What’s true today for social media best practice is not necessarily true tomorrow. The only constant is change, and the best way to keep up is to stay informed and stay flexible.
Although there is no magic formula for social media success, most experts will agree on a few universal truths and tactics.
When creating or updating your social media strategy in 2019, keep these proven methods in mind to support healthy growth and engagement.
It pays to invest in social advertising
We’ve all enjoyed access to free accounts and free content distribution for quite some time. The social media gods have now come to collect – and they want your advertising dollars. With some estimates showing less than six per cent of organic (unpaid) content is ever being seen, it’s time to make better use of your time and resources. Increase your visibility and reach by making periodic ad spends throughout the month. You would be surprised how much you can achieve with a modest budget.
Humanize your brand
There has never been a better time to be authentically you. On social media, this means being professional, but real. Polished, but not perfect. Think of social connections as conversations between friends, not business transactions. There are many ways to achieve this, such as sharing real photos of teams, offering behind the scenes insights, or being helpful and informative in all your content, in a simple plain language way.
Work those engagement muscles
We’ve left behind the age of measuring social success in terms of audience following only. Engagement is now the metric that matters. Social media is social first and foremost, and one-way communication is not the goal. Be prepared to respond to comments and inquiries in real-time. Pose thoughtful questions that attract comments, and address all positive, neutral and negative feedback in a way truly focused on customer experience. There is enough artificial intelligence in our lives. Try your best to be a real human.
Feed the beast with consistency and quality
The social media algorithms which shuffle our content to the top or bottom of the pile continue to favour video, quality imagery and content, and even posting consistency. Establish a brand voice and use it to publish regularly and at consistent times. Incorporate a mix of high-quality photography, stock imagery if needed and graphics. Videos and stories must be a part of your plan, and the demand and engagement in this area are continually growing. Have fun with it, your audience isn’t expecting a polished production.
Be generous
People love free things. This will never change. They also like the chance to compete to win. Set aside funds in your budget to regularly offer contests and prizes to boost engagement and grow following. Curating relevant content on your page from others also shows you are a thoughtful partner. Whether working with key influencers in your area on a mutually beneficial promotion, or helping spread the word on an initiative important to your community, you are demonstrating a generous mindset.
Trying to catch all the social media wisdom available to us is like trying to catch a waterfall with a teacup. The stream is constant. Keep at it, have fun with some trial and error, and good luck!