Harnessing the power of social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest is very important for business owners. The more your brand is seen, the more potential customers you lure in. But with so many entrepreneurs on the web today, how can you be sure people will pick your brand?
Being active on your social media profiles is not enough to invite customers. To actually increase sales, you need to put in extra effort by making sure your posts stand out from the others. But what makes a post special? What sets it apart from the millions of other posts? If you wish to craft a better post, here are some great tips to follow.
When you have only 140 characters, you may think a single tweet would not be enough to send your message across. You’re wrong. Here’s how to craft a tweet your readers would want to RT.
- Call to action: With the limited number of characters, don’t beat around the bush. Be concise. Tell your readers what you want them to do.
- URLs: Shorten your URLs. Research shows that bit.ly links generates the most retweets.
- Hashtags: Add one or two within the body to increase outreach.
- Punctuation: Proper grammar should be followed, as well as proper punctuations.
- Destination: The tweet should lead to a blog post, photo, video, preferably yours.
- Space for RTs: Leave at least 20 character spaces for content from retweeters
Facebook makes an effective social marketing tool for entrepreneurs. Follow these tips for an engaging status update.
- Copy: Keep it short, sweet, and personal. Questions make great enders.
- Provide information: The most appealing updates are those that offer assistance and provide information.
- Photos: Research shows that updates with more likes are those with images, rather than those without.
- URLs: Include a URL that will explain more about what you’re saying in the update.
- Comments: Engage with the audience. Answer to comments and ask them what they think about your topic.
- Mobile-friendly: Most people surf the Internet through their smart phones. Make it convenient for them.
- Timing: The best time to post is at 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Make sure to blast your post within 24 hours from publications
- Hashtags: This new feature on Facebook should be used within the update body once or twice.
Google+
From photo editing to rich snippets to individual circles, Google+ has so many features that can make your post stand out among the rest. Here’s a Google+ cheat sheet.
- Tags: When applicable, tag people or brands, so that they may engage with your post.
- Photos: Instead of dropping a link with a tiny photo, use a full-bleed photo for a professional look.
- Rich snippets: Choose a snippet other than the default option. This will give your update more flavor.
- Hashtags: Not only for Twitter and Facebook, hashtags help reach a wider audience.
- Comments: As with other social media posts, it is always best to engage with your readers.
- What’s Hot: Pick a fun and interesting topic with this feature.
Statistics show that Pinterest is currently driving more traffic than Facebook and Google+ combined. Have your Pinterest pins repinned with these tips.
- Color: Images with dominant reds and oranges are repinned twice than the others.
- Background: If the image’s background is more than 40 percent of the photo, it’s less likely to be noticed
- Layout: Images that are in a vertical orientation did better than horizontal ones.
- Photos: Photos without human faces, like products by brands, get repinned 23 percent more often.
Now that you have a clearer idea how to make your social media posts stand out and work its magic, what are you waiting for? Get busy with posting now!
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments.
Photo Credit: Flickr/Chris Lott
