That being said, long gone are the days when a simple news update or an interesting article share cuts it; your social media presence must be strategic. Here are a few insights on how to take your company’s social media game to the next level on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Instagram has without a doubt found the “secret formula” to effectively present visual content to a vast social audience. It is currently the fastest growing social platform on the market and holds the highest engagement rates of any social network with 4.21 percent engagement per post compared to .07 percent for Facebook. (source)
Quick Facts
- Instagram counted 77.6 million users in the US in 2015
- Instagram has more than 400 million monthly active users
- More than 30 billion photos have been shared
- Instagram users generate 3.5 billion likes per day
Quick Tips and Tricks for Success
The Power of the #hashtag
The hashtag is an awesome tool for expanding the scope of your post. When a user clicks on a hashtag, they will automatically be shown all other public posts that include that same hashtag. This is a fantastic tool for businesses on Instagram because it exposes your content to a much larger audience, and can expand your brand’s reach. (source)
Don’t neglect captions
Make sure that you are focusing on the entire post instead of just the image. While the photo should remain the star of the post, it is important not to overlook the other aspects; the caption should tell the readers a story or a message about the photo, and the hashtags you select should provide users with context for the post. If your photo includes another user, product or company, don’t be afraid to afraid to mention their handle by using the “@” symbol.
Make the most of your bio
The importance of the biography section of Instagram is often overlooked by marketers. Creating a unique and memorable bio that immediately gives users an idea of what to expect from your profile can help attract a much larger following than simply minuet, dry, details about the account. Make your bio as inviting as possible.
Best Time to Post
The most ideal time to post is 5:00 to 6:00pm weekdays and 8:00pm on Mondays with a sweet spot at 6:00pm. (source)
What to Avoid
For the love of all-things marketing, avoid posting low quality photos on your account.
As a business, your social accounts are a key way for users or prospects to explore your brand. Posting low quality photos on your company’s Instagram account may not reflect the level of sophistication of your business. Always make sure that you’re posting clear high resolution photos – this is associated with “quality” and “professionalism.” (source)
Most Sharable Hashtags
Remember to make your hashtags industry related, but here are a few generalized buzz tags guaranteed to get more views. (source)
- #picoftheday
- #follow
- #throwbackthursday
- #instagood
- #photooftheday
- #instadaily
- #instamood
Twitter has become the go-to social media platform for sharing short, sweet and to the point messages. The site sets a character limit for posts, meaning you only have 140 characters to accurately represent your brand message, and compete with hundreds of other tweets for user attention.
Quick Facts
1. Twitter has 316m monthly active users.
2. 500m tweets are sent per day.
3. 80% of Twitter are active users on mobile.
4. 77% of Twitter accounts exist outside the U.S.
5. The platform supports over 35 languages.
Quick Tips and Tricks
Represent your brand
Make sure your tweets are representative of your company’s vision, approach, values and culture. Just as you would stay true to your brand’s colors and typography, your Twitter account should reflect your brand image.
Integrate on Your Site
A great way to encourage Twitter engagement is to pull a live feed into your website. This will not only help reach a larger audience, but will keep your latest news, content and updates top-of-mind.
Don’t be Afraid to Retweet
When you see a post on Twitter that your audience would enjoy, don't hesitate to retweet it! Retweeting shows users that you are an active, involved member of the online community. It also assists in making connections with other influencers on Twitter.
Best Time to Post
The best times to tweet are between 12 and 3pm on Monday-Thursday, and 5-6pm on Fridays. (source)
Things to Avoid
Try to avoid using question marks. Studies show tweets receive 39-52% less clicks when they include a question mark.
Most Shareable Words/ Phrases
- Please retweet
- How
- Follow
- Social media
- Great
- Free
- Post
- New Blog Post
- Check it out
- Top 10, 5 or any number
In this day and age it is hard to imagine a world without Facebook. The social media giant has been the leading force driving social media trends for over 10 years and recently announced that they have exceeded a record high of 1.44 billion monthly active users. (source) This astronomical number of users shows why Facebook is one of the biggest and most valuable platforms for marketers, whether you’re promoting a service, releasing a product or conducting market research.
Quick Facts
(source)
- 1.44 billion monthly active users
- 1.25 billion mobile users
- 936 million daily active users
- 798 million mobile daily active users
Quick Tips and Tricks
Post Consistently
Your posts should be a reflection of your brand image.Your brand image is essentially a promise to your customers that you will perform in a certain way; consistent in the quality and content of your posts. If consumers feel confident in what they can expect from your social media presence, you can begin to grow brand trust and awareness.
Engage! Engage! Engage!
The main goal of your Facebook usage should be fan engagement. Once the users are engaged, they are one step closer to becoming a customer. The tricky part isn’t just catching the reader's attention, but also motivating them to take action. How could you do that?
Here are some suggestions:
- Post photos that ask questions.
- Hold a Facebook Contest.
- Make Fill-in-the-Blank posts.
Keep Tabs on Post Performance
Facebook recently stepped up their game by providing companies with the ability to review post performance through its Page Insights feature located on the homepage toolbar. This helps to get a better understanding of your audience engagement, impressions, audience demographics, audience trends and take a closer look at how users are responding to your activity.
Keep it Fresh
Think of your posts as your favorite produce item. No matter how amazing those farm grown strawberries may taste the day you buy them, they will inevitably end up going bad within a few days. While your Facebook post from last week isn't exactly going to spontaneously start growing mold, the principle of freshness is the same. No one wants to eat week old strawberries, much like no one wants to read an outdated post. Keep your company's Facebook Page at the peak of freshness with these helpful hints from the Facebook Support Team:
- Post timely content. For example, if an important holiday has just passed, it’s time to post about the next holiday or event.
- Test which posts work best and review their performance. Create different posts with the same objective, but switch the photos and copy.
- Respond quickly to comments on your posts to let fans know you're listening to feedback.
Best Times to Post
The best times to post on Facebook include: 12-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays, 3-4pm on Wednesdays, 1-4pm on Thursdays and Fridays. (source)
Things to Avoid
People are constantly being inundated with content and if they see a post that requires substantial time to comprehend, they will scroll past it immediately. One way to ensure that people will overlook your post is to make it excessively long. Keep things clear and to the point.
Most Shareable Words
(source)
- Advises
- Inspires
- Amazes
- Gives
- Amuses
- Unites
LinkedIn is the third most commonly used social platform for business owners and arguably the most important. The site connects over 200 million professionals and can be a fantastic vehicle to drive new business, promote thought leadership and it can even work as an HR landing page for your brand. According to Salesforce, 62% of business owners actively use their LinkedIn account, with an additional 22% saying that they intend to begin using the network within the next year. Linkedin has become a critical part of business culture and its success shows no signs of slowing down. (source)
Quick Tips & Tricks
Company Pages Checklist:
- Update your profile image and information often to keep it current and fresh
- Tell your brand story in a compelling biography
- Spotlight employees, customers and products
- Feature your products and services to engage your target audience
- Be creative
Tips for Engaging
- As a network for professionals, optimal posts are most often during the work day
- Keep your updates brief, professional and post once or twice a day
- Rotate updates between linked posts, images and comments
- Get your employees involved; the more shares, the more eyes on your content!
Headlines Make All the Difference
Make sure you are making your headlines as eye catching as possible when creating a post. You want to keep in mind what appeals to your target audience, and craft your content accordingly.
Best Times to Post
The best times to post on Linkedin should revolve around when business professionals will be looking on social media sites. This usually means the best times to post are either around noon (lunch break) or in the early evening, meaning between 5 P.M. to 6 P.M.
Keyword Use
LinkedIn uses the optimization of keywords to help its users. The site’s search function recommends people to connect with companies they may be interested in. They do this by scanning your profile and observing your keyword phrases to make specific recommendations for you. The more targeted you can make your profile, the more fine-tuned your recommendations will be. Try looking on profiles of businesses within your industry and see what buzz words they are using, then choose yours accordingly.
Whether you’re just getting started, or are well established on social media, take the time to keep it active and consider best practices. What was once a simple platform share pictures of family and friends is now a powerful tool to support brand recognition, drive traffic to your website and increase new business.
