Simple Social Media Strategies You May Have Overlooked

From Randy Clark, TKO Graphix Director of Communications

Website – You need an up-to-date, easy-to-use website with call to actions and takeaways to inspire busi­nesses to visit your site. If you don’t, STOP — do not read further. Fix your site first. It’s coun­ter­pro­duc­tive to use social networks to drive visitors to a site if it doesn’t capture them.

Blogging – OK, blogging 101 – Publish new, well-written content at least once a week. Three to five posts are better, but con­sis­tently posting and writing about topics of interest for your target market are the keys. Although your blog may be hosted elsewhere, it should be linked and promoted on your website.

Twitter — Social media is more about attrac­tion than promotion, espe­cially in a 140-character tweet. Use the 80/20 rule — 80% about others, including RT’s, con­ver­sa­tions, and shares — 20% about you, such as promoting your blog. Grammar, courtesy, and avoiding con­tro­versy are critical. Here are 15 things I learned on twitter.

You Tube – Your videos don’t have to be perfect. Scripted and over-rehearsed video is often not as believ­able as unscripted, unre­hearsed takes. I recommend posting a new video weekly. If you’re short on video ideas, here’s a great source from Candidio — the series, A Video You Can Do. I recommend hosting videos on YouTube, while embedding them on your website. We share them on our blog.

From Kristi Came, TKO Graphix Designer & Marketing Associate

Pinterest – The idea is to cross-promote with others, while increas­ing your exposure. Use this strategy to repin, and post highly shared graphics such as applic­a­ble quotes or DIY’s, while also posting your company’s original content and links to blog posts, tutorials, and how-to’s. Remember to use keywords when titling and cap­tion­ing posts, but because Pinterest uses ‘nofollow links’, they will not have much direct impact on your SEO.

Instagram – Use the geo-location feature to post to the Photo Map when employees travel, or across different offices, to show how wide­spread your brand is. This feature could be ben­e­fi­cial to connect with users searching for photos from certain events, trade shows, or cities. Let other companies see inside your business culture. Have employees snap pictures on their smart­phones, and forward to the marketing team for review, whether it’s daily tasks or attending special events. The marketing team may then filter and post photos that show a different side (and per­son­al­ity) of the brand.

LinkedIn – Encourage employees to share and engage with company content, as well as reach out to pro­fes­sion­als they meet imme­di­ately after tradeshows, con­fer­ences, and events while the con­nec­tions are still fresh. Establish yourself as an expert. Join groups in your industry, answer Linkedin questions, and par­tic­i­pate in dis­cus­sions without trying to sell or promote your product, until a rela­tion­ship has been established.

From Josh Humble, TKO Graphix Web Designer & Photographer

Flickr – Take good photos of your products, services, employees in action, and events. Your photos can be high-end or candid in quality, but they need to be good. Always think–would you share YOUR photos? Title your photos accu­rately with keyword phrases without being too SEO-ish. Search for people and orga­ni­za­tions, relative to your business, and add them as contacts. Send a short, friendly email along with a friend request to open the dialogue. Join groups and submit your photos to them, while inter­act­ing with members.

Facebook – Create a “Page” for your business–NOT a personal profile, and choose a username for your Page, thus creating your brand’s custom url. It’s good branding, and it’s easier to remember than a long, nasty default url. Use lots of visuals and photos in updates, as this has a high rate of engagement. Actively seek relevant business Pages to Like and engage with. You cannot “friend” personal profiles from a business Page, but you can Like posts from others and comment on posts, encour­ag­ing others to Like your Page. For people to receive your updates, they must first Like your Page, so encourage employees, customers, and friends to do so, but don’t be pushy. Posting great, relevant content will make people brand advocates. Conduct fun surveys, polls, and introduce creative pro­mo­tions on your Page.

Google Plus – On Google Plus, you can create “Circles,” allowing you to share specific content to certain demo­graph­ics. For example, if your company sells clothing for men, women, and kids, you may wish to share specific pro­mo­tions to certain Circles, thus serving content people want, while cutting the clutter. While Google Plus is known for its SEO value, don’t overdo it. Be thought­ful and real about your post and photo titles–people first, SEO, second.