Many business owners believe they should be promoting their organization in as many places as possible. Realistically, however, updating social media statuses without proper planning and strategy could do more harm than good. Read on to understand how timing is everything in social media marketing.
Social media has helped businesses not only to cut down on customer service costs, but also to cut corners in their marketing efforts. For you to get the most out of social media, you need to evaluate which tools work best in our industry, how much of your time a social media project is worth, and how to apply common best practices.
1. Choose the right platform
Since the internet offers a buffet of free, easy-to-use platforms, it’s tempting to sign up for all of them. Without due prudence, however, you might find yourself managing more accounts than you have time for.
Ask yourself these questions before choosing which platform to use:
- Who is my target customer and what channels do they use?
- What do I hope to gain by opening a social media account?
- What kind of content do I want to share and create?
- How much time can I devote to social media management?
Investing more time in fewer platforms helps you monitor the more important areas of your business.
2. Know when to update
Are most of your customers online at 8:00 am or 8:00 pm? With a better understanding of your target users’ habits, you can schedule your posts so they create more traffic, increase brand engagement and, eventually, generate new leads and customers.
Although the best time to post content changes based on your industry, location, and other factors, these are the most successful times on average:
- Facebook: 1:00 pm-3:00 pm on Thursday and Friday
- Twitter: 3:00 pm-8:00 pm, Monday to Friday for B2B and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday for B2C organizations
- YouTube: 12:00 pm-3:00 pm, Thursday to Sunday
- LinkedIn: 8:00 am-5:00 pm, Monday to Friday
3. Use attractive, professional-looking visuals
One of the simplest ways to get followers to share your posts is by uploading high-quality photos, videos, and infographics along with your messages. Studies have shown that Facebook posts with images result in 39% more engagement, while tweets with images or videos create 200% more engagement.
4. Engage with your followers
It’s important for businesses to maintain a healthy back-and-forth on social media. This means beyond sharing useful content, you should also respond to their comments and private messages as quickly as possible. You can build stronger relationships with customers by writing thank you comments to anyone who shared positive experiences with your business and by addressing negative comments with personalized and helpful responses.
5. Pump the brakes on promotional materials
Although social media is a valuable tool, it’s important not to muddy the water with too many promotional posts. A rule of thumb for social media promotions is that 80% of your posts should be shareable and interactive content, while the remaining 20% should be about your business. This will result in more engagement, a more consistent brand image, and a healthier bottom line.
Social media can help your business succeed, but only if it’s used correctly and effectively. If you’re interested in adopting the right social media platform to increase engagement and create a stronger brand reputation, contact us today and we’ll help you get started.
