Once you start social media as a company, you really can’t stop. Not only is it addicting, but you start building habits in your customers. You build your company page, you start getting followers and likes, they start looking to your page updates for specials, latest news, or just to stay in tune with what is going on at (insert company name here).
Maybe it’s because Orbit’s brand is themed around exploring the unknown of space and beyond. But the best analogy I have to describe social media and the powerful force that it has become in our digital society is… a galaxy. A galaxy is gravitationally bound and spirals around and around as a unit. In the social media world, content and trends gain momentum and just keep going.
The “pull” that your company’s social media has on the web includes more than just your followers, it also helps pull in your SEO. Search engines (both inside the social platforms and outside search engines like Google) like to see you posting relevant content to the social world. It helps search engines connect the dots: this website is attached to this Facebook profile that is the same company as this Google+ page, etc.
So how does social media work and how do you make the most of your gravitational, content-driven following? Here are a few tips:
1. Know your crowd. Identify who you want to target and who are the more active accounts in those social spheres. Do they like coupons, or personal updates, or partaking in the trending topics and #hashtags? Start building your tribe of followers and friends.
2. Create content for your crowd. Now that you know your crowd, watch their behavior. What makes them comment or share more? Photos? Polls? Model your content after your crowd and how they interact with your page. Note: this is an ever-developing strategy: post, monitor behavior, post, monitor, etc.
3. If they like it, they will share it. If your content is relevant to their networks or if they find value in sharing it with others, your followers will promote your content for you. This is the best and most effective engagement. Once you find the content “sweet spot”, use it – but not too much.
4. If they share it, you achieve higher reach. If a follower shares your post, that post is then seen by their friends and followers, exponentially expanding the number of impressions for your post and your page.
5. Your crowd influences your content. Take advice from standup comedians: don’t keep a joke (or marketing strategy) in your repertoire if it gets cricket silence every time. With social media you are building avenues for feedback – whether it’s a review, response rate to a sale or coupon, or just comments and interactions with your crowd, you are gathering valuable data that will help you in the sales process. Over time, you’ll learn what topics are more likely to be shared and talked about and what works best with your crowd.
Social media is a feedback cycle that keeps going and getting better and better. If you feel like you don’t have time to stay on top of it all, or maybe you just need some help managing your company’s social media, contact Orbit Design and ask about our Marketing Machine Program.