How to Optimize Social Media

Despite there still being some uncertainty as to whether links in social media posts affect search engine rankings, the power of social media may still be harnessed to direct users to your online content. And a robust social media strategy is still an effective means of strengthening your online presense.

Pay Attention to Your Profile

Don’t forget, your social media profile represents your organization, so it’s important to always put your best foot forward. As much as possible, complete every field, putting thought and care into those items that require a longer response. Images are powerful ways to attract attention, so take advantage of every opportunity to add a relevant image to your profile. Provide a high-quality profile picture that best represents your company, paying special attention to the image dimensions. Facebook and LinkedIn allow for an additional cover photo, so don’t pass this up. If you have multiple social media profiles, make sure they’re consistent. And of course, add links to your website and to your other social media profiles.

Make Your Headlines Pop

In social media posts, attention-grabbing headlines are crucial. If done well, your audience will not only read your post, but will give it a like or—even better—will share it with their network. With Twitter, the entire post is the headline, so make your 280 characters count.

Easy Consumption

Make your social media post content easy to digest by keeping it short and sweet. Be succinct and to the point. If you can manage to inject wit and fun into it, even better. Your average social media user is constantly barraged with information and most likely will not spend the time to read a long post. Separate your posts from the noise of social media by being thoughtful and providing value. Feel free to provide links to other online assets, like blogs and landing pages, that direct users to more in-depth content.

Be Social

Encourage users to interact by incorporating calls to action. This may be as simple as asking a question or allowing comments, likes and sharing. Also, use hashtags. These provide a way to automatically attach your post to a trending topic, thereby spreading your post far beyond your target audience. Connect with or follow subject matter experts (SME) or industry influencers to lend your company further credibility in your chosen field. Take the time to socialize with your network. Reply to comments. Read and react to posts—especially from SMEs and influencers. After all, this is what social media platforms are for: allowing you to build relationships and socialize with your audience.

Use Images and Infographics

Simply put, a picture is worth a thousand words. The right image or infographic helps you deliver content with great efficiency—generally attracting more attention than simple text. This is a must when it comes to social media networks like Instagram and Vine, but is also useful for Facebook and LinkedIn.

Up the ante with Videos

While videos require more thought and effort than images and infographics, video sites like YouTube and Vimeo provides many advantages over the others, especially if your content lends itself well to be delivered through videos.

Lastly, if your organization needs any help with its social media strategy, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Further, Anexinet offers Social Media Listening as a Managed Service: one of the most effective ways to gain a deeper understanding of your customers so you can deliver a truly great customer experience. We help global brands uncover insights from social media data to drive their strategy. Our Social Listening Managed Service tracks the nuances of emotion and sentiment to provide true insight into how consumers feel about your brand, products, services and competitors. Use these insights to understand your audience, identify growth opportunities and improve campaign targeting.