It’s important to remember the social part of social media. Users are on social media to interact with others in an informal way. Leave the business rhetoric behind and focus on your audience. Use first person words like “I” and “we” to make your posts feel more personal and address your audience directly. Keeping your posts personal is the most effective way to get your message across on social media.
In addition be keeping your posts personal, it’s important to give your company a voice. Developing a voice for your company will help convey your company’s personality, making you more trustworthy. Your voice should remain consistent throughout your posts, maintaining a similar tone and style. Giving your company a voice is a great way to promote the trustworthiness of your brand.
Don’t keep your audience guessing. Be direct with your message and don’t confuse your readers. While Twitter automatically limits your number of characters, Facebook does not. It’s important to keep your Facebook posts short enough that readers do not have to click “see more” to finish your post. Shorter social media posts have been proven to produce higher click through rates than long, complex ones.
With every post shared on social media, it’s important to create an effective, concise headline. It should grab the reader’s attention and make her want to read more. Make your headline as brief as possible while still conveying your message. Effective headlines make people curious about the rest of the post and evoke emotions that make people want to read on. Your headline should entice your reader into exploring your post.
Social media is all about promoting your brand to your followers, to their followers, and to their followers’ followers. It’s important to create content that people want to share. Evoke emotions that make people want to read, and make people laugh when possible. Referencing and promoting popular causes is a great way to get attention as well. Use positive language in your posts, as most users are more likely to attach themselves to positive posts than negative ones.
Social media is much less formal than other platforms, but it’s still important to maintain a degree of professionalism. Your posts should feel personal and real, but they should not include errors. Spelling and grammar errors or typos make your brand seem less professional and trustworthy. Although the authenticity of your posts is important, error-free posts will result in improved trust among your readers and more social shares.
Your copy is extremely important in social media posts, but the structure of your post matters as well. Studies have shown that text-only posts experience significantly less engagement than posts that include visual media. A good photo can grab your reader’s attention as she is scrolling through her feed. An interesting video will convey information better than a lengthy text post. Utilizing visual elements will improve click-through rates and convey information efficiently and effectively.
Implementing a social media strategy is not always a simple task, and can take more time than you have on your hands. When properly executed, a social media campaign can generate website traffic to your website, while bringing in new leads for your business, allowing you to connect with prospective buyers. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or would like to begin a social media campaign of your own!
Whether you are just getting started or have an engine in place that needs fine tuning, ImageWorks can help you join the Social Media wave to get yourself recognized and generate more business. Market yourself and your brand to the 100’s of millions of online interactive users.
We understand that social media can be overwhelming, and it's not always easy to change with each update or refresh. If you are looking to boost your social media marketing then you may want to take a step back and reevaluate the online presence you already have.