‘One size’ doesn’t always fit when it comes to social media

Chelsey Ross

At some point or another, almost every company wonders whether they should jump on the social media bandwagon. The answer is that you absolutely need to, but in our current digital age, the many forms of social media can be overwhelming. If you don’t have a strategy, social media efforts can be a waste of time, effort and sometimes money. There are many different social media platforms that all serve different functions and will show off your brand image differently. You don’t need to have every platform to have social media success, so choose which one best suits your company needs. 

1. Facebook: Facebook has 1 billion users and gives your company the ability to connect with customers through posting about your product or service; answering consumer questions; giving customers the ability to like and share your posts; and tagging you when they buy or use your product or service. You can also use Facebook to advertise. Side ads and sponsored posts can help your company increase sales and recognition of your brand while growing your audience. You can target ads to reach certain demographics, ensuring you reach the right audience for your brand. Facebook also offers businesses analytics to give companies a better understanding of their customers and advertising/marketing choices on the site. Facebook is beneficial for almost any type of business seeing as the demographics of Facebook range from young to older generation. However, organic visibility has greatly diminished for businesses; higher levels of exposure will only come in a paid format through this platform. 

2. Twitter: Twitter has 232 million users and allows your company to communicate with your audience with short messages of 140 characters or less. The more followers you have, the wider audience you will reach. Retweets are a beneficial feature of the site because even if people don’t follow you, they can see your tweets if their followers retweet your posts. Tweet information your audience wants to hear and are interested in, whether that be your website, blog or tips and tricks of your industry. Use relevant hashtags to also attract a bigger audience to your page. Similar to Facebook, you can target a specific audience through advertising using keywords, interests, geographic areas and more. You can also use analytics to measure your Twitter performance. 

3. Instagram: With more than 300 million users, Instagram offers a unique opportunity very different from that of Facebook and Twitter. Images are necessary for Instagram posts and can only be shared from the smart phone app. Tell your company’s story through imagery and connect the image with a post related to the picture. This platform works better for industries that are visual and can tell about their brand through compelling and visually pleasing images. Instagram also uses hashtags and can draw in a larger audience when you use them in your posts. It also gives an option to advertise through the platform. As users are scrolling through their feed, sponsored posts will appear between posts by the people they are following. Advertising through Instagram though is growing, but hasn’t been utilized by as many companies yet when compared to Facebook and Twitter. 

4. Pinterest: With 70 million users, Pinterest is a more unique platform. Pinterest allows you to connect links to images. Users then ‘pin’ the pictures and links that they have interest in, which are then shared with their followers. This is particularly useful for companies that engage their audiences with blog posts, product pages, reviews or specific engaging areas of the website. Pinterest is also visual, requiring images to get users to click on the links. Rather than posts, Pinterest has short sentence blurbs to describe each picture/link combination. When it comes to advertising, your company sponsors a post and Pinterest charges you only when people go to your website through the pin. You can also use analytics to track user engagement. 

5. Snapchat: A newer platform that businesses are starting to use is Snapchat. About 100 million users snap pictures monthly. Snapchat allows you to “snap” a picture or video and share it for three to 10 seconds. Then, it disappears after a user views it. This is a good platform to use if you have a very visual industry that will attract users who want to view your posts. Include the picture or video in your story, which allows all followers to see what is going on. Snapchat is a great way to increase brand recognition, particularly among a younger audience. It offers advertising, which appears as stories in your audiences’ feed. Snapchat is a way to show your brand’s personality, so take advantage of it!  

6. LinkedIn: With 230 million users, LinkedIn in is “Facebook for professionals.” LinkedIn is a way to share your professional development and achievements. Connect with your industry contacts on the site, as well as friends and family that can help you network. The site also offers job opportunities and areas to post things about your brand. There are also groups you can join, which can attract more professionals to link with you company and learn more about your brand. Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn also offers side advertisements and sponsored posts to help get more visibility for your company. 

7. YouTube: Although YouTube doesn’t immediately strike many as a way to promote your brand, videos increase a person’s knowledge of a product by 74 percent. Additionally, YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google! Videos can range from how-to tutorials to staff interviews to informative videos about your product or service. YouTube also offers advertisements as commercials that appear between videos when people are watching. Creating your own YouTube channel allows you to tap into the site’s ever-growing audience while putting your videos to work in other ways (like embedding into e-newsletters and cross-posting on other social media platforms). Analytics are available that can help you track views and demographics, as well. 

How to Optimize Your YouTube Presence

Ali Glemser

While I have been an avid consumer of YouTube videos for years, I had never posted any videos on YouTube until I started working with clients who did. Needless to say, my ears always perk up when I come across advice for improving one’s YouTube presence.

I recently came across an article on PR Daily from contributing author Richard Jeng that had some interesting tidbits about building your YouTube presence.  I’ve summarized them in the list below, but I recommend clicking here to read his more detailed descriptions to learn more.

Keyword, keyword, keyword

Know what people are searching for by using this YouTubeKeyword Research Tool. Your clever and unique title or description may seem great to use, but if viewers aren’t searching for the terms you use within the title, it really isn’t that great after all.

Know your competition

Once you know your optimal keywords, search those to understand how many other results your video is up against. Jeng cites that results totaling 500,000 or less should be comparatively easy to optimize.

Make the file name and thumbnail count

Did you know that search engines can detect keywords even in the name of the video file? Well, now you do. That being said, it’s best to include optimal keywords in your file name instead of just uploading “videofile8467.avi.”

Visuals are powerful when it comes to selecting videos to watch. Even though you can select a frozen frame from the video as your thumbnail, consider uploading a high-resolution photo and including text, if relevant. Don’t be lazy when it comes to this visual. Ask yourself: Would you want to click on your video’s thumbnail if you were seeing it for the first time?

Don’t forget a title, description or meta tag

It may be obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway, use the keyword in the video title. Also, increase your video’s SEO by including the keyword in the video description. Using it multiple times is ideal, but remember that it should make sense to viewers.

Don’t underestimate the power of the “related videos” option. Include keywords in the tags that YouTube allows you to include with your uploads. This can increase the occurrence of your video popping up as a related video for other searches.

Consider closed captions

Adding closed captions is another opportunity for you to increase search engine optimization. Don’t use them randomly, but make a point to use them if they are appropriate for your video.

Use a call to action

Your video can increase in popularity by how much engagement it solicits through comments or the amount of likes it garners. Use the description, annotation or the video itself to elicit this engagement from viewers.

Embedding is your friend

Reach outside of YouTube to get video views by embedding it in a blog, website or on social media pages. Also, make a point to have your friends or colleagues embed it on their pages, as well.

This is the quick version of Jeng’s tips, so I encourage you to read and explore his advice further. On a platform that has more than one billion unique monthly visitors and six billion hours worth of video consumed each month, it’s worth knowing how to stand out from the crowd.