In today’s technological world, it seems that social media dominates everything, and it can be difficult for a company to stand out. Large companies, as well as smaller companies and entrepreneurs, are all over social media trying to gain the attention of customers. All of this can make it harder for the less social media-adept companies to get a foothold among their competitors.
These companies, the less social media-adept ones, want to get in on the social media action and use it to their advantage, to advertise and market themselves to all their potential and existing customers who are on social media. But there are so many different social media channels out there, and so many different ways to market on social media. What can a company do to make themselves stand out among the crowd of other companies on social media? What strategies can they make use of?
1. Be active on Twitter
Twitter is a very popular social media channel. It’s a great way to build a following and keep in touch with your customers and audience. However, it can be tricky as it limits your posts to 140 characters, and in addition, it’s fast-paced. It’s demanding as it requires constant communication with your followers. If you can handle that, one way to stand out on Twitter is to send a thank you any time your company gets mentioned. Try to respond to questions on the same day, or within the hour if possible. Add emoticons and symbols for a fun twist to your posts as a way to cultivate interest in your posts while also making them shorter and easier to read.
2. Make it simple and encourage engagement on Facebook
Facebook recently changed up their algorithms, so brands are getting less exposure. This makes it more important for companies to stand out. One way is to share short and simple posts as longer posts tend to not perform as well. Also, asking questions rather than making statements tends to increase interaction and engagement.
In addition, pinning posts can be a good tactic, especially for drawing attention to current specials or important information. Experiment with Facebook ads, too.
3. Remember to use images
Use images whenever you can. The image can be pretty much anything, from a photo of a pretty landscape, important business people, a colorful infographic or a fun GIF. The important thing to remember is that a photo or animation will catch the eye and more than likely make them stop browsing long enough to look. It will also help with your SEO optimization. Videos also work well for this.
4. Provide interesting and relevant content
Content is king. Remember that. Once your image has caught their eye, the viewer will be looking for the content behind the photo. The headline they read, for instance, will determine if they click through. So provide content that will make them want to click and be sure to keep your target audience in mind when creating your content. What will catch their attention? What answers can you provide to their questions? What are they looking for from you?
5. Create a community
Don’t just look for followers. Build a community with them. Put some humor and personality into your brand with your posts whenever appropriate. You want to be “social”, after all. That means you need to entertain your followers every now and then. And remember to converse directly with your followers. Interact with them. Retweet them. Like and respond to their posts. And ask them to interact directly with your posts.
6. Run cross-channel campaigns
To keep your audience engaged, you need to be engaging as well. One way to do that is to run cross-channel campaigns on all your social platforms. But while anyone can run a contest or campaign like this, to stand out you need to make yours have a charitable, emotional, or inspirational component to it – something that will tug at the heartstrings of whoever is reading about it. If your company is already involved in some sort of volunteer work, this is a good way to inspire and engage followers. How do you do this across channels? 1. Tell a powerful story. Use short quotes if you have to, and link back to your website so they can find out more. 2. Brand your campaign with a unique name and hashtags to make it memorable and stand out.
These are just a few ways to make your social media marketing stand out. Good luck!
Written by Kelly Bolton.
Originally posted on entrepreneur.com