Social media is a fantastic tool to significantly amplify your inbound marketing and SEO efforts, but there is a lot more to it than crafting some pieces of content and posting them across your social media platforms. To be successful, a lot of effort has to go into communication, branding and technical skills; something a lot of people do not realize when working their social accounts. Creating posts and blasting them across your social media profiles randomly, expecting to get great results will only result in great disappointment. Here’s the truth behind the real work for social media success.
The Communication Work Behind Successful Social Media
Connecting with your audience is critical, and to connect, you have to be present. Being present involves listening to your followers and responding to them, so you engage in conversations and cultivate relationships. This goes beyond random posts and extends to making time to respond to questions or participate in some of the livelier discussions. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes- would you develop trust and loyalty in a business that didn’t bother to respond to you?
The second part of communication involves creating content of interest or use to your audience on social media, without always driving the hard sell. Since posting regularly is necessary, a good rule of thumb to follow is no more than one in five posts should actively advertise your products or services. Focus instead on solving the problems your target audience faces, and they will naturally look to your business to solve them.
Maintain your Brand’s Consistent Voice
The brand you have created for your business has a voice and look that make it unique and easily identifiable by your customers and target audience. Maintaining this consistency is critical on social media, so you drive your brand’s success. Consistency includes the personality behind the posts you are making- in essence, a brand is your business’s personality, so even if more than one person in your office is helping with social media, you have to be sure the story and messages are delivered in the same voice. Further, develop a plan for your posts, so they are relevant and support your brand’s identity. Don’t just post randomly and hope for the best.
Technical Aspects to Consider
Video and pictures that are of poor quality will turn away visitors and work against all of your best efforts to create great content. Most devices operate on high definition (HD) resolutions, and many are moving into 4K already, so uploading a video that is only 240k will work against you. Whenever possible, use HD in a minimum of 720k so users don’t bypass your video content due to poor quality. The same goes for any pictures you use as an attractant for your content; if the resolution is low or the size is too small, your work won’t be taken serious and people will move on to graphics that are more appealing. A picture (or video!) is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to social media, this couldn’t be a more accurate saying. Don’t let those words work against your brand’s reputation.
Now that you know the truth behind the real work for social media success, you may feel that more than ever you are out of your element. Your Sumner Digital team understands it can be overwhelming and we’d love to talk to you about how we can help.