Crafting social content can be worrisome for many people whose main forte is not social media, but it can be a fun and successful way to promote businesses and bring in new leads and more revenue. However, you need to use social media in a powerful way to see this happen, and many people may not be aware of some incredibly awesome rules for crafting successful social content. I want to make sure you know these rules because I want your business to thrive by using social content!
Let’s take a look at the top rules for social media content for four different channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.
Each Social Channel Has a Different Tactic
When you are crafting expert social content, you need to make sure you are hitting all of the great tactics for the different channels. You can have success with using the same tactic across the board, but if you change things up, you will notice that you have even higher success, which is what we all want! I am going to take an in-depth look at the top social channels out there and give you a few great tips to use when crafting your social media content.
If you don’t have a Facebook page set up yet, now is your chance. It is a great way to connect with all of your clients since many people at least have a Facebook account even if they don’t have any other social platform. Whether you need to create one or already have a page, these tips will still be incredibly useful.
1. Use Photos to Promote Further Engagement and Sharing. Something that is apparent with Facebook is that people really seem to enjoy photographs on this social network. You can share behind-the-scenes shots or photographs of projects your business has done. However, adding things like fun memes can be great, too! Try out a few photos a couple times a week and see what happens — you might start noticing quite a bit more likes and shares than you’ve ever had before.
2. Make Sure all Media is High Quality. When it comes to content, no matter what type, quality is important. You will need to write quality posts, but, according to Hubspot, you will also need to have high-quality images and videos. This can help you look more professional and you might find that people are more willing to take time out of their day to watch a video that is high-quality.
3. Cut Those Links Out of Your Post. Sharing links is something you do with almost every Facebook post and Facebook has something very handy — the ability to cut out the links. What you will need to do is copy and paste the link you want to share and wait for a little preview box to pop up. Once this happens, you can erase the link and the preview will remain. This looks nice and tidy. It also keeps people from being distracted from your post due to a very long link. If you keep the link there, readers might just skip over without viewing the entire post.
4. Try Varying Your Punctuation. Punctuation is a powerful tool on social media and the written word. You don’t want to use too much or use it incorrectly, but you should consider mixing things up a bit. When you write a post, consider using periods the most, but throw in an exclamation point here and there. This helps make the post seem upbeat without being overwhelming. You should also avoid writing a sentence and ending it with multiple exclamation points. Instead of writing, “Read about it here!!!!!!!!” write something like, “Read about it here!” It gets the point across without coming across as the ever-popular Kermit flail gif.
This is a great place for a more professional setup and social plug. You might be reaching people within your industry more than clients, but this can still be a handy social tool to use, especially for networking. Let’s look at a few great tips that you can use.
5. Keep Your Titles Short. In the article referenced in point one, Hubspot says you should always be sure that when uploading a link, you ensure that the post title is 70-characters long and no more. If it is longer, consider editing it to a shorter title. The main reason for this is that the crafty, yet lengthy title you have will get cut off when posted to LinkedIn. Instead of having that happen, come up with the perfect, shorter headline and make sure it is just as crafty as the lengthier one.
6. Utilize Different Media for LinkedIn. This seems to be quite similar across the social media board, but it can be incredibly helpful — share different media on LinkedIn. Using different media can boost the amount of interaction you receive. According to QuickSprout, posting an image on LinkedIn gets 98% higher rate in comments. You can also get an increase in shares by posting videos and sharing links will also boost your LinkedIn engagement. Don’t neglect the various media formats!
7. Post Consistently — About Once Every Day. When you post to LinkedIn, consider posting about once every day. According to the Hubspot article shared in point 1, when you post 20 times each month, you will reach 60% of your intended audience. While you aren’t posting every day, you are posting for the majority of the month. This helps you reach more people and increases your chances of more engagement on your LinkedIn page and your website, as well.
8. Keep Descriptions Short. In the same article by Hubspot, they mention that not only do you need to keep the link titles short, but you also need to keep the descriptions short. LinkedIn will cut off the description at 250 characters leaving ellipses to show that there is more to the description. Make sure to make your description have a powerful punch, and you might have a higher likelihood of more clicks, which is what we all want!
9. Use High Value Content to Generate Leads. If you want to see true success on LinkedIn, then a great way to do that is share quality content. High-quality content is vital to Google and ranking, but it is also vital when you want to reach more people on various social accounts. Remember, LinkedIn reaches out to more professionals or industry leaders, and you want them to see your best.
This is a social network you might be avoiding because you don’t think you’ll reach many clients this way. However, Twitter is a great way to promote your business and reach a wider base. You really should set an account up and if you have one, these tips will help you use the social channel perfectly!
10. Focus On Not Using All 140 Characters. When writing up a tweet, you should consider not using all available 140 characters. You are more than able to, but you will find that people are more likely to re-tweet if they can add their own words to it. By giving them enough space to do so, you might notice more people re-tweeting your posts. However, people will also simply re-tweet without adding anything, but by leaving space, you are helping both parties out!
11. Include a Twitter Handle When Quoting or Retweeting. Quoting someone who is on Twitter or retweeting them means you should always include their Twitter handle. While this isn’t “necessary” it is important. Not doing so could be looked at as rude.
For example, if you are quoting a recent article you read on Moz.com, then you need to write a quote and put @Moz at the end of your tweet. This is professional and lets your followers check out more material from the person or site. When you retweet, try not to make any changes to the initial tweet, as this can also be considered rude. If you want to add your own words but do not have enough space, shorten what you say not what the original tweet says.
12. Use Those Hashtags but Use Them Sparingly. Hashtags are great resources to use to connect you with certain trends and reach a wider audience. It is always a good idea to use hashtags forvarious services or keywords you use in your blogs and website. If you are a plumbing service incorporate the #plumbingservice hashtag into your tweets. However, when using hashtags, make sure you use a small amount. An #overabundance of #hashtags can be #overwhelming for #readers and #breaks #sentences #up in a #weird way (see what I did there?). Many people might just glance over the tweet, ignoring it and passing your site over.
13. Always Publish Media Such as Photographs. Just like with Facebook and LinkedIn, images are important for engagement on Twitter, as well. When you post a tweet, consider adding an image to it. This is more likely to get you retweeted and people may even respond. If you are doing a poll, have a photograph crafted already with the options available to engage people. You can also do silly posts and use a Grumpy Cat meme that fits your company or some other meme you enjoy. Memes are a great way to promote engagement on Twitter.
Google+ (G+)
As we all know, G+ is important to your business website because there are various ways it can help you rank. However, it can also help you build a wider base and reach a different demographic than you are trying to reach on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Here are a few great ways to use G+ to help boost your engagement and help you have successful social media content:
14. Don’t Be Afraid to Use Hashtags. The one thing hashtags do on G+ is group your updates into important sections and makes it more organized for your followers. They also help bring in new people to your G+ page. One interesting thing is that many this social channel will automatically add a “hashtag” category even if you don’t incorporate one. This can be very helpful for you if you aren’t sure which hashtags to use and can help broaden your reach on G+.
15. Use Full Size Images for Media Content. This goes along with using high-quality images on Facebook, but takes the current trend of square images into consideration. When you are using photographs on G+, consider using full size images instead of things that are cropped or made to be very small files. This can help with the quality, and as we noticed with Facebook photos, higher quality can help promote more engagement from your client base.
16. Engage with Your G+ Followers. If you want to stand out on G+ a great way to do so is to interact with your followers. For many people, G+ is a place where not many people or businesses engage with them, meaning they are less likely to pay attention. The main reason many businesses seem to have G+ is simply to help their page rank. However, if you start interacting with your followers, you will be more likely to stand apart from your competition and create a strong, loyal client base. Don’t just use this site to help boost your ranks, use it to meet new customers and maintain current ones.
17. Use Proper G+ Formatting for Your Posts. When you write G+ posts, you should always make sure you use the proper formatting. Formatting includes your post title, an introduction to the post, and asking questions throughout or at the end. You can also format your posts by mentioning people when it is appropriate, including images, using hashtags as mentioned above, and responding to comments. When you use proper formatting, you will notice that you have more successful posts and can greatly boost your G+ engagement with clients.
In Closing
When crafting your social content, don’t forget to follow these rules! These will help you craft successful content and help give you a self-confidence boost when it comes to using social media. With these tips and rules, you can create excellent content, become more involved with your clients, and eventually see growth in followers and revenue. Which rules are you going to try first?
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