Gone are the days when businesses would debate whether or not having a social media presence was worth it. It’s unheard of for a business not to have multiple social media accounts these days.
While it’s great that businesses have a (mostly) free marketing platform that allows them to reach their target audience. The widespread use of social media has introduced its own set of problems and issues for businesses.
The main issue businesses struggle with now in social media is how to cut through the noise and the clutter. In the early days of social media, any company that had the guts to create an account and share a bit of themselves online could stand out. They simply needed to show up and join the conversation.
Why you can’t get by on best practices alone
Now that pretty much all companies have social media accounts, it’s harder and harder to stand out online and get the benefit to your website’s SEO. Also, because everyone uses the same “rules” to reach their audience, most tricks and techniques are too commonly used to give you any real boost.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow standard best practices.
Best practices emerge because they work. Tips on different ways you can improve your social media posts, like using images, length of titles, etc., are all still valid, and you’ll usually suffer when you don’t follow them. It’s not that you shouldn’t follow the “classic” tips. It’s just that these tips alone won’t push you ahead of the pack like they did before.
These best practices are the minimum benchmark you need to reach. They’ll secure a certain level of success and prove to your potential customers that your business is legitimate. Don't worry about extra tips if you haven’t accomplished these already. Go back and ensure your fundamentals are in place.
Once all the best practices are in place, you will be ready to push things further. Then you can employ extra tips and tricks to help you get ahead of the pack of other businesses in 2022.
Tip 1: Increase Conversions with Retargeting
It’s significantly more challenging to market yourself to a “cold” audience (one that’s never heard of your business or product before). Retargeting your ads to those who have already visited or shown interest in your products is a much more efficient way to spend your marketing dollars. In fact, customers are three times more likely to click on a retargeted advertisement.
For every dollar spent on retargeting, the business gains back two or more. Retargeting is much more effective than traditional shotgun ad buys and has the potential to drastically improve your digital marketing efforts. With more than half of all Facebook users logging in daily, retargeting through Facebook is a surefire way to ensure your customers see your advertisements.
Tip 2: Get Micro-Influencers to Promote or Share Your Content
Everyone’s heard of influencers and influencer marketing by now. Sure, getting The Rock to mention your product or service on his Instagram would be great. But the chances of that happening are slim to none (unless you are willing to spend MASSIVELY for that kind of exposure).
A much more effective way to use the power of influencers is to research smaller influencers within your specific niche. It’s obvious for a restaurant to look for dedicated local food blogs to reach out to. But what if your product or service is super niche?
In our experience, there is nothing too niche or small for a dedicated following of some kind or another. There are websites, forums, and communities centered around everything. We’ve seen sheet metal influencers, lawn care vloggers with hundreds of thousands of followers, and even more extreme examples.
If you’re doing research and staying on top of the trends in your industry, you will know these “micro-influencers.” If you’re not reaching out to them and getting them on your side, chances are your competitors will.
Tip 3: Optimize for Mobile
This tip seems like a throwback to the late 2000s when the first web-ready mobile devices started to build steam. Companies could get ahead of the pack in those days by making a mobile-ready website. Of course, you absolutely need to have a mobile-optimized or responsive website for your company. If you don’t have this, please stop here and contact us.
What we’re talking about with this tip is to really focus and optimize your content, marketing, and posts for mobile platforms. Why?
Mobile use is quickly becoming the standard and replacing reading on desktops and laptops. 2/3rds of the world’s population will be browsing through a mobile device in 2022. Mobile devices have grabbed the majority share of how people browse the internet, and the numbers are only going to continue to climb in favor of reading on the go. More than half of all searches and social media activity take place on mobile devices.
If you want your audience to read and engage with your social media or online content, you have to optimize it for mobile. That could mean shorter text blocks, faster loading images, and more.
Try to imagine a customer reading your content while on the move. What would be different than when they’re sitting at their desk? How does your content need to change?
Cutting Through the Noise
Though social media seems to have been with us forever at this point, it’s still in its infancy. Many of the largest platforms didn’t see widespread adoption until the late 2000s or early 2010s. If they were people, they still wouldn’t really even be teenagers.
Things are still in a constant state of flux and change. Though certain best practices have emerged early on, they could easily change or transition with the launch of the next big service or a sudden shift in online culture.
As a business with a social media presence, you need to stay on top of the latest developments…and, hopefully, come up with one of your own to stay ahead of the pack (like trying our 30-day challenge)
It can be a lot of work but invaluable to growing your online presence.
If you struggle to find the time to stay on top of the latest trends or come up with ways to cut through the noise, please reach out to us. We’re here to help answer any questions you might have and can take your social media posts off your hands completely.
Please, schedule a call with us today to see how we can help you with your social media marketing.