In today’s time business need to be sharp on social media.
It’s next to impossible in today’s time to grow your customer base without using social media presence. Here we have sorted for you 51 ways to increase your social media presence.
According to a study conducted by Simply Measured, Facebook is used by a whopping 98% of marketers. Even a niche social networking site such as is regularly used by 64%. This just goes on to show that social media is a serious business for serious entrepreneurs.
1. Set SMART Goals
Why are you on social media in the first place?
If your answer is a resounding “Because everyone else is on it,” you might have a problem.
An example of a good SMART goal for social media marketing would be something like “You’ll increase your Twitter response rate by 25% by the end of the first quarter.”
- Specific: “You’ve specifically identified the social channel (Twitter) and a metric (response rate).”
- Measurable: “The response rate can be measured from the various Social dashboards.”
- Achievable: “You didn’t make an outlandish goal of say, a 100% increase in 10 days.”
- Relevant: “Your goal will have an impact on our overall social media presence, making it very relevant.”
- Time-bound: “The goal has to be met by the end of the first quarter.”
2. Use the Right Tools.
If you want to improve your social media presence, you need to post on social media often and at the optimal times. In fact, according to studies, businesses should be tweeting 15 times per day. But as a business owner, you don’t have enough time in your day to constantly be logging in to all your social media accounts. That’s why you need to use the right tools.
Using tools to schedule posts will help you stay active on social media and save you time. With Buffer, you can manage all of your social media accounts in one place, schedule posts weeks in advance, post at preferred times when most users will see them, and analyze how well your posts are doing. Using tools to help with your social media accounts will ensure you’re posting often enough to improve your social media presence.
3. Focus on customer service.
Social media is the new platform for customer service. Instead of giving a business a call or waiting hours (sometimes days) for a company to respond to an email, many customers who are having issues now turn to social media to get help from brands. In fact, 54 percent of customers prefer social messaging channels for customer care over phone and email.
So, instead of focusing so much on selling, you need to focus more on helping people. Using your social media platforms as a customer service platform will send more users to your social media and make it easier for them to solve their problems. You can even create a Facebook chatbot that can answer questions when you’re not around. Customers will also be more willing to buy from you when they trust that you’ll help them with their issues quickly.
4. Promote your social media accounts.
Don’t expect your customers to know about all your social media platforms and go searching for them themselves – you’ve got to tell them they exist. If you make it easy for customers to follow or like your social media profiles, they’ll be more willing to take action.
Start promoting your social media accounts to your customers and ask them to interact with you on your profiles. You can add social media icons to your site, add your social media feeds to your sidebar, tell people to follow you on social media at the end of your blog posts, and promote your social media accounts in your email marketing. The more people are aware of your presence on social media, the bigger it will be.
5. Pay attention to what’s trending.
One of the best ways to create a bigger social media presence for your business is to piggyback on popular social media trends. This will get your profile in front of a ton of users who never knew about your business before and could even help your posts go viral.
You can stay on top of trends just by taking a look at what’s going on. For instance, on Twitter, you can see the top trending hashtags on the left side on the homepage in the Trends for You section. Look at what hashtags you can use to get more views. While it helps to use hashtags that relate to your business, they don’t have to be strictly relevant. If your accounting company can create a fun post for #NationalDonutDay, go for it.
6. Focus on eye-catching visuals.
It can be difficult to get noticed in crowded social media feeds, so you need to make your business stand out. One of the best ways to stand out on social media and increase your presence is to focus on using eye-catching visuals.
Try to avoid using too many boring stock photos. Instead, focus on sharing images that will connect with users. Share high-quality behind-the-scenes photos and people using your products. You can even share your customers’ photos of them interacting with your product with their permission, which also creates social proof.
7. Actively engage with your audience.
Would you keep talking to someone who never returned your messages? Probably not. Users won’t want to follow you on social media or interact with you if they get nothing in return. That’s why it’s so important to actively engage with your audience on social media.
If you want to create a social media presence, then your social media accounts need to become a community. That means when someone comments on your posts, you should reply to them or at least like their comment. You can also pose and answer questions in posts, and show appreciation to your followers and customers by thanking them and sharing user-generated content. Engaging with your followers will not only increase your social media presence but help you develop real relationships with customers.
8. Optimize your account for engagement.
First thing’s first: don’t let the word “optimization” freak you out.
Unlike SEO, social media optimization isn’t particularly technical. That said, profiles can be optimized through imagery, keywords and fully filling out your account information.
For example, brands can use their Instagram bio to link to promotions, advertise their hashtag and let their brand’s voice be heard.
9. Be Human.
This is a big one.
One of the worst mistakes to make on social media is coming off as a faceless corporation with zero personality. In the modern age of transparency, people want to get to know your company on a more personal level.
Many brands today crack jokes and aren’t afraid to talk to their followers like they would their friends. Whereas brands were once lambasted for coming off like robots, a human social media presence has become an expectation among many followers.
10. Create editorial content.
Spoiler alert: sticking to a content schedule isn’t just something “extra” that brands do.
If there’s a common thread between the biggest brands on social, it’s that they post on a consistent basis.
Chances are you’re juggling multiple social channels and are trying to make sure you tick a lot of boxes in terms of descriptions and when to post, right? Consider how a content calendar can make the process much easier by…
- Allowing you to fine-tune each of your posts for each platform without having to jump between sites.
- Timing your posts to maximize engagement, keeping you from having to constantly post in real-time.
- Avoid repeating the same content over and over again, ensuring each of your articles or pictures gets the most love possible.
In short, taking the time to make a schedule does double the duty of keeping your social media presence organized while also maximizing your contents’ reach.
11. Share with everyone.
Share your social media accounts with everyone you know. Don’t be spammy – but don’t be afraid to share. By doing this, they will know you have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and they can share them with everyone they know. This is a simple way to get the word out.
12. Link your profile to your website.
Link your Facebook, Twitter, or any of your other social media profiles to your website. Just like you want to provide links on your website to your profiles, you also want to link to your website so people can easily learn more about your company.
13. Producea valuable content.
You also want to ensure you are producing the most valuable content – not only into your blog but also on your social networking accounts. Having the best content helps showcase your business and website, which brings in more customers and more money?
14. Create a integrated social media strategy.
You want to make sure each social media network you are involved in serves a purpose. You can ensure this by starting a marketing calendar. Make sure to add all of your upcoming events, blog posts, and everything else you decide to do with your business into this calendar. This will help you stay organized and understand how each of your social media accounts will bring in more untapped sectors for your business.
15. Use Hastags Often.
Hashtags are in these days. Everyone is using them to bring more people to their blogs or websites. Using hashtags on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus will help bring more people onto your social media accounts and your website – but use them carefully. Don’t finish every post with 15 unrelated hashtags. #dontbethatguy
16. Provide a benefit to your audience.
People, who visit your social media page or website are asking ‘What’s in it for me?’ Show them by giving something away for free – something designed to draw them into your business by building trust or peaking interest. Consider giving away a short trial, a free book. a discount code, or even liking their page back. This will help you earn valuable followers who will stay engaged.
17. Ask your client to share and connect.
Sometimes just by asking your clients and maybe even potential clients to share and connect with your social media networks, you just might be able to bring in more fans.
18. Create a plan and stick to it.
Create your plan to bring in more fans. Stick to it and do what you think is working more often. If you find something that works really well, stick to it.
19. Do your research.
Each type of business is going to have different experiences on social media – for example, a restaurant is going to have a much different plan than a used car lot. Take the time to research other ways to get more likes and follows to your social media accounts. Dig in there and learn everything you can about growing your social media presence for your specific market.
20. Give them a reason.
Give your customers a reason to like your page and follow you on Twitter. Show them you will be posting often and make sure to post interesting updates often. This will give them a reason to engage with you.