Get More Reach on Social Media (5 Tips for Business Owners)

Social media for business can be exciting for the DIY marketer, especially in the beginning. But things can get complicated in a hurry. You hit those little plateaus, engagement falls off, and suddenly things feel stagnant. No matter what you do, you just can’t seem to get more followers.

We’ve all been there — business social media marketing is hard. It takes time and consistent effort; it requires strategic planning, execution, analysis, and adjustment. If you’re going to do it yourself, you have to find ways to optimize effectiveness and efficiency. Otherwise, you might just go crazy!

But it doesn’t have to come to that. Use these five tips to get more reach out of your social media marketing — and keep your sanity.

1. Establish a Consistent Presence Across Channels

Consider this: 1.79 billion people now access Facebook in some capacity on a monthly basis. That’s roughly 52 percent of the entire global internet-using population (3.42 billion) as of July 2016. So yeah, everyone and his mother is on Facebook, so you’d better be too.

That said, there are other social media platforms to leverage your business. And if you want to get more followers, you’re going to have to visit your audience where they live. That not only means covering the big three of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter but also branching out into unfamiliar territories, such as Snapchat, Instagram or even Pinterest.

Consider the opportunities:

• Snapchat users watch 10 billion videos per day, arguably more than Facebook users.
• 60 percent of Instagram users research products and services within the platform.
• Pinterest claims that pin engagement more than doubles the likelihood of purchase.

Whichever social media platforms you choose, always keep your branding consistent. You want prospects to recognize your business no matter which profile they visit. If your logos and images are mismatched, or your contact info is outdated, prospects are going to hesitate to make contact. It just looks unprofessional.

2. Take Advantage of Word of Mouth

Don’t underestimate the value of cross-promotion. Not only should all of your social profiles be linked, but social media information should appear on print materials, and social sharing buttons should link out to your emails and website. Here’s how we handle that little piece of business:

The idea is to make it as easy as possible for your customers, email subscribers and social media followers to share your content across platforms. The more your content is shared, the more your following will grow.

After all, the word-of-mouth referral is still a solid marketing tactic:

• 82 percent of Americans still look to friends and family for recommendations before making a purchase.
• 67 percent say they’re at least a little more likely to make a purchase due to social media and email recommendations from friends and family.

3. Create and Share Content Consistently

If you want to get more followers via social media word of mouth, you have to bring something to the table. That means the content you create and share has to do more than push a product. It has to inform, entertain and provide shareable value to your readers. Doing this on a consistent basis not only provides value to your customers but also builds your credibility with Google.

Another benefit of consistent posting is overall visibility. Content moves fast on social media, and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. When you post consistently, you create opportunities for customer engagement.

The best way to maintain this consistency is to create a content calendar that lays out your strategy in advance. Planning ahead not only gives you a chance to plug in business-related promotions and discounts, but it also gives you plenty of time to brainstorm ideas and do the research, writing, editing and design involved in content creation.

Remember, the content you create can be used across platforms, but each platform has its own tone and social etiquette, so you’ll have to do some minimal tweaking.

4. Jump on the Visual Content Bandwagon

If you haven’t noticed, visual content is a big deal. This includes everything from simple images to infographics and live or pre-recorded video. Let’s let the numbers tell the story:

• Articles that include an image once every 75 to 100 words get twice as many social shares. (Buzzsumo, 2015)
• Infographics are liked and shared on social media three times more than other types of content. (Mass Planner, 2015)
• 100 million hours of video are watched daily on Facebook. (TechCrunch, 2016)
• 82 percent of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter. (Twitter 2015)

As you can see, visuals are the content of choice for social users. If you’re not cashing in on this visual currency, you’re giving up the competitive advantage. So if you haven’t already, take a look at the live streaming options offered by Facebook, Snapchat, and Periscope, create a few infographics, and make sure your content is visually appealing, even if the images are static!

5. Put Your Money Where Your Word of Mouth Is

As social media algorithms have evolved and made gaining traction organically a near impossibility, paid advertisements have become a boon for business owners. They’re affordable, highly targeted and they work!

In 2015, promoted posts were used by 76 percent of B2C content marketers, with 61 percent calling these efforts effective or very effective. Social ads were used by 74 percent of B2C marketers, with 59 percent reporting them to be effective or very effective. And if you’re wondering about the bottom line, paid ads are expected to generate as much as $11 billion in revenue by 2017.

Here are just a few social media advertising options:

• Facebook Ads
• Twitter Ads
• LinkedIn Ads
• Instagram Ads

Wrap-up

Implementing these five tips will no doubt help you take your social media game to the next level — provided you find the time to make it happen! But if time isn’t on your side…

Marketing automation can be.

Social media marketing automation helps you stay top of mind, increases your reach and provides the nurturing your audience deserves. And it’s what we do — if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask!