Social media marketing can be an exceptional way to promote your business, build brand awareness, and increase your company’s following. But with all of the content on social media sites, crafting a social media post that catches the attention of users is not as simple as throwing together a few sentences. That’s why we compiled a list of five methods that you can use to enhance your social media strategy.
1. KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Crafting a powerful social media post comes down to quality, not quantity. Do you think users will read your long-winded and multi-paragraph post? Probably not, so save that content for your company’s blog. Instead, be sure to keep your social media simple and to the point! Ideally, you want to say everything in 1-3 sentences or less. In fact, the ideal length of a Facebook post should be 40-80 characters. While Twitter has opened the gate to allow users to post up to 280 characters, 71-100 characters has actually proven to be the optimal length of a tweet.
2. Use Relevant Hashtags
It’s no secret that using hashtags is incredibly important when it comes to social media posting, but it’s not as simple as picking random words that seem appropriate. The web has vast amounts of content, so the point of a hashtag is to assist users in finding content that pertains to them. Twitter has reported that tweets with hashtags actually receive twice the amount of engagement than those that do not use them. Hashtags can range from general ideas (#WisdomWednesday) to specific topics (#FightDepression). Practices to decipher which hashtags to use come down to knowing your industry and its influencers. Whichever you decide to use, make sure that they relate to your content and you are using them consistently.
3. Customize Your Content
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn…why do so many social media platforms exist? Because they are all unique with different purposes. Facebook is great for sharing stories and life moments while Twitter is best for spreading news, and LinkedIn is utilized for professional development. That being said, the social media posts that you create for these different platforms should be customized for that specific social media site. Use your Facebook platform to showcase your business’s latest event while your Twitter shares your company’s latest blog and your LinkedIn Page leads a discussion on a trending article that applies to your industry. In addition, keep in mind that you want to encourage users to follow you on all of your sites. If you are posting the same content on all of your platforms, you may find yourself losing followers. When you customize your social media for the right platform, it will not only keep things interesting for your users, but also help increase your engagement organically.
4. Include an image
An image says 1,000 words, right? Using effective, exciting imagery will not only grab users’ attention but also convey your message to your audience. In fact, Facebook posts with imagery receive a 37% increase in engagement as compared to those that do not. Therefore, it is definitely worth taking the time to either find an image that is both aesthetically pleasing but also relates to your content or even create a custom design that is exclusively yours!
5. Invite Conversation
Social media is all about being social, right? Be sure you keep that in mind as you design your posts. Promoting your services is important, but doing it in a way that sparks conversation is the best way to increase your social media reach, engagement, and overall performance.
