Social media marketing can be a great way to boost your company’s online visibility and can have a huge impact on your businesses bottom line.

However from conversations I’ve had with business owners and entrepreneurs, a good many of them seem to struggle to use social media effectively enough to make any impact on there marketing efforts.

So why are so many of these smart marketers finding it so difficult to attain the types of results they know should be possible for them? Is it they are implementing the wrong strategy or maybe they are not allocating enough time and resources to these strategies?

Below are some critical tips for a number of the most popular social media platforms, from Linkedin to Facebook to Youtube to Twitter. All designed to give you a boost which ever platform you use.

1. LinkedIn Connections

So starting with a look at Linkedin, if you are a B2B type business then Linkedin is one of the better social media platforms to focus on.

Regardless of your business type if part of your growth strategy is to grow and expand through strategic partnerships, then LinkedIn is definitely the place for you to be spending some of your valuable marketing time.

Taking the time to log into LinkedIn on a daily basis 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 is not something that can be achieved over night. It must be done gradually and with consistency. If you want to create better LinkedIn connections, set a goal to reach out to a handful of people daily. That maybe two or three people or eight or nine people. The specific number is not important what is important is that you have a number that is workable for you and then stick to that everyday.

So now that you know your goal, here is a simple idea that will work wonders to strengthen your connections:

• Go to LinkedIn contacts
• Just below your connections is an opportunity to connect with those celebrating something special. It might be a new job a promotion 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. This type of small, considerate, connection can lead to more meaningful and deeper communication. It allows you the ability to keep in touch with your connections in a simple straight forward way.

2. YouTube Viral Magic

Those of you that are using video in your marketing mix will know that video marketing can be so powerful when building an online presence.

Video done right can generate audience awareness and interaction. Plus, it adds a layer of authenticity to your business.

So if you are not yet engaging your prospects and customers with video then you should put this on your list for serious consideration.

It is no secret that people like to digest content differently. Some people like to read blog posts, others enjoy pod-casts and audio recordings but a large number of people enjoy consuming content via video. So there are lots of people that might not read or listen to your blogs or pod-casts but will happily watch a video. So this gives you the ability to tap into a cross section of people you may not otherwise have been able to connect with.

Video allows you a multitude of ways to use it in your marketing. From the very simple right up to the very creative and complex production. So to get you started thinking about how you may use this incredibly effective marketing tool here are 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.

A very nice example of using video to engage users is Debenhams TV, where they show behind the scenes of the fashion industry, including new season collections, fashions shows and interviews with designers and beauty tips and tricks.

There is also Gary Vaynerchuk who is a brilliant marketer and effectively used video to get the word out about his business. Gary ran a wine business and he used video to reach out and connect with other wine enthusiasts across the world. When he started out he just recorded himself giving tips about wine and would post them to YouTube?. Nice, simple and straight forward. As a result he built a global business from that.

3. The Power of a Question?

Are you managing a Facebook page for your business? If so then you will have undoubtedly seen your “Reach” decline to the point of nearly non-existence. If you have seen this rather demoralizing impact with your Facebook page then you are absolutely not alone.

There has been so much discontent from marketers about this incredible collapse in organic reach on Facebook business pages, to the point were I hear regularly that a business will no longer spend time and resources marketing on the platform because of the diminished return on investment.

One blog post I read by Jay Baer called this collapse “Reachpocalypse”. Where typical reach statistics went from averages of about 12% to 6% down to 1% and lower for organic reach.

Facebook have sent the messages that they are taking the “Pay To Play” approach for businesses. So if you want to reach your prospects and customers on there platform you are going to have to shell out some cash.

However, there are still ways to be effective on Facebook without first having to reach for your purse.

We know that in order for your Facebook fans to see your posts, you must get them engaged with your page. As we know 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 news feed of your audience?

Answer: Through The Power Of Questions!

Traditional marketers have been tapping into the power of questions for a long time. Using questions as headlines in print ads because, in many cases they are more effective than statements.

We have seen that to be the case on the Google Adwords platform as well. Where two ads are exactly the same but one headline has a question mark and the other does not. The ad with the question will typically attract more clicks than the one without.

So by trying this insight across on the Facebook platform can open up a significant opportunity. And you don’t need to take my word for it either.

KISSmetrics revealed that posts including questions receive 100 percent more comments than text-based posts. And also 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%. You also double the rate of comments when compared to posts where the question is added at the beginning or in the middle.

Still not convinced then you should give it a try on your own Facebook post. Place attention-grabbing questions at the end of your posts. Then track the difference it makes within your engagement.

4. Crafting an Effective Tweet

Twitter can be an amazingly effective social media platform to use to get the word out there about who you are and what you do.

Much like any other marketing channel though, you need to use it in the right way.

Maybe your on Twitter and you are composing a tweet, you’ve given it some thought, you’ve come up with a great tweet and you hit the tweet button and off it goes. Your expecting your tweet to make an impact, your sure it will resonate with your audience and robust interaction will be the reward for your efforts. And then…nothing. No favorites, no re-tweets no messages of “Great comment” and no new followers. Your tweet seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

If this has happened to you, then the challenge could very well be that you have not left any room for sharing.

What do I mean by that? Well it boils down to this. Given that Twitter only allows you 140 characters to craft your message in. It can be a challenge to compose a message without using up all 140 characters that Twitter provides.

However by using up all of the characters with your message, according to research, is not necessarily the right way to go. The research by 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.

Since investigating this research and then observing my own tweets and those of others, I have found there is better engagement when tweets were kept to less than 100 characters. I will continue to test this but definitely the initial results are encouraging.

So I believe this information is definitely worth bearing in mind when you are composing your next tweet. If you look at your twitter handle, this alone can use up a whole bunch of characters straight away, depending on how long it is.

For me that mean @IAmRebeccaMahon uses up 14 characters. So with the limited space provided on Twitter, every character counts!

In Conclusion:

There are so many social media platforms out there that you can use. So the first thing to do is select the right one that fits your business and audience. Then once you have selected what those platforms are, you need to consistently use them.

You also need to continuously test and measure the strategies you are applying.

And remember just because something is working well today, is no guarantee that it will work at all tomorrow.

Also make sure you are surveying the full marketing landscape. See what is working well in other industries, marketing channels and platforms and see how you can apply that to what you are doing.

OK, now it’s your turn. What new social media platform will you engage with or what new strategy will you try today?

It can be overwhelming trying to figure out the best social media marketing strategy for your business. If you need more assistance or want to learn more about implementing a winning social media marketing campaign, or growing your customer base, why not take a look at the other free resources you can find on the website.

Or book a complementary 30 minute discovery call and find out how I might be able to help. Click here to book your call now!