Social media marketing can be an effective way to market almost any business. Sure, the social media sites want you to invest in their advertising programs, and that can certainly be part of your strategy, but it is still possible to reach people organically on social media, and organic traffic is generally high-quality traffic.
It’s well worth devising a solid social media marketing strategy, then, but there are so many sites, profiles and updates to manage every day, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Plus, social media is social, and entertaining, and often controversial. It’s all too easy to fall down a rabbit hole, and waste time on non-productive tasks (yep, I’m looking at you, kitten-video-addict, but also at you, Mr one-more-educational-TED-talk).
The most successful social media marketers have several habits that enable them to do it all successfully. See how many you’re already doing, and add those you aren’t to your day to see what a difference they can make. (Remember if you want to read this post but you’re short on time, you can Pin it for later).
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Know your niche
Know what the people in your niche are most interested in, and come up with content that satisfies those needs. For example, any new golfer will want to know about perfecting their swing. Any new WordPress blogger will want to know which plugins to install first. Think about the beginners new to your niche, and the intermediates, and you’ll become a magnet for them as they look for solutions to their main issues. Ten minutes a day spent in a popular forum or Facebook group where newbies in your niche congregate should give you a few ideas.
Block time on your calendar
Make an appointment each day with your social networking profiles. The time commitment will depend on you, your systems and your objectives. It might be thirty minutes a day, or 15 minutes 4 times a day. Just make sure you stick to your time slot as this will prevent you from getting distracted and falling down those rabbit holes. Log in, look around, and interact as needed. Don’t constantly crank out content with no thought to what’s actually happening in the account.
For example, if you have a Tweet that is getting a lot of traction, don’t tweet more items that are just going to push it down the page. Pin it, or consider promoting it further.
Leverage advertising as needed
Even a small budget can go far with the right content on the right network. Using the example of the hot Tweet above, consider turning it into a sponsored Tweet. Also consider running a campaign to add more followers while the Tweet is prominent, in order to give it more exposure to those interested in your niche who are on the network but not connected with you yet.
Using automation as needed
A growing number of tools will allow you to manage multiple social media accounts, with just a few clicks. Pay particular attention to publishing content during the times you are not online, for around the clock marketing. Check out my post about the best free social media scheduling tools if you aren’t sure which ones to use.
Think engagement, not just eyeballs
Your content should have a high potential to evoke a response, such as a comment, like or share. Make your calls to action obvious to get the response you want. Consider sharing the following on social media:
- A poll
- A survey
- A provocative or thought-provoking question
- Interesting articles and other niche-related content
- Content from your site, with a relevant question about your topic
- A comment on a recent news item
If you get a comment, reply to it as appropriate. Stuck with a troll? Don’t engage on their unprofessional level in front of the entire world. Just delete their nonsense and block them.
In each post, give a clear call to action, such as “Like or share if you agree.” For more details, invite them to share more with, “Let us know what you think in the comments box below.”
Engagement is particularly important on Pinterest. Pinterest works as a search engine, so quality content that attracts engagement will tend to send you traffic. Check out this post with my top Pinterest marketing tips.
Follow others and engage with their content
See what others are doing and be helpful in all your interactions online, and people will soon be checking out your profile and starting to follow you because you look like someone worth paying attention to.
Connect with thought leaders
Connect with the top people in your niche. You can learn from them, and will be keeping good company, which over time may result in a range of profitable opportunities.
Track your results
See how many engagements you get from each activity. Monitor your analytics so you can see which network is sending you the most traffic. Make sure your highest traffic sources are regularly updated.
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