When we put in a lot of time to our social media efforts, we may as well do it right, right? There’s so much you can do, but here are four things I would suggest for your strategy:
Act
You’ve created some accounts, what do you plan on doing with them? It doesn’t do anyone any good when you have some great social media tools set up but aren’t using them, let alone to their maximum capacity.
If you don’t know how to use them, ask for help, or hire someone. I’ve run across so many people who have social accounts but are too intimidated to charge ahead and utilize them.
Collaboration is Key
Collaborate not only with your team players, but also among your social networking tools. If you have a Twitter and Facebook account (I’d highly recommend this duo for virtually every business), get them working together.
At the very least, link the accounts so when you post on Facebook, it automatically posts on Twitter. Then, find some time to learn how to post individually (or with a tool like Sprout Social) where the two aren’t inextricably linked.
The point is for the networks to be in collusion. If you’re throwing an event and sending out invitations via Facebook, post a link to the invitation on Twitter to help promote it. If you’re running a Facebook contest, tweet about it and, again, post a link to the contest information on Twitter…
Facebook Likes
I have mixed feelings about Facebook likes. On the one hand, the likes are crucial because when someone becomes your fan (i.e. has liked you on Facebook), they are saying that they want to be updated on your business news as it comes in. With a like, you are gaining access to their news feed. So, you see, the more people who like you, the more people’s news feeds you can target.
However, while “likes” are great, they’re not the same as actual engagement. Facebook is a social network, so the founders reward pages that are engaging others. For instance, your Edgerank score will increase as more fans post on your page, reply to your posts, share your thoughts, etc.
And the higher your Edgerank score is, the more your news will show up in your fan’s news feeds. Remember, your content only shows up less than 20% of the time. So work on getting that number up by engaging with your fans!
Use Twitter Responsibly
By responsibly I mean, be smart about it. Yes, Twitter is partly about disseminating information to your audience, but it’s also about giving something valuable before expecting to get anything in return. For example, get on Twitter each day and listen to what people are saying, what they’re needing and wanting.
If someone you’re following (and who YOU value) is having a special promotion, perhaps you can help spread the word by re-tweeting it to your followers. Most likely, they’ll do the same for you in the future.
Look through the last several hours of your news feed and see how you can respond to people you’re following. This will get you more followers, and let people know you’re on Twitter to actually be social and not just push your brand.
Remember, you only want to promote what’s happening with your business 20% of the time. Give your tweets to others the other 80%.
Do you have any more tips to share? Please do so below!