Keeping tabs on all your social media channels as the number of popular social media outlets rises can feel like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back.
Planning dashboards such as Hootsuite and SproutSocial help you keep track of your posts to different outlets, but not all social media is the same.
The reason there are so many social media sites is because they have each developed their own purposeful niche that not only engages their audience but also poses a valuable opportunity to convert interaction into sales.
That means they each come with their own jargon, etiquette and strategies for building followers.
This is why it’s so valuable to understand how each outlet is different, how they are evolving and how your customers use them.
Here’s your guide to the top three social media outlets and ways to master each one to better serve your customers and increase sales.
Twitter, believe it or not, has a higher page ranking than, well, Google itself.
As of February 2016, 320 million people were on Twitter, and the site gets 150 million unique monthly visitors, meaning that every day, 5 million new people visit Twitter every day.
These numbers are staggering. Make the best use of this wide net by getting interactive with influencers and local non-competitive businesses that complement your customer base and/or your company ethos.
The worst mistake you can make on Twitter is to just post company updates every few days.
Aim for 10 tweets a day: One about your company, four retweets from other accounts that you think your audience will find interesting and five tweets that are directed at other people.
Tweet the restaurant where you had lunch today with a picture of your sandwich and a rave review.
LifeLock’s Twitter account is a great example of providing your followers with information that’s valuable to them.
Be of value to your Twitter community, and it will come back to you in the form of true, faithful followers that money can’t buy.
Your Facebook company page and your personal Facebook page need to be friends. They need to help each other.
Simply inviting your friends to like the page isn’t enough. Pestering or bribing them to do so is worse.
To really get your existing network to embrace your professional Facebook page, all you have to do is share or post about it occasionally.
Remember that each post needs to have an original message. Be professional, and tailor your voice to whichever type of page you’re sharing on.
Share info that is incredibly exciting about your business, or something that will be useful to them and relates to your industry or your company ethos.
This outlet received a lot of press recently when they changed their algorithm, and social media went mad with “turn on notifications” posts.
Something similar happened when Insta started including advertisements in users’ feeds back in 2013.
And yet their numbers continue to grow, surpassing Twitter and breaking the 400 million users mark last fall.
So how do you stand out on Instagram? First and foremost, you’ve got to have eye-popping pictures.
Make sure to always include a location (helps immensely with organic Google searches) and tag as many relevant people as you possibly can.
And don’t forget to follow up with your followers on a regular basis.
At least once a week, randomly scroll through followers, pick five or 10, and like and comment on a few of their pictures to maintain a more personal connection.
What are some of the ways you’ve reached your followers on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram?