So you finally decided (mate, it was about time) to bring your business into the social media world. Good.
The first step seemed easy, but now questions start o arise:
Where do I get my first followers?
Who’s got the time to handle all of these platforms?
What if my posts don’t get any likes?!
I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START.
To the newcomer, Social media can be a jungle of gifs and angry comments, but you’ll find it that it is nowhere near as overwhelming if you plan ahead. With new SMEs in mind, our marketing team has compiled a list of 50 actionable tips that will turn anyone into a social network guru…
50 Social Media Tips to help you promote your new brand
Don’t!
Simply don’t do any of this.
#1 Start without a clear strategy!: Even if it’s a really simple one, you need to have a purpose and a clear set of goals. Why are you on Social Media? If you don’t know how to answer this question, then Social Media is not the place for your business. As simple as that.
#2 Buy fake followers/likes: Cheating. If you get caught, then troubles, and even if you don’t, what’s the point of having people who literally don’t give a flying cow about your brand amongst your followers? Just avoid this technique, it will only make you look like an amateur.
#3 Share too much in a short amount of time: Some people think the more the better: wrong! Even though some companies should produce more content than others, this is not about quantity but quality.
#4 Attack every single platform at once: Honestly, if this is the first time you’re doing this, then pick just ONE social media channel. Once you’ve mastered it, you can move on to the next one…
#5 Talk JUST about the brand: Social media is about creating a community, not selling. That’s why its name is “Social”. If you’re constantly talking about yourself, you’ll only manage to turn people off. Share content that’s valuable for your community – if it comes from you or a third party, it doesn’t matter.
Running Social Promotions
#6 Use trending topics to promote your brand: Take advantage of trending topics on Twitter to create promotions and campaigns around them!
#7 Avoid spam such as asking someone to share a post for a prize: Probably the most common failure on Facebook, asking people to share a post if they want to join a competition. Just don’t do it, it’s not only 100% spam, but it also goes against their rules.
#8 Create unique promotions for each of your Social Media channels: This is proven to work for us here at Printsome. If you have various social media profiles, then you need to understand that each one of them works differently. Adapt your content and promotions accordingly.
#9 Use specific apps to run promotions on Facebook (heyo, shortstack): If you’re thinking about running your own contests and promotions, then I would recommend you use a tool that’s exclusively designed to run this sort of campaigns.
#10 Encourage UGC (User Generated Content): Most commonly, UGC are pictures taken by followers, but other types include reviews and videos. Ask them to submit content in exchange for something, that could be a prize or a simple recognition. You need to engage with your community!
Branding on Social Media
#11 Spread your brand identity all over the net (forums and platforms included): Social Media is not just Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Find forums, websites and pretty much any other place/community that talks to your target. Get involved.
#12 Be transparent with every single customer: Reply to everyone, be honest. You will mess up (we all do), and when you do, own up to it and start mending.
#13 Check online reviews constantly: And I mean not only the good ones. It’s completely natural to get bad reviews. What you need to do here is find a way to compensate those customers who are disappointed. How about offering a discount?
#14 Share your employees’ pics with your followers: People love to see the human side of companies because, at the end of the day, we deal with people, not brands. Why don’t you go the extra mile and introduce your employees to your online community?
#15 Find influencers to promote your brand: You just launched a new brand and now you need to build a reputation. Influencers are great for that. Try to find those who talk to your target audience and ask them to test and review your product or service.
Sharing The Best Content
#16 Take advantage of trends, but create an editorial calendar!: As we do here at Printsome, we plan our editorial calendar with plenty of time in advance, but still, leave some room for unexpected trends.
#17 Share your branded content: Simply put, content with entertainment value that’s produced by brands. Please take a look at this article for more information.
#18 Share articles valuable to your community: So let’s imagine for a second you sell used cars, wouldn’t you share a piece of news about the latest car that will change the automotive industry? What about tips and tricks to save time and money in your daily commute?
#19 Unique content is the key!: Using the example above, imagine you can create a series of simple visuals with tips on how to save money (in different situations) and share them daily. Wouldn’t it improve the quality of your network?
#20 Promote interaction through quizzes, games, polls!: Dare to ask direct questions, do polls and surveys! People naturally like to vote and participate online!
Tools to make your life easier
#21 Hootsuite to manage multiple Social Media accounts in one place!: If you have to deal with more than one social media channel, consider Hootsuite to simplify the job.
#22 Quuu or PostPlanner to find trending and engaging content to share: Can you not find enough good content? These tools will do it for you!
#23 Google Analytics to track website traffic referred by your social media: You can also use each social network’s insight tool!
#24 Use Bitly to shorten links: By making them more friendly to the human eye, you make it easier for them to be shared. There’s also a branded version of the platform (for a price), that allows you to customise links.
#25 Woobox to run sweepstakes, photo contests, quizzes and more: As mentioned before, this is a tool that will help you organise and run better contests.
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#26 People engage 25% more with brands on Instagram: Consider Instagram if what you need is people interacting with your brand all the time.
#27 Pinterest users spend 15 times more money than FB’s: Pinterest is proven to be effective for creating sales and leads, but it doesn’t work with every industry. Make sure your brand is a good fit before joining the Pinterest community.
#28 Photo Albums have 180% more engagement than other posts: Create albums for your pics on Facebook! Better for the customer who’s looking for something in particular.
Note: It’s also super important to have the perfect Facebook cover photo.
#29 Comments increase an average of 33% per post when emoticons are used: ? Love them or hate them, we all must admit that emoticons are useful.
#30 93% of online customers check social media before buying: It is important to highlight the fact that this stat only refers to online customers. Amazing stat this one. Now you know.
Measuring and analysing your performance
#31 Monitor metrics constantly: It will help you analyse to keep doing what you’re doing if its working or change course if it’s not.
#32 Google Analytics will be your best friend!: Again, analytics the tool a particular social network provides you with!
#33 Volume, exposure, reach, engagement: The most basic metrics. Always keep an eye on them!
#34 Keep track of your Klout Score: Just an indicator, but it measures how much influence you have in the online world.
#35 There’s an Advanced Analytics for Twitter too!: And almost for any other social media network! Do your research.
Legal Stuff to keep an eye on
#36 Own your content, copyright infringement is real!: This happens even in the most professional of industries. Please don’t steal.
#37 Choose photos carefully (or use Stock Images): Just because you see something on Google Images, it doesn’t mean you can use it. Perform an advanced search or go straight to the free image stocks!
#38 Beware when delegating social media!: Make sure whoever is in charge of this understands the tone of your brand and is capable of dealing with people.
#39 Enable two-step verification for more security: If you have a newsletter, then implement a double opt-in so you won’t get any unavailable users.
#40 Disclose paid advertising: Are you getting paid for writing about something or recommending a product or service? Then you must say it.
Hashtags for exposure
#41 Use Iconosquare or Webstagram for Instagram: They will tell you what are the trending hashtags.
#42 Go wild on Instagram, go easy on Twitter: The more hashtags you use on Instagram, then the more exposure that image will get. The more hashtags you use on Twitter, then the less space you’ll have left for your message.
#43 Don’t use hashtags on Facebook: They tried to make it work, but it’s just not happening.
#44 Hashtags may lead users away from your Pinterest: Pinterest users are more “curated” than those on other platforms and may be turned off if you accompany an image with a bunch of hashtags.
#45 Don’t use them for every single word: It reeks of amateurism. #Obviously.
Miscellaneous: a bit of everything
#46 Target competition followers or people who visit you: Facebook allows you to target people who interact with your business page. Take advantage of this feature to meet people who are interested in your brand.
#47 Speak like you normally would: People can tell when you’re being fake – even through the screen. Just be yourself.
#48 Don’t go crazy with budgets: Some people think that paid promotion is expensive, but it’s really up to you how much you want to spend. Be specific with your target and you won’t have to empty your wallet.
#49 Make sure you use the right size for all of your images: Just follow these guidelines, and you’ll never see a pixelated fuzzy image again.
#50 Keep innovating with new features! (e.g. Facebook Live): If one of the networks releases a new feature, dig in! Can you take advantage of it? Dare to be the first!
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