It can be a difficult thing to GRAB SOMEONE’S ATTENTION on social media and to gain the trust of your audience. Luckily, the world of social media is undergoing a constant evolution meaning there is always room for learning without falling behind. This is especially true as creating good content is no longer just enough; the way you share and engage is just as important. Here are some of the best social media practices from a leading digital marketing agency to help you keep up with the trends:
Checking content for mistakes can be a painful, tiresome experience but it’s one that is vital and will immediately elevate your brand. Double check and triple check your content before then asking someone to proofread. Getting someone to go over your content can help you identify parts of your content that require clarification as well as pick out those little errors. Small spelling or grammatical mistakes may seem like a small drop in an ocean of content however it’s what your audience will remember about your post; ruining your brand and business’ image.
Keeping up with trends is vital for exponential levels of engagement; allowing you to hit your target audience as well as achieving an even greater reach outside of your typical targets. Whilst keeping up with trends is necessary and excellent for your brand image, it isn’t what is going to make you stand out. A quote by Nelsan Ellis reads “being different gives the world colour” and in the case of growing your social media reach, following trends will lead you to the right people; being different will get them to notice you and hear what you have to say.
CTA’s (call to action/s) are a highly underestimated tool in the world of Social media that boost engagement and move prospective customers from your ad and onto your landing page. Avoid using CTA’s like “click the link” and instead adopt a more active and enthusiastic “see how we helped” to drive more engagement. Whilst this is a great first step, it’s vital to make sure that you don’t overuse or repeat your CTA’s. Instead think of even more interactive, fun and different ways to catch people’s attention.
An article by Create and Cultivate states you have “2.7 Seconds to Grab Someone’s Attention” meaning that if your CTA isn’t punchy, exciting and enthusiastic then that person would have scrolled by before you can say landing page. I find that companies that are highly successful with their CTA’s tend to use ones that most of us wouldn’t think to use such as “Do not click….explosive deals”. The reverse psychology of the CTA initiates an urge to click and, before you know it, everyone is ending up on your landing page.
With only twenty-four hours in the day, and even less of that time being suitable for good social media exposure, having a clear schedule means time is optimised and not wasted. It’s a good idea to base a posting schedule based on a structured set of research including the best posting times and dates. Build your schedule around a specific objective and goal that you want to achieve and always execute your posts so that they follow this. Don’t just be content with existing on social media but instead discover your goal; whether it be to drive sales, create awareness or build a stronger connection with customers.
The best way to learn, improve and exceed is through researching what your competitors are doing well. They’re in the same industry and, whether they’ve been in it for ten years or ten weeks, they all bring a diverse, refreshing look on how to go about social media. My biggest tip is to never underestimate what your competitors are doing. Exploring different methods is a great way to develop, just be sure to avoid copying along the way. Researching, analysing and implementing competitive analysis broadens your understanding of your industry and for sure will boost your social media engagement.
It’s always a good practice to make sure your posts have an image or video with them. Clients often pay for a service so including images or videos often fills the brief much more and boosts your expected engagement. Emoji’s are a helpful alternative to media, offering a break in long periods of texts that can give a more unique, different and personal feel to your brand or business. More people are using social media and therefore are regularly coming into contact with their friends using emojis. By doing the same, it creates a familiar tone that is more likely to bring people onto your website.
Social media trends are unpredictable, but with the help of these Social Media best practices and a good strategy, you’ll be able to constantly adapt to fit trends whilst standing out from the competition. From what I’ve learnt as a Social Media Executive, social media offers massive opportunities for success, but it can also be a pit of potential disasters. These practices barely scratch the surface of what it takes to run a social media account successfully but as said by Steven Bartlett “Experimentation is the best strategy”. I think we are a little too focused on always running towards end results and analytics. Often the best way to get results and to learn is just too experiment. No one ever achieved anything by staying on the same path as the millions of others doing the same thing.
I am aware of the endless knowledge and experience needed to become increasingly successful at running a social media account. Keeping experimentation at the forefront of your existing social media practices is, and always will be, an excellent way to exponentially become more successful and start seeing better results and engagement.
