Tips to improve Your Social Media Marketing and Blog engagement


The social media is ever evolving and as a user, you have to keep up with the trends to avoid losing your engagement and fans. Here is a list of things you can do to strengthen your social network wriiten by Debbie Hemley and published on www.socialmediaexaminer.com. Leave your comments and questions below. Cheers!!!


1.       Create Targeted Calls to Action

Calls to action (CTAs) are the backbone of social media. When readers engage with these action-filled words, it boosts your social media presence.It’s essential for each call to action to have a specific purpose, whether it’s to like, share, comment, retweet or click. Here’s how Verve uses calls to action on their social profiles.


 
On Facebook, Verve uses phrases such as “Check it out,” “Don’t forget,” “Find out more,” “Go behind the scenes” and “Read about it here” to get people to click through. The URL destinations include blog posts, Vine, embedded videos, a Verve TVC gallery and their website.

2.       Don’t Take Shortcuts

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is social media activity. While it may be tempting to buy Facebook fans or Twitter followers, the long-term challenges outweigh the short-term benefits.
Victor Pan identifies three reasons why buying Facebook fans is bad for business:
You are watering down the data you have on your real fans doing awesome stuff for you. By buying fake Facebook fans, you decrease the value of your true Facebook fans because there’s no way to separate the two with Facebook’s current built-in analytics tool.
You will immediately lose trust from web-savvy visitors if they use a fake fan checker tool or visit your historic like data and notice a low brand activity vs. total like ratio.
Your Facebook fan page could be marked as a spam source and removed for violating Facebook’s terms of service.
Stay clear of fast-fixes and shortcuts. No-one wants to play with someone who doesn’t follow the rules, no matter how tempting or convincing the seller.

3.       Encourage Blog Comments

Blogs create an opportunity for readers to comment, ask questions or simply say thank-you to the writer. It’s important to cultivate relationships with readers through blogs and invite reader response.

 

But the question still remains: why do certain blogs consistently receive a higher number of comments than others?

Blogs that receive more comments generally have the following attributes:
 Good attendance: Loyal followers read the content on a regular basis.
Quality content: Posts are well-written and add value to a user’s experience.
Good etiquette: Writers and moderators are polite and welcoming to their readers and respond to questions and comments.
Environmentally sound: Run by trusted advisors who provide a respite from an otherwise overwhelming online world.
Stay dedicated and committed to your blog. Talk to your readers. They will eventually talk back to you and each other.

4.       Fuel Profiles With Shared Content

Shared content can drive activity to your social profiles. However, before you share, consider these three W’s: When, Who and Will:
 When was it written? If the post is more than 6-12 months old, it may be dated already. Even so, if you still want to share it because it contains valuable information, introduce the article by identifying that it’s not current.

 Who wrote the piece? Content written by a known author is likely to get traction, no matter what the topic. However, sharing content from a lesser-known individual also has its benefits. You get to introduce a new expert to your audience. Just make sure they have excellent content and an easy-to-read style.

Will the topic/article/post resonate with your audience? Is the artwork pleasing, is the content original, will sharing the article with your audience be advantageous to them?
Don’t share content passively. Make sure it adds value to your social presence. That will in turn add to your stature as an expert in your field.

5.       Generate Interest with Variety

Social media is a great way to package content in many different formats. Create a variety of content to post on your blog and throughout your social media presence. Check my previous post on The Secret of Successful Blogging in Nigeria here
 Here are some items you can throw in the mix:

  • Well-crafted articles
  • Unique photos and images
  • Recorded podcasts and interviews
  • Interesting videos
  • Eye-catching and detailed infographics
  • Start with a few types of content, and as your site grows, add more formats.

6.       Humanize Your Company Voice

Customers want to feel a real connection with the businesses that serve them and not just when they call the customer help line. Whether it’s messages and posts on social media or audio and video on a website, humanize your tone.
Stay consistent with your company voice on all platforms, especially in terms of customer service. Be timely, helpful and sincere.

7.       Leverage Trending Topics

Watch trending topics to see what people are talking about on any given day.
Twitter and Facebook will show you trending topics, but you can go beyond these sources. Elisabeth Michaud of Hootsuite suggests five additional resources: BuzzFeed, Google Trends (visualizer and top charts), Google+, Reddit and UberVU.
If they fit with your field and brand, you have material to share. If not, you’re still keeping on top of what’s going on in the world. Never a bad thing.

8.       Manage Negative Comments

If you don’t have a plan for how to handle negative comments, put one together.

In this article Patricia Redsicker offers four valuable tips on how to do this:

  • Create a policy.
  • Moderate wisely.
  • Respond judiciously.
  • Respect feedback.

9.       Optimize Websites for Mobile
Mobile optimization has become more important with each passing year, month and day. More people are on mobile devices than ever before. Plus, users move between devices throughout the day. You want your website to display properly on all platforms, so you can keep your audience engaged and happy.
To determine if it’s mobile-friendly, ask yourself:

Does it load in less than three seconds?
Does it draw your eye to the key selling points or messages?
Is the content easy to read and navigate? Are calls to action easy to complete?
Does it provide a good user experience?
Most importantly, determine if it’s a website you would spend time on if it wasn’t your own. The answers to these questions will tell you if it’s time to make a change.

10.   Write Hashtags
Hashtag is defined as “a word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#), used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitate a search for it.”
 While many social networks use hashtags (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), sometimes a hashtag is better on one platform than another. Before you write out hashtags for a campaign, research the platforms to see what works best for each site.

 

 
 
Do you have any idea to add in the list? Which one have you tried? Tell me what you think in the comment and feel free to share. You can find more tips from  sociamediaexaminer
 

 

 

Comments