With the current age, social media is playing a big part in how people interact with each other. Whether it is a mother connecting with her daughter from across the world or a company responding to a negative review that was posted. It certainly makes the world feel smaller. Words and messages can be sent in a matter of seconds rather than days or weeks. Social media has provided a platform for the everyday user, but businesses are also joining the bandwagon of this. If your business has been struggling with content marketing, read below how social media can help boost your company.
What exactly is content marketing? Content marketing is essentially a strategy that marketers use to create helpful and consistent content to attract and retain potential customers. This can be done through a variety of forms such as SEO, Inbound Marketing, and social media platforms. All are specific but similar ways to get content out to drive success for the business.
When it comes to social media, there are a variety of platforms that you can choose from that fits the needs of your business. There is Facebook, where you can make a page where you can post status updates or pictures or share videos; it really is a hubspot for all media outlets. Then there is Twitter, which is a platform of typically quick status updates that are 140 characters or less. Another one is Instagram, where you can post pictures or short videos to your page to visually show something. Recently, an App called Snapchat has been big with social media as it allows pictures or 10 seconds or less video to show up in real-time for 24 hours then it deletes itself. Many celebrities are joining snapchat to share live video and pictures. Each platform has it’s unique strength and it is important to understand each and figure out one or some that are a good fit for your business. For example, if your company is a clothing company, then I would suggest using Facebook and Instagram. Facebook you can post status updates such as sales and promotions and interact with your followers. Then, on Instagram, you can post pictures of the different clothing pieces to show them off. Each platform has its benefit and it can really help with your content marketing strategy.
Here are some helpful tips about social media that will benefit your content marketing strategy:
Keywords and Tags
When you include keywords in your social media post, it will help make your site more searchable. This will help people find your page more easily and it will also help people to just randomly find it! The best outcome is someone will randomly find your content, enjoy it, then follow it. Another helpful thing is to tag words or include a #, for example, #throwbackthursday. When you have a word or phrase followed by the “hashtag,” it will put your post in the trending topic so other people can easily find it.
Make It Easy
If you have multiple social media platforms or a company website, be sure to constantly link it so people can easily find it. Many times people are lazy so even though you say “Check out my website!” They most likely won’t go ahead and research the website name then go surf on it. But if you include a direct link within a word or link, then more people would be willing to click it and go along with it. Also, take advantage of all the bio pages. On there you can put your social media links, so if someone does like your content, they can follow you elsewhere.
Interact With Your Followers
Sure, one part of content marketing is just providing the content. Whether it is a blog post or posting an Instagram picture, but that’s half the job. It also requires you to interact with your followers. When you see someone follow you, don’t be afraid to follow them back. Another thing you can do is comment back and forth with the follower. If they have a positive post, then you can “like” it or comment back. Or perhaps they have an issue with your product or service? Show them your company cares by apologizing and providing a solution to the problem. People enjoy it if they see interactions between the follower and company because it means they care about them. By giving them the extra attention, it can really go a long way for your business.
Hiring an experienced and knowledgeable content marketing consultant can be challenging, but don’t let it be. Here at Blue Wave Marketing we have 20 years of experience to help craft an integrated content marketing plan for your company in Boston. Be sure to contact us for more information.
