10 Social Media Marketing Pro Tips for Businesses

 Social media can be a powerful tool if you know how to use it. Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a form of outbound/inbound proactive marketing used by marketers to attract prospects and convert them into new customers, but also to be attentive of what their existing customers could be seeking. This involves a good knowledge of the social media landscape, a social media-enabled website, an SMO strategy, an implementation plan, and of course, the resources to make it work.

Here are some best practices and pro tips to get the most out of your social media usage.

• 1. Know your target audience. Who are your ideal clients? The answer to this question will tell you which social media platforms you should be using. (To view a recent study of social media analytics by industry based on follower count, post frequency & user engagement click here)
• 2. Set up & perfect your profile. Make sure every field in your profile is complete. Fields will vary depending to the social media platform. Pick the right handle, profile photo and header image. Choose high-quality visuals that convey a consistent branding voice across all social media platforms. Don’t forget to link back to your website, not only in your profile details but on every post.
• 3. Boost your follower count by following the social media accounts of people you know and are already doing business with. Ex) your colleagues, employees, partners, suppliers, etc. These are the people who will be most likely to engage with your content from the get-go.
• 4. Create unique and memorable branded hashtags. These are essential to any social media campaign. Create a hashtag for specific promotions and product/service offerings. Branded hashtags encourage user-generated content and generate buzz for your brand/company. Ex) Coca-Cola's #ShareACoke or Calvin Klein’s #MyCalvins
• 5. Use calls-to-action. Just as you would on your website homepage, include calls-to-action in your post captions to encourage user engagement. This could be: asking questions, encouraging the use of branded hashtags, asking users to tag friends to foster conversation in the comments, directing followers to URLs, etc.
• 6. Repost user-generated content often and make sure to give proper credit to the author. Always tag the accounts of individuals or groups mentioned in your post. When you tag another user, your post is shared with their network instantly increasing your reach.
• 7. Humanize your Company/Brand. People like to know who they’re doing business with. If you can, share candid photos of you and your team in action. This will generate confidence from your followers.
• 8. Stay informed on latest features. The social media landscape is constantly evolving so stay informed on new feature launches to optimize your use of social media.
• 9. Gain insights from your analytics. Analytic tools can give you insight into which of your content is producing the most engagement with your product/service offering, as well as traffic to your website. These insights can help you with quality content development.
• 10. Don’t have the time? Hire a professional. Hire a professional social media manager to develop your SMO strategy and execute it. Consistency is vital to growing your follower count/user engagement and an effective social media campaign requires frequent attention.

Social media marketing isn't just about opening a Facebook and Twitter page. Your website should be at the center of your strategy while using your social media pages as satellites for your own online business community. Want to know more or need help getting started? Get in touch with us.