The social media landscape is constantly changing, making it necessary for entrepreneurs to adapt to the marketplace quickly.
One of the top traits needed for business success is constantly being ahead of the game. This is no less true when talking about social, with nearly every online and brick-and-mortar business on the planet dipping their “branding toes” in the water.
In 2015, if you’re not ahead of the social media game you’re giving your competition a change to slide right by you and your branding efforts.
The Plan:
1. More Visuals
You don’t have to be a graphic designer or former camera man for Steven Spielberg to create visually inspiring content. There’s too many free tools you can use to list here. Also use Fivver and similar sites to outsource labor intensive tasks of this nature.
2. Create Content
Social isn’t just about posting cool pictures and linking to viral videos. Create content that entertains, informs, and engages with your target audience.
3. Focus on Engagement
Nothing new here. Social media for business is all about getting people talking to you and about you. If they take the time to comment on your posts, etc., take the time to respond.
4. Timing is Critical
Too often and people will unfollow you faster than you can say “Like This”. Not enough and they won’t know you exist. Time of the day/week is also critical. Keep up with the trends and check out this post from Ivan Widjaya earlier in the year.
5. Split Test Your Ads
No social network can survive without offering businesses the ability to promote and split test different posts, product ads, and landers. Even Pinterest has now added the ability to promote your posts.
6. All That Glitters is Gold
People respond to video, original photos, and clever gifs more than plain and simple content. Make it glitter.
7. Hashtags
You’ve heard that hashtags increase engagement and can lead to viral content. This doesn’t mean everything MUST start with a #. Use them smartly, when you have something truly worth spreading the word about. Use tools like hashtags.org, trendsmap.com, and tagdef.com for hashtag research.
8. Optimize for Specific Platforms
You have to understand the intricacies of all the platforms you use. Photo sizes, post length, links allowed, etc. Followers won’t see you as a trustworthy, professional brand otherwise.
9. Employ the Pareto Principle
Do you batter the few followers you have with constant ads for things you’re selling? Maybe you’ve been offering 20 useful content and 80 ads? That’s a sure path to annoy your customers. You might feel good about your social presence, feeling like you’re on top of the game. However, it’s just annoying and the “unfollow” button isn’t hard for even the most novice user to find.
10. Optimize Your Site for Mobile
I sure hope this one is obvious to you and doesn’t come as a shocking revelation. Smartphones and tablets have been in use by the majority of the global population for some time now. We all know how frustrating it is to land on a site that requires you to “finger scroll” back and forth and all over the place because the site owner could bother to mobile optimize their theme.
