It’s no secret that the right social media marketing tactics can make a significant difference for your business.
So why is it that a vast majority of owners and entrepreneurs struggle to make any headway on social media?
Whether it’s a lack of time or understanding, knowing which tactics to employ is critical.
Below are seven tips for today’s top social networks. Each one is designed to substantially boost engagement and take your social media interaction, traffic and shares from so-so to super!
Social Media Marketing Tactics for Today’s Top Networks
1. Facebook Questions
Have you seen a decline in your Facebook engagement? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, there’s been such an enormous uproar over the loss of organic Facebook reach that Jay Baer dubbed it the “reachpocalypse.”
We know that in order for your Facebook fans to see your posts, you must get them engaged with your page. The challenge is that this has become increasingly difficult to make happen.
So, how can you generate enough interaction to consistently show up in the newsfeed of your audience?
Through the power of questions!
KISSmetrics revealed that posts including questions receive 100 percent more comments than text-based posts. While this might not be a surprise to many seasoned marketers, you could be missing a powerful opportunity.
In a study by Buddy Media it was shown that the placement of the question makes all the difference. By placing the question at the end of a post, you increase your interaction rate by 15 percent. You also double the rate of comments when compared to posts where the question is added at the beginning or in the middle.
While both of these surveys are a couple years old, the data is just as relevant today as it was then. I see daily that the right questions are a key component to getting fans involved in the conversation.
Don’t believe me? Try it out on your own Facebook post. Place attention-grabbing questions at the end of your posts. Then track the difference it makes within your engagement.
A great example of this in action is Jeep. Whether it’s their latest promotion or an exciting look ahead, Jeep isn’t afraid to throw out a sneak peek and crowdsource for an answer.
2. Twitter Characters
Have you ever crafted the perfect tweet only to find that no one else felt the same way? Your tweet seemed to fall on deaf ears, receiving zero interaction and no retweets.
If this has happened to you, chances are you used up every last character and left no room for sharing.
Your first instinct might be to use all 140 characters, but you’d be wrong. Buffer and SumAll recently found that the optimal tweet is between 71-100 characters. And those tweets under 100 characters received a 17 percent higher engagement.
I tested this theory and found that one tweet at exactly 100 characters received 57% more retweets than alternative verbiage at 101 and above.
Top Trends to Dominate Your 2015 Social Media Marketing Strategy #business http://t.co/9IKcsUJKs9 pic.twitter.com/oDG5SaOInM
— Rebekah Radice (@RebekahRadice) January 4, 2015
Keep this in mind as you craft your tweets, and don’t forget to factor in your Twitter handle. For me, this means that my Twitter handle – @rebekahradice – eats up 13 characters before I even write my tweet.
3. Google Plus Flexibility
Google Plus has an audience too large to ignore and yet many businesses still fail to take advantage of this social media powerhouse.
While Twitter embraces brevity, Google Plus is the most flexible social network when it comes to content length. Using the full expanse of Google Plus post real estate not only helps in your engagement, but also in establishing credibility.
It’s also the only social network on this list that allows you to format your posts. This is another way to position your content as readable and easily shareable. Let me show you an example from Google Plus power user Peg Fitzpatrick.
The post below has used several elements of formatting. The headline is bold, the sub headline is italicized, and there’s a tip from the post included. It all makes it an enjoyable read and easy to consume.
Don’t know how to get started? Here’s a cheat sheet to formatting Google Plus posts. Try using one or more of these tools within upcoming posts to improve your engagement and interaction.
4. Pinterest Sharing Secrets
The facts are in and they speak volumes. With an estimated 70 million users, Pinterest has firmly secured its position as the 2nd largest referrer of social traffic.
No matter your industry or niche, Pinterest is worth a second look. This is especially true if you’re Ecommerce or a local business looking to not only drive traffic, but also sell products with Pinterest.
Latest statistics show that Pinterest pins that include price tags earn 36 percent more “likes” than those without. This clearly makes Pinterest a potent tool to turn looky-loo’s into buyers.
Take advantage of all that Pinterest has to offer with a few secrets from Ripen Ecommerce.
5. Instagram Hashtag Strategy
Using the most relevant and effective hashtags can be the difference between Instagram success and failure.
If you want to get found, you need to place your content in front of people actively looking for it. This is exactly what hashtags do for you.
How can you find hashtags that make sense for your business?
- Write down the search terms or phrases people use when talking about your company, industry or niche.
- Go to Instagram and type your hashtag into search. For example, if I was looking for people posting about social media, I’d add #sociamedia into search.
- Take a look at the number of posts within that search. Are there an abundance of posts and will it be difficult to capture audience attention? You want to find a hashtag that’s active, but not overly active.
- Now look at the related hashtags that Instagram offers when you run your search. Look at the number of posts found in each one and determine which hashtags will be most effective in getting your message out.
Two great hashtag tools:
- Tagboard – Tagboard searches multiple social networks and displays the most popular content within that topic. Search any hashtag and quickly interact with those actively posting content with that tag.
- Tags for Likes – This is an app available for iPhone and Android that takes the guesswork out of popular hashtags.
6. YouTube Viral Magic
Video marketing can be a lethal weapon when building an online presence. Video done right can generate audience awareness and interaction. Plus, it adds a layer of authenticity to your business.
Beyond that, it can be an entry point, giving you access to a potentially untapped market. This is a market that might not read your latest blog post, but instead prefers to watch your most recent video.
There are so many ways to use video within your business. You’re only limited by your own creativity.
A few ideas:
- Share your latest company news.
- Give details around a product or service release.
- Break down a popular blog post and add additional commentary around specific tips.
- Offer insight into your local market or industry, giving your viewers the chance to make an educated decision.
- Once you know your topic, it’s time to script your video with your audience in mind. Identify the most compelling angle that speaks their language. Your goal is to give them a reason to come back for more.
Jeff Sieh is a marketer brilliant in his use of video to cross-promote multiple channels. Jeff hosts “The Manly Pinterest Show,” a show devoted to helping men get active on a platform that has been predominantly women based.
Jeff records his show via Google Hangouts which then streams live to YouTube. He promotes this across all of his social networks, using video as his main content vehicle.
7. LinkedIn Connections
If you’re looking to grow your business through strategic partnerships, LinkedIn is the place to be. Logging into LinkedIn daily and connecting with like-minded business professionals is an effective way to raise awareness around your company, service or product.
But like any other social network, building relationships on LinkedIn will take time. If you want to create better LinkedIn connections, make a point to reach out to a handful of people daily.
Here’s how:
- Go to LinkedIn contacts
- Just below your connections is an opportunity to connect with those celebrating something special. It might be a new job or a birthday. Whatever the case, it’s your chance to touch base and share in their celebration.
- Click the “say congrats” button just below their name to send a special message.
Set aside a few minutes daily to review your contacts to make meaningful connections that open the door to further communication.
Final Thoughts
No matter which tactic you decide to try within your business, it’s important to continuously test the waters. Just because something works today, doesn’t mean it will work tomorrow.
Test, adjust and apply new and innovative strategies to your social media. It will keep your finger on the pulse of your audience, allowing you to offer what they need, when they need it.
What new tactic will you try today?
Great article with a lot of helpful tips. I will incorporate them. Thanks for writing the post and connecting.
Great Post Rebekah! Twitter and Google+ are the best social media platforms to improve your engagement and interaction with other users.
Great information on Social Media Marketing. I’ll use this for my business as well. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Hi Shawn – thanks for stopping by. Glad you found it useful!
You left out the mention of publishing original content to your blog (such as this article is) so you have good stuff to share on social media.
Every marketer has a laundry list of buzzwords flying around their head. At the top of that list is the buzzword “millennials.” The millennial demographic is a very important part of future business. Here’s a link to help gain a better understanding of millennials and the importance of social media; bit.ly/1FER9qW
Thanks Rebekah. Now I have a much better idea on where I was going wrong. I was posting a lot of stuff but had very little engagement. There sure is an art to social media marketing.
Indeed useful posts. These strategies are important for Increasing Social marketing as social marketing is the latest trend running out in the market.
awesome post…. very insightful and extremely valuable!
I find it interesting to explore the rationale behind why and how people share content and the different strategies available to maximize and boost engagement. And that different social networks seem to encourage different kinds of sharing.
Always remember that the value you provide and the entertainment you offer can instantly make your… http://coschedule.com/blog/why-people-share/
I particularity like #1 place attention-grabbing questions at the end of your posts (Jeep example), it will be interesting to test this.
This is a great article very well written. I find people sometimes ignore Pinterest and LinkedIn when they have so much untapped potential. Have learned some interesting tips here look forward to giving them a try thanks!
Hi Jeff! I hear you on that. It’s such a missed opportunity!
This is such incredibly useful information! I have just started work as an SEO/article writer for a software company and I have trying to learn as much about this whole process as possible. This is my favorite bit of insight yet. Thanks for sharing!
That’s great to hear Gerald and congrats on the new position!
Thanks for sharing Rebekah. Some great original tips. I fail quite miserably to keep up with regular social media input, but this has provided me with a bit more motivation and given me a few ideas on how to get more engagement.
I love to hear that Mark! I hope these help push that engagement higher for you.
Rebekah,
This is great. So many posts just scratch the surface on social media tips, but I’ve learned several specific and actionable things here. I really appreciate it.
I’ve been trying to figure out a strategy for LinkedIn for a while now, so I particularly liked the tip about going through and reaching out to people on special occasions. That’s a fantastic way to open the door of communication, something that’s the source of most of my business with my freelance company. Thanks for helping me get unstuck there!
You’re a class act, lady. Happy New Year!
Brittany
So loving this! Thanks for the great tips!
Thanks Rebecca…and great name btw! 🙂
A very useful post Rebekah! Thanks for sharing your tactics. All of the social channels above are very important for business owners and marketers to utilize for business success. I am very active on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and they really help me connect to people that matters most for my business. I’d also like to optimize Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, and I knew they cannot be ignored. By the way, how about Foursquare? I heard that many online marketers have already stopped using it. What can you say about it?
Hi Rebekah,
Great tips for those who want to grow socially either small or large scale business.
Hi Rebekah,
Thanks for these awesome tips. There are lots of things I either didn’t know or just hadn’t considered. I’ll definitely be bookmarking this post for future reference!
I especially liked the Pinterest tips and found them enlightening. Those are things that I would never have given a second thought to, although Pinterest is something that, although I’ve used a little, I haven’t really delved into properly yet. But those tips will be invaluable for when I do.
Thanks so much for sharing all this useful info. 🙂
»Glenn«
Hi Rebekah,
thanks very much for that infos!
After different trials to sell my books (applying astronomy know-how to economy-challenges) via the “gravity-seeking” agents and printers (trying to get all only for them …) I now will look for the “centrifugal forces” of social media ;-). An as I am a beginner in this sector, your proposals will help a lot!
See you
Albert
It sounds like you’ve had a lot of fun testing Albert. Enjoy! 🙂
Agreed. These are awesome tips and pointers to get us off to a great start in the New Year. Always needing more education on what works well and how to increase engagement. Will Share….
Hi Sky! I’m glad to hear they’re helpful. Happy New Year!
Great tips as always. Especially like the linkedin birthday one.. I never thought of that, but should pay off big in the long run with just a few minutes of effort and leaves your contacts in a great mood.
It’s a nice, non-spammy way to stay in touch with people on LinkedIn Ben. People always appreciate knowing that you’re thinking about them!
Some really great ideas. Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks Julie!
It is really amazing stuff.I will appreciate this content. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Misbah!
Hi Rebekah,
Awesome right! Didn’t know about the 100 characters would lead to more shares! This is powerful stuffs and I am going to try this!
Last I know, it was just for the sake of having more space for RT and stuffs!
Thanks for sharing dear friend!
I’ve tested it over multiple tweets Reginald and it really makes significant difference. Make sure to share what you find on your end!
Great post thanks Rebekah. Your advice on length of Twitter posts very interesting. I have noticed far more RT’s on short posts and admit I like to add a comment without having to edit a post to be able to do so.
I’m with you Moira. If I have to spend too much time editing, I typically move on. It’s a fun stat to play around with!
Hi, Rebekah, I\’m a Twitter girl and have just gotten into Pinterest by reading Beth Hayden\\\’s book and taking her course. I\\\’m enjoying creating pins with Canva – it\\\’s very addictive! (I was up an hour later last night than I usually go to bed creating images and pinning them.)Thanks for passing on the info that longer pins get pinned more often – very helpful when I start my addicting activities this evening! Sue
Pinterest does have that affect on people. I’ll sit down with my iPad, start pinning and come up for air an hour later. Glad you’re enjoying it!
Some brilliant tips there to help new and seasoned bloggers alike, maximise their social media reach. Thanks!
Just popped over to your blog Vicki and am going to have to try those chocolate cupcakes. They look delicious!
Great tips Rebekah – I love that you broke them down into platform so I could scroll right to the ones I am focused on. Scrollability, baby! 😉
Best take away: Tagboard…I’m off to explore it more right now!
Scrollability is a good thing Andrea, especially when you’re on mobile! 🙂
Peg said it best, “…as always…”!
I’ll add, as always, a great post, and by the way, YOU ROCK!
Thanks for sharing!
That’s very kind of you Todd. Thank you and thank you for always stopping by to say hi!
Great post as always Rebekah! I’m definitely going to be upping my LinkIn game in 2015 based on your and Peg’s advice. Thanks so much for the mention of the Manly Pinterest Tips show!
You are such a great example of what can be done when you properly combine your online efforts. I love that you found a needy niche and totally owned it Jeff!
Lovely tips Rebekah! It’s true that most people ignore the small details that can really help their content shine above the rest. It may seem to surprising to many that the details of each piece of content posted matter so much, but it really makes a big difference.
Thanks for outlining this, super useful read for all social media skill levels.
Happy New Year!
As they say, the devil is in the details and it’s the details that can sink or swim our efforts. It’s all about figuring out what details work best for you and each social network.
Thanks as always for stopping by Brian!
Hi Rebekah,
Happy New Year!!! Thanks for some great ideas. I am avid user of Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Over the last four years it’s been fascinating to experiment with and learn how each of these tools can propel a business. I really appreciate that you brought out the reality of application of each tool.
I would have never thought about Twitter and using it only up to 100 characters. I went back real quick and took a look at my own metrics and you are spot on!!! I would have never even thought to look at that metric. I can see some Twitter changes coming to my page! 🙂
I learned a while back that the more I try to make my platforms about others the faster I grow and more reach I get. Connecting with influencers over the last six months that have spread my message has been HUGE!!!
I know your emphasis wasn’t on this aspect but engaging with others around their interests has been huge in them boosting my social presence. I have built an entire strategy around that over the last six months that has been a HUGE benefit to me and to them.
Thanks for sharing your insights, experiences and wisdom with us Rebekah!
Happy New Year!
~ Don Purdum
That’s an excellent point Don and so true. Connecting with others that can amplify your message is a win-win when done right. You’ve obviously done that and then some!
Thank you Rebekah! I appreciate your kind words.
~ Don
Fantastic post as always, Rebekah!
I love looking at the stats behind things like where to place your question on a post. I was putting mine at the end so that was a lucky guess. 🙂
You and me both Peg. It’s always fascinating to see what’s working in my own business and then have it backed by stats. I love that! And btw…your Facebook page is ROCKING! Congrats on dominating that space.