MAY 2015 – How to Win With Social Media

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Social Media PictureHow to win with social media

By Marcy Weaver, MicroNet, Inc.                

Social media continues to prove itself as a viable and long term tactic for marketing out reach.  Furthermore it’s affordable and easy to manage with just an Internet connection and basic marketing skills.

However, because the game is always changing, businesses must stay current on new social media strategies to keep engaged.

Tips for success:

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Decide which social media platforms are best for your business. Are your customers primarily on Facebook- Twitter-LinkedIn? Those platforms are the most popular in the business community.  But consider, YouTube, Pinterest, or Instagram.  Which best suits your needs and will help you drive customers and growth to your business.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook recently started filtering out unpaid promotional material in users’ news feeds that businesses have posted as status updates. Consider using paid advertising options like Facebook’s “boost this post” to ensure you reach your target audience.

Create relevant and interesting content for your users. Pull them in with information that is engaging and useful to them. Try not to self-promote too frequently. A good rule of thumb is one-to-six: promote your business one time for every six posts you make.

When coming up with items to post, keep in mind that not all content you post has to be original. 48% of marketers curate noteworthy content from reputable, third-party sources, according to Design & Promote an online marketing firm. Find articles on line your customers can use, make sure to source them and then post them.

Seek out and use customer testimonials to give your posts a human connection. If possible use video to tell the stories. A new trend suggests that videos rule over photos. According to new data from social media analytics company Socialbakers, photo posts are half as likely to be seen as videos in Facebook user newsfeeds.

Remember to engage your followers. After all this is “social media” so be social! Monitor your comments, likes, shares, and retweets. Respond when needed, invite people to your website and thank your audience for their comments.

Marcy Weaver is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at MicroNet, Inc. provider of membership managing software and website solutions