Five Steps to Become a Social Media Guru

Most businesses have a social media footprint… But do they genuinely understand how to use them to their advantage? Here are the five steps to becoming the social media guru of your company.

1. Maintain an exciting and balanced material.

We try to follow the 80/20 rule when posting content on social media accounts for our clients, and we suggest that other businesses do the same. According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of your content should be creative, fun, and informative, while only 20% should explicitly promote your company or brand. Even with promotional material, try to avoid sounding aggressive or overly sales-driven. Your target audience wants to connect to your page rather than constantly feeling targeted or sold to.

However, the entertaining and educational material you share with your organization’s social media audience should still be consistent with your company’s brand. 

Sharing monthly horoscopes on Facebook, for example, may be suitable for a lifestyle brand but is unlikely to be appropriate for a business consulting firm. Looking for some inspiration? 

Try directing your audience to instructive articles or blog posts by industry leaders and influencers, linking to events hosted by your networking groups, and sharing photos and videos from team activities.

2. Use hashtags as much as feasible to your advantage… But don’t go too far.

You can attract the market that is most interested in the topic you’re sharing by using purposeful and precise hashtags, and the reach of your post will be greater. Remember that you can use hashtags whether you’re posting a link, picture, video, or article, and you can use hashtags across multiple platforms. Though Twitter pioneered the hashtag trend, you can now use them on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

While hashtags are essential, ensure they are relevant to your sharing content. We cannot emphasize this enough. Not only will your post be less likely to reach the people most interested in it, but using too many keywords may make your post appear spammy. 

If applicable, we suggest using 3-4 hashtags on Facebook and Instagram posts and significantly fewer on LinkedIn. For example, if you are an accountant advertising your tax services in the month of February, hashtags such as #Taxes #TaxTime #TaxSeason2017 #TaxConsultant would be beneficial. These hashtags are not only specific but also not so narrow that no one would ever look for them.

3. Plan and post your material strategically.

Companies that post on social media more frequently are perceived as more transparent, trustworthy, and dependable. So, not only should you frequently write (at least three times per week) for maximum engagement, but you should also be consistent about what time of day you post. 

Discover when your audience is most active on social media by sharing content at various times throughout the day for a month, including the morning, afternoon, evening, and night. 

After a month, use a social media analytics tool to see how each post performed, whether you look directly on the social media site or use a social management hub like Hootsuite. You can see how your posts performed by analyzing the successes of each post, and determining which period is best for you. Sometimes, multiple times of day may work well, which is a nice bonus!

4. Determine which social media accounts are most beneficial to your business.

When attempting to create a presence on your social media pages that generate leads, sales, and growth for your company, it is critical to determine where your target audience is most engaged. There are several ways to determine whether a specific social media channel is appropriate for your business, including looking at which age groups and genders are most engaged with each platform and the tone of your company’s messaging. 

For example, if your company’s tone is serious and informative, and you operate on a B2B model, LinkedIn and Google+ can be crucial in disseminating your message to your target audience. Conversely, if you are a creative business that is progressive, thoughtful, upbeat, and just a little quirky (as we believe SPM is! ), channels like Twitter, Instagram, and 

Pinterest will produce a target market that is drawn to the aesthetics you provide. In general, Facebook is the most neutral and adaptable of social media sites, and it is an excellent avenue for nearly all businesses and organizations.

If you’re unsure who your company’s target audience is, we highly advise you to research your brand before spending heavily on social media. Overall, your social presence is only as good as your messaging. Developing quality, specific content and links to pertinent articles is difficult if you don’t know your audience.

5. Be responsive to your viewers and learn from them.  

The most successful businesses are those that give attention to their customers. Listen to and react to your followers’ comments and messages, but to become a true social media guru, you must read between the lines and understand what your pages’ analytics are telling you. You will be able to discover what types of posts your audience is most interested in and pays attention to. 

This can eventually help you plan your strategic marketing plans for the coming months. If you can successfully communicate with your audience through both channels, they will believe you, and continue to support you, and you will find growing success in the social media management department.