, and not being too self-absorbed. Be fun and different. That always works. The stuffy, office, conservative stuff isn’t a long-term solution.
Here is a Hubspot article on social media posting benchmarks for 9 different industries.
4. Hashtags are good, but not too many, and in the right network
Hate them or love them, hashtags have a purpose; they curate content. The problem with hashtags is that what began on one platform was incorporated into all social networks, and users began to exploit hashtags by over-using them, which can annoy users and start to make the hashtags obsolete within a post. Even though hashtags do help with increasing engagement and exposure on some social platforms, they hurt post-exposure and engagement on other networks. For instance, Facebook posts with too many hashtags get less engagement than short, concise posts with no hashtags. That’s why it’s important to know some social media hashtag trends and tools to help you better use hashtags in your social media.
5. Images are great. Feel free to use lots
A picture says a thousand words, right? So, it makes sense that images would help generate more exposure and engagement within social channels compared to just text alone. Photos on Facebook generate 53% more likes than a text-based post alone. Images are definitely a smart strategy for social media.
Also, some platforms, like Instagram, are very media-dependent. If you can incorporate images (or videos – see the next tip) into your social media, then you are likely to see more engagement across more social platforms.
Great Free Stock Image & Image Editing Resources
If you’re looking for a good website for decent quality free stock images, check out Pixabay, Pexels, and Unsplash. Can’t find the perfect image? Try checking out some of the top paid stock photo websites like iStock, Shutterstock, and Stocksy. Some free tools anyone can use to build cool custom images with custom ad-copy text, etc. are Canva and getPaint.net. These are pretty basic and user-friendly tools that can help you begin designing and creating gorgeous images, and more! More advanced designers will opt to pay for premium photo design tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
6. Videos are awesome
If an image says a thousand words, how many words does a video say? Videos can increase exposure and engagement too. In fact, a third of online activity is now spent watching videos! However, good-quality videos are usually a bit harder to produce than good-quality images, which is a deterrent for most. But, if you can find ways to incorporate some video (or even just some movement) in your social posts, do it! Even just “animated images” or GIFs, or using the boomerang tool are easy-to-use social media tools for creating visually engaging posts. If you have some good video footage but need an easy video editor to polish it up, review some free video editing software/programs available. Apple users can often access iMovie as a free video editing software via their Macs and other Apple devices.
7. Engage with followers by asking questions and replying to comments
They call it “social” media for a reason! The more you engage with followers, the more they engage back, and the more exposure your posts have. It’s almost like a snowball effect. Some say social media engagement is the new social media marketing. Below are some great ways to engage more on social media.
Ways On How To Engage More In Social Media:
- Ask questions in your posts to encourage comment responses.
- Encourage comments straight-up.
- Reply to questions in the comments of your posts.
- Reply to feedback in your post comments.
- Ask questions as comments within your own posts.
Caorda Can Help You Build a Killer Social Media Presence!
If you need help with your social media strategy, we encourage you to contact us today. Social media posting and Facebook, and Instagram Ads management are just some services that we offer, and we’d be happy to discuss with you the many ways in which we can help your organization with its social media; from image or social video creation, ad-copy writing, posting, boosted posts, ads management, and more.