5 Tips to Win at Social Media

Social media marketing is 100% necessary for businesses to utilize. It’s no secret that people go to social media for recommendations now, so having a platform is something you can’t ignore. So, how do you stand out from the noise and get noticed using social media marketing? Keep reading and I’ll reveal 5 tips to win at social media.

1.     Hashtags

Oh, the mysteries of the hashtag. We all know we’re supposed to be using them, but how? How many is too many, and am I even using the right hashtags? I’m going to give you some brief overview on the hashtag, but remember that every business is a little bit different.

A good rule of thumb is to use no more than 3 hashtags on Facebook and LinkedIn, 15 or more on Instagram, 20-30 on Pinterest, and as few as possible on Twitter. Please Note: using 15+ hashtags on an Instagram post can look spammy. It honestly just immediately generates an eyeroll from myself. Post your hashtags in a comment under your picture to make the post look cleaner.

Now what hashtags should I be using? This is a far more complicated answer, because it’s different for every person and every business. It depends completely on who you’re trying to reach. Three hashtags you should always have are as follows:

·       A hashtag relating to the content you are posting (i.e. if you are posting a picture of your bagel, #bagel)

·       A hashtag about the audience you are trying to reach (i.e. your target audience is women who own businesses, #girlboss)

·       A branded hashtag. This is something that was created by you and relates directly to your business/blog/etc. (an example using myself would be #MarketingByBrienne)

The rest of the hashtags should also follow these guidelines, but maybe you have a secondary audience, or maybe you’ve done some research on hashtags that do well in your line of work. Just be sure to track what’s working and what isn’t, and follow your branded hashtag to get that yummy consumer generated content.

2.     Stories

Stories are an amazing tool! It’s no wonder every single social media platform (including twitter now?) is picking this up. For the sake of my fingers and your eyes, I’m only going to discuss Instagram stories, because in my opinion they’re done the best. However, most of the same strategies can be used across platforms.

Stories allow you to really interact with your audience. You can share your day in real time, get several insights from your followers, and create very interactive content for followers to engage with. My favorite trick is using polls to see what kind of content my followers want to see more of. This can also be used to see what your followers’ favorite products are, or what they think of a potential new launch.

You can get insights specifically about stories in the “insights” section on Instagram as well. This is a very useful section, as there are so many metrics you can view. These metrics are the following:

·       Back

·       Call Button Taps

·       Email Button Taps

·       Exited

·       Follows

·       Next Story

·       Get Directions Taps

·       Impressions

·       Link Clicks

·       Forward

·       Profile Visits

·       Replies

·       Shares

·       Text Button Taps

·       Website Taps

·       Story Interactions

3.     People Want to Know You

With the exception of LinkedIn where people only want to know (and should learn about) your professional brand, people want to get to know who you are. I’ve learned that the most interaction comes from more personal posts, even if you’re running a business. It’s important you sound and look like a human being, not a sales machine. In my current place of work, pictures of my boss’s dog get the most comments and likes. It may be a law firm, but people really care about dogs!

Seriously though, people like to do business with other people, not businesses. It’s obviously important to tell everyone what amazing things you can do for them, but if your potential consumers see that you’re someone they can get along with that is a major bonus. Just make sure these more personal posts stay true to your brand identity. Nobody wants to see the person taking care of their finances getting wasted at a bar. Unless you’re a personal brand or an influencer, keep it casual; Puppies, family, food. It’s like small talk, but for posting.

4.     Post Different Things for Different Platforms

This can be very obvious for certain platforms (LinkedIn and Twitter for example), but don’t create the same post for every single social media platform. Linda from accounting just wanted an extra connection, she doesn’t care what you ate for breakfast. It can seem really inappropriate (or lazy) to post the same thing to every one of your accounts. Sometimes, one post could be relevant for every platform, but that isn’t usually the case.

What you want to do is analyze your audiences on each platform. See who they are, what kind of content they interact with, and even when they’re on that platform. Once you have this data, you can tailor posts to these people. You can posts things that they might be interested in, and even post it at a time you know they look at that platform. You’ll have a much higher chance at getting your audience to engage if you do this. Your posts most likely are not one size fits all.

The last thing you need to consider is just what is appropriate on each platform. I’ll use the example that was in the beginning of this section. Twitter is a very casual platform. It’s so casual, in fact, that companies have started to “clap back” at customers or other companies. Humor is a huge thing on this platform. Several companies have given their brand a very sassy voice to grab a laugh (i.e. Wendy’s). Personally, I think it’s funny. Typically, the right brands are the ones doing it, and it works for them. Could you imagine if they were doing the same thing on LinkedIn? That’s the point here. Facebook is different than Pinterest which is different than Instagram and so on and so on. Keep things appropriate for each platform.

5.     Only Run 3 at a Time

This is a loose rule, because there are exceptions, but typically a person can only run 3 platforms at a time before things get a little sloppy. There’s a lot that goes into running a strategic social media account, and it will only be effective if you put a lot of work into it. You’ll have to create plans, create different plans for different platforms, set up a social media calendar, create content, measure the success of your campaigns, etc. etc. etc. Unless you have a team, or a social media manager who is very experienced and works fast, 3 platforms is going to be the magic number.

It should be fairly easy to choose these platforms, because most brands don’t need them all anyway. Unless you have a blog or some web content you want to share, pinterest is not necessary. Twitter is disgustingly difficult to succeed in anyway, on average you have to post 24 times a day just to be seen.

Based on your company, you should decide between Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and Pinterest. If you are a business, you need a LinkedIn. I should note, Pinterest is a very fast growing social platform. So, consider starting a blog if that’s something that seems relevant for you. It just might benefit you. Whatever you choose, the easiest way to run several social media platforms at once is by using a social media management platform like hootsuite.

If you need help getting your social media optimized, reach out for a consultation. I’m happy to help, even if you just need a basic plan or a content calendar.