30 Effective Social Media Tactics

If you are new to social media or learning more about it, below are 30 effective social media tactics written by Feldman Creative and designed by InfoBrandz.  To get the whole infographic, click here.

1. Optimize your pages and profiles by using relevant keywords so you are found in searches.  Google pulls social media pages and profiles in a search so you need to make sure all your accounts are optimized.

2. Be consistent with your branding and messaging across all of your social media profiles. A great way to showcase your brand is by creating cover photos for Facebook & Twitter.  You can showcase products or your team on those cover photos, talk about an upcoming event you are promoting, showcase your free offer, etc.  There are so many ways you can show people who you are as a company.

3. Do you know what is important to your target market? If you answered no, then you need to determine what your audience likes and dislikes, what pain points do you solve with your product or service, what do they like to do in their spare time, etc.  Knowing these things will help you determine what type of information to share.

4. Learn from your peers and influencers in your industry.  Which social media platforms are they on and how do they interact and engage with their followers? Knowing this will help you with picking the right social media platforms.  Following what they do may guide you in the right direction when it comes to engaging your audience.

5. Be consistent when it comes to sharing to your social media.  Each social media platform may require different content and to be shared at different times.  Make sure you are looking at when your audience is on.  Create a social media calendar so you know when you are sharing content, how often, what type of content, create any imagery needed, hashtags being used, etc.  Make sure to see what works and what doesn't work.  Sometimes when I share the same thing on Facebook and LinkedIn, I get better engagement on LinkedIn.

6. Hashtags are extremely important to your social media strategy.  You can use them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.  Do some research and see which hashtags are relevant to your industry and business.

7. Have great images to represent your content.  Invest your time and money on images so you standout in someone's news feed.  I know when I am scrolling through my Facebook News Feed, my eye goes to images before anything else.

8. Show people there is a human being behind your brand by showcasing photos of your team, a behind the scenes look, a day in the life of your business.  Because I am a solo entrepreneur, I try to share images of my family, when I present to networking groups or when I am a vendor at a tradeshow.  People like to see what you're up to.

9. Social media is all about building relationships with your audience.  Provide information that has value and that is engaging.  Ask questions or do polls, run a contest, think outside the box. 

10. Be friendly, approachable, genuine and authentic.  Make people feel they can ask you anything.  Be positive, inspiring, motivational, all while showing them you are the expert in your field.

11. Get right to the point.  Don't ramble on and on.  Be concise but add something of value.  Make sure people are walking away with something.  You want them to Like, Comment and Share.

12. People don't like to be sold to on social media, so don't spam their news feeds.  Again, offer content that has value, that is engaging and shows you are the expert.  Give them a chance to get to KNOW, LIKE, & TRUST you.  Once they do that, then they will want to buy from you.  It takes 7-10 times of seeing you before they take action.

13. Keep it real by showing there is a human being behind your brand.  Be authentic and genuine, draw from your experiences, share your knowledge and have a sense of humor.  Have fun with social media and then your audience will too.

14. Remember you want engagement from your audience so ask questions that they are going to want to answer.  They are giving you their time so make the questions about your industry, ask them what they are looking for, what their pain point is.  You can also ask questions that are off topic as well, again, about having fun with it. 

15. If you can, give something away.  You can give away one of your products, a discovery session, a VIP Day.  Ask people to share your giveaway for an entry into the contest.  Not only does this help with lead generation, but it gets your product in front of people who may not know you.

16. Create collages with different styles of images because they show creativity.  Infographics are huge or you can create a collage with different product images or services you offer.

17. One important way to succeed on social media is knowing when your audience is on.  Use Facebook Insights or the Twitter and Pinterest Analytics.  You want to make sure you are sharing the right information on the right days and times.  That way you get that engagement from your audience.

18. Make sure you are replying to comments and messages in real-time, meaning in a quick and timely manner.  Even if someone comments, respond by thanking them for the opinion.  When someone shares something from your page, thank them for sharing.

19. Express your appreciation to your new followers.  Welcome them to your page by tagging them in the post.  When you reach a certain number of followers, share an image thanking them for their support.

20. You should be monitoring what people are saying online about you and your brand.  Never delete a negative or bad comment.  Make sure you are addressing that in a timely manner and resolving the issue.  Deleting something negative shows you don't care and you are not willing to improve the way you do business.  Also, depending on when you see the post, it has already been out there for everyone to see.  If you delete the post, people may think you have something to hide.

21. Make sure to promote any specials or deals you are running, especially around the holiday time.  Create something special just for your followers.

22. If you are attending an event or hosting one, make sure to mention that and encourage people to connect with you in person.  Provide them with a special hashtag just for that event.

23. Don't be afraid to ask for followers.  Add a pop-up to your website that asks for people to connect with you on all of your social media channels.  By doing this, you may double your social media traffic in just 30 days.

24. Don't get overwhelmed with all the different social media channels out there.  Join one network at a time and spend a couple of months perfecting that one before moving on to another one.  Before starting though, make sure your audience is there.  You will kick yourself if your audience isn't there.

25. Take advantage of all the information that is provided to you from Google Analytics.  See where your traffic is coming from and where they are going to.  Then you can see what works and what doesn't.

26. If you have more than yourself involved in your business, then create a team.  Make sure they know what their role is when it comes to social media.  If you are a solo entrepreneur, like myself, then hire someone, like myself, to help you.  You are going to do know one any good if you are frustrated and overwhelmed with social media.  Not only will your audience suffer, but your business may too.

27. Rome wasn't build in a day, either is social media.  Don't throw in the towel after two months.  You have to give each social media platform at least 6-8 months before saying you are done.  Also know that not all social media is created equal.  That's why knowing where your target market is before starting helps a lot.

28. It may seem like social media changes on a daily basis, but in order to succeed, you have to know all about these changes.  For the most part, these changes are for the best.  Make sure you are following social media experts who will inform you of all of these changes.

29. HAVE FUN with social media! It is about being social, creating valuable content, getting the engagement, learning more about your audience, and letting them learn more about you.  If you can't have fun with it, your audience will pick up on it.

30. If this sounds way to overwhelming for you, then bring in a social media expert - "Hi, I'm Michelle Arbore and I help small businesses and entrepreneurs take back their time! I take away the frustration and overwhelm when it comes to social media."

If you are looking for an expert, I would love to sit down with you and see where you are now with your social media, where you want to be and what it would look like to get you there.  Schedule a free 30 minute Discovery Session now so you can get back your time!