As of January 2018, there are more than 4 billion Internet users in the world. Out of these, more than 3 billion are active social media users. This figure highlights the pivotal role played by social media in shaping the Internet user’s digital experience. In 2017, global Internet users spent an average of 135 minutes per day on social media sites.
It’s time you leveraged the power of social media for your business. Come up with a content plan that can be effective on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. And pursue an active engagement policy while dealing with followers. Here are 8 best practices to kick-start your company’s social media journey:
1. Share posts based on a one-in-seven policy
Make sure that only one of seven posts explicitly promotes your brand. This doesn’t mean that the remaining 6 shouldn’t promote your brand – do it in a subtle manner by sharing informational content that will be of use to your target audience. The one-in-seven policy will make sure that your posts appear less marketing-aggressive and more reader-friendly.
2. Start conversations
Ask important questions on topics that are relevant to your industry. Seek the opinions of followers – if the questions are interesting, they will gladly provide their input. And if you are lucky, the post will be widely shared to provide you with maximum outreach.
3. Share valuable content
Create posts that will provide followers with quality insights on the industry. You could provide articles on best practices. Or you could provide access to whitepapers and case studies that help to establish your business as a thought leader in the industry. You will also gain a lot of credibility among your target audience.
4. Share a lot of videos
Visual content has unlimited power on social media. Videos and attractive graphics can grab attention of people and convey your message in the quickest time possible. Hire a video expert to create dynamic content that can win your online audience’s approval in quick time!
5. Launch exciting contests
People love contests and freebies! So, launch an exciting contest and announce useful prizes. Make sure there are rules for the contest and provide a date when you will announce the winners. Also, make it a point to give out prizes on time!
6. Be a quick responder on social media
This report has some interesting social media observations:
- More than 80% of customers expect a company to reply within 24 hours of a posting on social media
- 1 in 5 customers rely on social media to contact a company
Your purview should be beyond your company profiles and should include the entire social media sphere. Keep a look out for potential or existing customers tagging your business in their posts. Make sure that you provide quick and positive redressal of their queries! This will help you keep track of all social media conversations that revolve around your business.
7. Use the right social media platform
It’s important to streamline your social media efforts. You can do this by using a platform like Hootsuite to schedule posts in a convenient manner. Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts in advance while monitoring responses from followers.
8. Track the progress of your social media posts on a monthly basis
How well did your posts fare last month? How many likes and shares did you receive? It’s important to do a thorough analysis of your posts to ensure you are on the right track. Tweak your content strategy if you feel that your posts are not receiving adequate coverage from followers.
We hope the best practices shared in this article provides you with useful insights to take on competitors online. Create a rewarding social media presence for your business and reap the marketing benefits for years!