How do you even get 10k followers on Social Media?
How do I even use this thing!? Too many buttons! Go away Satan my business will thrive even without Social Media!
Calm down my friends, I am here once again to put your doubts to rest. To answer your darkest questions and to bring light to your never-ending Marketing struggles.
These must be the most epic lines that I have ever used to get you hyped about one of my articles.
In the unfortunate case that you are not still hyped, I hope that your crops wither and that your cows don’t produce milk for a year. #sorry #notSorry
Apart from kidding, Social Μedia today are not a thing to take lightly especially given their irreplaceable business opportunities.
Although we will go through a couple of platforms individually and see some exclusive tips here are 3 things that will help you improve your social media presence in general.
1. Form your SM – SMART goals
During June-July 2016 I have been to the United States, after getting a scholarship from the department of States, to study at the University of South Carolina the theme of Civic Engagement along with 22 crazy people from all over Europe.
One of the most important things I learned was how to form SMART goals, an intense session but totally worth it. So according to our amazing instructor Kaimana Chee and IT training specialist, SMART can be defined as:
An extra tip would be:
One random example is : By October 2016 I would like to increase the traffic coming to my site by 10% using mainly Facebook & twitter as my basic social media channels.
Although it seems silly, figuring your shit out will help you focus and spend your resources on social media more effectively.
2. ROI vs Popularity
I really like Kim Walsh Phillip‘s approach on this. So the CEO of Elite Digital group wrote about the principles, she thinks, that should be applied to every social media marketing approach.
To sum it up she says that you should pay a considerable amount of effort on driving sales and this in return will lead to better content.
Although it seems harsh as a statement, think the possibility of having 10k followers but almost none of them converts.
3. Track, measure, sleep, repeat
Of course, since we touched the ROI matter, tracking and measuring is the only way to see if you are going towards the right way.
After a little experimentation, you will be able to see which social media platforms work for you and which actually don’t.
Take advantage of the analytics each social media platform offers and why not take it a step further.
Here at GrowthRocks we are huge fans of UTM codes and people over at Hubspot have done an amazing job with a step-by-step guide on how to make them.
Not to mention that Bill has a little gift for you, if you haven’t already found it. So go ahead and make sure you are measuring your Social Media ROI correctly!
Now it is time to take a closer look on some social media platforms individually.
Snapchat
Here at GrowthRocks we love to do things our own way, so I am not going to start this guide with Facebook or Twitter as similar posts about Social media do. Let’s go for Snapchat.
So, except sending inappropriate shots of your…pizza (oh gosh what did you think I was going to say!) take a moment and consider THE BUSINESS POTENTIAL OF THIS PLATFORM.
According to Snapchat itself, the platform reaches 41% of all 18-34 years old in the US.
And if this does not convince you, bare in mind that according to Twiplomacy Politics have already infiltrated Snap as
WHY DON’T YOU USE IT THEN?
So here is how to improve your Snapchat presence.
#1 – Be actively engaged and keep it Pixar
Snapchat is the perfect opportunity for your business to let loose and showcase your fun side. Whether you are on your lunch break or during a meeting, there is always time for a snap.
TACO BELL, for example, this year delivered funny cards with puns on Valentines Day.
The thing is that you are allowed to go crazy along the way. Goofiness, colour and humour are the most important ingredients in this process. That is what Pixar, stands for.
Experts around the net like have been saying keep it Disney, but WHY NOT PIXAR PEOPLE? WHAT IS THIS DISCRIMINATION?
INSIDE OUT WAS EPIC OK?
#2 – Give your followers VIP “Behind the scenes” passes
Make snaps that reflect the human side of your company. There is not one single successful product out there that has not been created with tears and sweat.
Let your followers enter backstage and let them understand how different you are from your competitors.
One tip would be to not just have one person in charge of your account but let as many people working for your company use it.
#3 – Contest & Promo time!
Create an on Snapchat that will fire and peak your followers’ interest. ENGAGE them with your product, but of course, you have to give them something in return. atmosphere
A small discount is nothing compared to the Virality a couple of Snap videos might produce for your business.
Shamelessly promote your product, make teasers about it, why not even live events. Exclusive content only for Snapchat, would be advisable to build even more hype.
This way you build awareness and a bond with your audience at the same time.
#4 – Who needs filters when you got Geofilters?
Buy Geofilters to promote special events, products or whatever else you see that fits your marketing needs.
For me use it to share your culture and make your audience a part of that culture, let them even take it a step further and build your culture with them!
Facebook can be a huge traffic source for your business however, that is not easy to achieve. Conquering your followers’ news feed demands that you see through a couple of procedures patiently and effectively.
#1 – Make Sure your page is Seo optimised
Make sure that anything related to the Copywriting aspect of your page, is compelling but above all revolves around keywords for which you want to Rank high up both in Google and Facebook.
Username & page description are some of the first things you should carefully approach.
A name that is distinctive for your business and a detailed description are a must.
Don’t forget to cleverly include a link to your website whenever it is possible and generally, this is something you should aim for with all your social media.
#2 – People are shitty and judge a book by its cover
Although we live in a century where this theory starts to fade a little bit, it still applies 100% to your Social Media presence. There are four things someone sees when he enters your Facebook page.
- Profile picture
- Cover picture
- Profile CTA
- Pinned post
So you should make sure that all these are fully distinctive and representable of your company. Go for an irresistible CTA as well.
Growth Tip: Especially when you are focused on a specific marketing campaign for your business or social media, make sure these four connect in terms of content and visual.
#3 – DON’T Spam the Universe with posts
Rather than spamming your followers with posts, try to create value and strategically figure out the times throughout the day/week/month that is truly worth of you doing a post.
This varies depending on the social media platform you use, and all you have to do is experiment.
Different companies have different metrics to evaluate their success: likes, reach, share, comments etc.
According to Social Bakers 5-10 posts a week is ideal, but again the fact that this works for other does not necessarily mean that it will satisfy you social media goals as well.
Bonus Growth tip: Here are some tips I can give you for free, for the perfect facebook post. (usually, I charge them but since you are still here you have my undying love)
The perfect facebook post
- contains a photo and a link
- usually is short (maximum 16 words) and should contain compelling language
- should be engaging
- should be relevant and newsworthy
- shouldn’t be shared during peak times
#4 – Facebook Ads ftw
One of the things that made Facebook one of the most important social media platforms in no time, is that it quickly figured out the needs of the users both on a B2C and a B2B level.
A PPC service for businesses is of immense importance.
And if you want to master facebook ads, the only thing you have to do is learn from the best and that best is the Facebook Ads guru Jon loomer.
#5 – Go retro with Pixels!
Pixel is nothing else than a simple snippet that you can install on your website. Remember when I told you about the importance of measuring.
Well, Pixel helps you in that, while you ran your facebook ads.
Not to mention that it helps with the better targeting of your advertising.
Find out more on Facebook itself.
I don’t think that I have to add a lot to introduce you to this social media platform. For this one, I wouldn’t want to waste your time on basic stuff like optimisation or visuals (profile,cover etc)
As they are pretty much the same as Facebook.
#1 – Surrounded by brilliant people? USE THEM!
Ok, I have never seen this around the net, but it is a strategy that we are trying to implement here at GrowthRocks and it goes great so far.
If I could sum it up, basically the strategy is “Show your brand but at the same time the brilliant faces that represent it’’.
People tend to bond better and more quickly with personas. Not to mention that twitter out of all social media platforms demands a huge amount of dedication & personal commitment.
Their expertise and personality might win over followers who will eventually follow your brand as well.
#2 – Get out of your Batcave and interact with people.
As simple as that. Interact with people, reply to tweets and retweet.
Track your mentions and always let your followers know that they will receive your reply. Building this kind of conversation flows will expose you to their followers as well.
In turn some of these followers might show some interest in your profile.
#3 – Reach out to specialists in your brand’s field of interest.
I will quote what Pam O’Neil stated about Twitter when she was VP for Breaking Point:
“Twitter has all but replaced our PR agency as a large percentage of our followers are press and analysts. A writer for ZDNet wrote about us and linked to us based on something we tweeted and that resulted in a huge spike in web traffic and at least one deal with a major service provider.’’
Asking people to share your content, or simply doing so by themselves you might be one of the ways to skyrocket your followers.
Always aim for quality content and the rest will follow.
A little growth bird also told me that if you have experts and external links in your articles, the whole mention thing will be achieved easier and faster.
#4 – What does the perfect tweet look like.
The perfect tweet
- Is even shorter than the maximum word limit
- Contains an image
- Has the main message as close to the beginning as possible
Instagram, one of the toughest Social media platforms to master. The reason why is, that you can only do so with pictures.
#1 – Figure out your brand’s aesthetic
This is the most crucial of all steps. For example, we are a growth hacking agency. How do we translate that into pictures?
For us, our Instagram is a mixture of the company’s culture along with some of our work. Again you have to find what does the trick for you.
#2 – Collaborate with famous Instagrammers
Give them a taste of your brand for free and let them take care of the rest. Just let them expose you to their fanbase and KABOOM!!! Your account is closer to being Instagram famous as well.
#3 – Run contests
We are talking about one the contest kings here. Ask people to repost, comment or even tag friends. And as Evan Lepage states over at Hootsuite, people want to follow brands there, so shamelessly ask them to do so.
#4 – Just let people know of your presence
People tend to overlook the simplest things. The same goes for Instagram. Follow, comment and generally, engage with Instagram with similar themes as yours.
They won’t just follow back out of kindness but this the only way for them to actually notice you among the vast Instagram universe.
#5 – Cool tools just 4 you!
I have been waiting such a long time to share with someone the secrets ingredients to my personal account’s success.
I mainly use two tools for editing my pictures when I am not on PC, which means no adobe programs access.
VSCO & Snapseed
Both of these tools offer a vast variety of edit options (exposure, contrast etc) plus filters.
Exactly what you need to turn your Instagram hipsterish and see those follows coming.
Although Pinterest used to be more popular, it continues to be strong in the marketing world and especially a handy tool for those working in fashion related industries.
#1 – Make your pins as unique as possible
Ok, I know that you are already bored with the whole “Be you,be unique” thing, but this has to be one of your strongest principles.
Good visuals are important on a site like Pinterest, but the text that goes with it is as important. Include CTAs, and try to direct people to your website.
Awareness and Engagement are two things you should aim for in your text and these are the things that people on Pinterest seem to appreciate.
Go for Promoted pins and make sure that your efforts reach as many people as possible!
#2 – Take it a step further with Rich pins
There are 5 types of Rich pins and make sure to take advantage of them whenever it is possible
- Article pins
- Recipe pins
- Product pins
- Place pins
- Movie pins
All this give more info and material to your followers for the pin they go with.
All you have to do is copy the link to the rich pin validator and type .oembed. Click Validate and then click apply. Simple as that.
#3 – Do your themed boards & image specs H/W
Themed boards are the place within Pinterest that videos, text, and images actually intertwine.
You can take advantage of this perk and use it for a specific marketing campaign you have in mind.
And here I have the specs as well not because they are connected with the themed boards, but because both of them require a little bit of studying and observation.
If you go with these specs, your pictures will be noticed even more since they will also be mobile friendly (sneaky growth tip)
YOUTUBE
#1 – From the P to the V. Every detail matters.
So P stands for production. Buy good film production equipment and make sure audio and video is top notch. In fact, if you have that you are halfway there.
V stands for visual. Starting from your channel which you have to make sure it is fully representable of your company. Support your videos with descriptions and eye-catching CTAs.
Make sure that you even use custom thumbnails for your videos. As the title says, every detail matters, take advantage of any feature that works in favour of your branding.
Good production, good visuals and hopefully quality content and you will be famous in no time.
#2 – Collaborate with famous Youtubers
So this Guy is Pewdiepie and in 2014 he made $7.5 million out of his youtube channel. If he is not the most famous youtube at the moment, then he definitely makes it into the top 3.
So a video, this guy and your product in a room. You do not need anything else. Followers = KABOOM
#3 – Keep the videos coming and fire interaction
Unfortunately of fortunately in case you decide that you want to use Youtube for your marketing campaigns you have to be a regular.
Weekly doses are advised and in the meantime asking people to leave their opinions in your comments is crucial. Open conversations with them and eventually let the Virality get you to the top.
We will close this article with probably the most professional social media platform out of them all.
#1 – Flashy company page to get you started.
It was really nice when I went on Linkedin and added GrowthRocks as my current workplace and immediately I got our fancy logo next to my position.
A company page gives authenticity and prestige to your company, and increased chances of networking.
I rememeber that I was amazed by how easily I could find my co-workers on Linkedin due to the company page.
#2 – Actively share posts!
The thing with Linkedin is that whether you share your own or other peoples’ posts it is a very common thing.
Through this posts people get to know your culture and personality, as most posts lean towards this kind of themes.
#3 – Create and actively take part in Linkedin Communities
The communities for me work as content aggregators of some kind. For example the last couple of months I have been in many growth hacking communities on Linkedin.
I have gained easy access to related articles just in one place, not to mention that I connected with a couple of people who noticed my work.
To Sum up
Administrating social media is not easy, especially when you spend resources on plenty of them.
There are not a lot of things I can actually add, but I would strongly advise you to use social media with a growth hacking mindset.
This means, experiment, fail document and try again until you find your Eureka moment.
Also since Spotify has been spamming me with Throwback lists lately let’s enjoy this masterpiece.
Until the next time, keep it PIXAR! 😉
