Tips on choosing which social media site to use
1. Choose a social media site that is popular in your area.
Of course, you want people to view your social media site, especially your target market niche. However, there are social media sites that are popular in some countries but not in others.
For instance, it appears that Facebook is more widely used in Asian countries while Western countries are more likely to be active on Twitter.
2. Consider using multiple social media sites.
If you live in a place wherein there are several social media sites that are in use, perhaps you can sign up an account on all those social media sites.
This way, you will be able to reach more people.
Tips on getting started with a social media site
3. Make a draft plan of the contents first.
Getting started without a plan can lead to a messy start. This will not be good for your company image. So before you make your social media account available, make sure that you planned for its contents and design first.
4. Come up with an editorial calendar.
You may have plenty of things you want to share and say. But if you post all of them at the same, people will get confused. Also, you will quickly run out of things to share in the future. So make a timeline and plan which things you want to post first and which ones should follow in a chronological order.
5. Know your target market niche.
There are plenty of people that join social media sites. However, you do not really want to reach to all of them. You need to focus on a group of people which are ‘potential customers’. Know who they are.
6. Check for a possibly existing account with a similar name.
You do not want people to confuse you for another organization, group, or individual. You do not know how these other accounts are behaving and anything they do might have implications on your company’s image.
7. Try using checkusernames.com to create a unique moniker.
If you found out that there are already existing accounts with a similar name or a mockingly similar name, you can go to checkusernames.com to help you come up with an alternative.
8. Know how to lure in the people in your target market niche.
Do you already have a clear vision of who your target market niche is? The next thing you need to figure out is how you can lure them in. You need to make a research on the things that interest them. For example, if your products are cosmetics and your target market niche are women, then perhaps some video content about makeup tricks will lure them in.
9. Ready high quality graphics and Photoshop edited photos.
Sometimes, it is not the content but the appearance. What really draws some people into a social media profile is the looks of it. You can make your profile page look more attractive by using pictures, photographs, and images.
10. Ready high quality short articles, comments, posts.
After luring them in with flamboyant graphics and attractive page design, your people will start looking for content. If they find nothing, they will leave. For some juicy content, you can hire people to write short articles, comments, and posts.
11. Make sure that you have the resources to regularly maintain a social media account.
Yes, it is free to sign up to Facebook and Twitter. But you will need to hire graphics artists, video editors, content writers, and maintenance crew. And if you need to advertise, you will probably need to pay these social media sites. Make sure that you have a budget for it.
12. Check to see if having a social media account will really be of help to your company or if it will just be a liability.
There are a lot benefits in having a social media account for your company. But there are also dangers. You need to analyze if you can take these risks head on.
13. Know the dangers and risks of having a social media account and see if it is worth it.
Tips on keeping subscribers glued to your account
14. Keep your pages looking beautiful and/or professional.
You may need to hire people to do this for you. This is important because if your social media profile looks shabby, people will probably not have a very good impression of your company.
15. Sport a page design that corresponds to the nature of your company.
You cannot just decide on what design to use based on your personal taste. Instead, it needs to be based on the nature of your services/products. For example, if your products are for children, your page should look fun and colorful.
16. Regularly post new comments and news.
If you do not post regularly, your subscribers will think that your company is not active and is slacking off. To avoid this, you need to post news and comments regularly.
17. Always respond to questions if possible. Avoid ignoring your subscribers.
People will certainly ask questions. You should provide a response if you can. This is one way to show hospitability and people will appreciate it.
18. Do not always use just words. You can use multimedia once in a while.
If all your announcements are just words and sentences, it will soon get boring no matter how interesting your posts are. So once in a while, try to convey what you want to say through videos, images, and presentations.
19. Try sporting several design schemes from time to time.
One design theme throughout the year is too boring. It will also give people the impression that you lack resources, so try sporting a new look for your page from time to time. One good tip is to follow the changes of season (summer look, winter look) or you can also follow the coming of holidays (Christmas look, Halloween look).
20. Just a logo is not enough. Try uploading more photos related to your company.
Some companies only upload their company logo. This is boring. You should post more photos about your company.
21. Always upload photos of recent events that involved your company.
If your company recently hosted or attended an event, you should post photographs of it. This way, people will see that your company is active.
22. Do poll questions once in a while. Keep it exciting.
Studies show that people like answering quick poll questions on social media sites. Try doing it once in a while to entertain your subscribers. But keep it related to your business. For example, if you are in the fashion industry, maybe you can make a poll of which among a list of artists is more fashionable in their opinion.
23. Post updates about new promos that your company offers.
Your social media profile is one good channel to announce promos and events that your company hosts. Also, it will keep your subscribers checking your profile.
Tips on using multimedia content
24. Use only high quality media content. Do not settle for mediocre quality.
The quality of the media content you upload will have a huge impact on your company’s image. Make sure that you only use high quality ones.
25. Instead of uploading videos to the actual social media account, considering using links instead.
Some social media sites limit how many megabytes of file you can upload. So instead of uploading a video to the blog site, consider uploading them to Youtube first and link the Youtube URL to your blog site.
26. Choose multimedia designs that suit your targeted market niche.
The design scheme of the multimedia contents you upload should match the nature of your business.
27. Always check for possible mistakes before uploading so as to maintain credibility.
Especially if you hired people to make the video or graphics for you, it will be necessary that you check it for errors first before you upload it.
28. Know the upload limitations of your social media of choice.
Facebook for example limits how many megabyte of file you can upload. Know these limits so you can plan how much multimedia file you can use to improve the look of your page.
29. Remove oldest multimedia uploads to free up your upload limit.
If you ran out of storage space and you need to upload a new file, perhaps there are some previously uploaded media files that are no longer needed and may already be deleted.
30. Know which uploads should never be removed to matter what.
Not all multimedia you previously uploaded may be removed. Some need to stay for your subscribers to see. For example, if you uploaded a video that features the product specs of your main product, you should probably keep that video file for new subscribers to see.
31. HD quality is good but do not always use it.
Your subscribers will appreciate an HD quality video upload. But it will take a lot of space. Even if you use Youtube, an HD file will take longer to load on slower connections.
32. The dimension of photographs does not always have to be big in order to be high quality.
There is this connotation that the higher the pixels, the better the quality and clarity. But it is not always the case. It all depends on the editing. A 640x480 photo may look clearer than a 1024x720 photo.
33. Decide on a language to use.
English is considered the international language. But there are still plenty of people who cannot understand English. If your target is a small locality, maybe you can use their language instead.
34. Consider duplicate pages that are translated to other languages.
If you are targeting a market niche that is composed of people from different countries and ethnicities, perhaps you can make several accounts that use a specific language.
35. Use appropriate tone and language that suits your targeted market niche.
For children’s toys, you should sound fun. For fashion items, you should sound trendy. For serious stuff, you should sound corporate.
36. Be precise and brief in your message.
People hate to read lengthy messages. Some of them are also busy. So keep you posts and comments brief and concise.
37. Always double check spelling and grammar before posting.
Grammatical errors and typos can tarnish your company image. People will think that your posts are done in a hurry with no regard for quality.
Tips on using YouTube effectively
38. Decide on the appropriate comment sharing settings of your Youtube account.
You can decide if you want to block other users from posting comments on your videos and on your profile page. Do this to prevent possibly derogative comments.
39. Decide on whether to use the ‘Like’ and ‘Dislike’ button or not.
Dislikes have an effect on potential customers. If you think you video will get a lot of dislikes, you can turn this option off.
40. Learn how to use related tags.
If you want people to easily find your uploaded video on Youtube, you should use tags which people are likely to use when typing keywords in the search bar. For computer products for examples, tags like iPad, laptop, internet, Intel, and such should be used.
41. Check comments regularly.
If you decided to allow comments, you should check them regularly so you can deal with derogative and damaging comments as soon as possible.
42. Use the ‘delete comment’ option sparingly.
In Youtube, a comment is not completely removed. The username of the person who posted it will still be there and with a note “Deleted comment”. People will wonder why you deleted a comment. So use it sparingly.
43. Using courteous and well-informed replies instead of deleting.
Instead of deleting, you can reply to derogative messages instead. But do not be rude. Simply defend in a very convincing and informed manner.
Make sure that readers will side with you because of the way you answered.
44. Customize your page and use your logo for better credibility.
Using the company logo adds credibility. And customizing your page makes it look more authentic.
45. Upload only high quality videos.
Videos do not have to be in HD to be high quality and clear. It just needs to be properly done and edited. All videos should be high quality because it will affect the image of your company.
46. Screen videos for possibly offensive elements.
People on Youtube can be pretty harsh. Make sure that all videos you upload are free of potentially offensive contents.
47. Take time to learn the policies of Youtube.
It is damaging to the reputation of your company if your account gets suspended. People will wonder why it happened. So take time to read Youtube’s policies.
48. Update users about increase in subscribers.
Others usually update about their first 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 100,000 subscribers. Make these updates so your subscribers can see that your page is moving forward.
Tips on how to expand the reach of your social media account
49. Advertise your social media account.
The purpose of your social media account is to advertise. However, a social media account is an advertisement tool that also needs to be advertised. Tell people to visit your social media account.
50. Always include your social media URL to your other forms of advertisement.
If you advertise on magazines, television, and radio, you need to make sure that your social media account is mentioned. A small note saying “Visit us on Facebook” should be sufficient.
51. Learn to use SEO techniques.
When making posts and uploading articles to your blog site, make sure that they are made with SEO. This will make your social media account easier to find via search engines.
52. Contribute SEO articles to websites like www.ezinearticles.com.
By contributing SEO articles to these sites, you are making your social media page easier to find on the internet.
53. Use a URL name that corresponds to the main keyword which best describes your service/product offering or your company.
You can change how your URL appears. For example, if your company name is Solemn Foods, you can change your Facebook URL to www.facebook.com/solemnfoods
54. Get affiliated with other groups which are related to your market niche.
By becoming affiliates of other groups that are related to your field, you are exposing your page to more potential viewers. For example, if you are selling cosmetics, you should probably become affiliated with pages about makeup tutorial, makeup tips, latest makeup trends, and such.
55. Use follow buttons
These are buttons which you can post elsewhere on the internet. This way, users can like content you posted in your Facebook account actually logging in to Facebook or opening another window.
56. Use share/link buttons.
Have affiliate sites to post a link that will direct users to your blog site. This is one reason why it is important to have many affiliates on the internet. It will help you have more subscribers.
57. Make use of the old school method called email marketing.
Yes, it is old. But it is still effective. Send potential leads an email that contains a link and/or follow button that will connect them to your blog page.
58. Propose a guest post on established and influential blogs – the big names ideally.
Ask other influential groups to allow you to make a post on their page. And on that post, make sure to include a link that will direct users to your blog page.
59. Your subscription buttons should be done via RSS.
This allows users to see the latest updates on your blog page.
Tips on outsourcing work and task
60. Make sure the account holder you hire knows your ideals and standards.
You may choose to hire a person to manage and maintain your blog page. But they should know your standards. They should understand how you want to run things.
61. Have someone check the site throughout the day and night.
You do not know when a user might have posted something derogatory on your page. Therefore, it is important that you have someone check your blog page from time to time to filter out such comments.
62. Set limits on how much they can change.
People you hire to manage your blog page should have limitations. There are things that they should not touch or change. Be clear in this.
63. Authorize different actions to different people if necessary.
For better results, you can hire someone who manages events, promos, news, and such. You should also have a person for articles, videos, graphics, and page design.
64. You can hire people to do the graphics.
Photoshop is not easy. If you need professional results, hire someone to do it for you.
65. You can hire people to do the videos.
There are several videomaker software available out there. If you are not confident, do not attempt to make your own. It will only lead to low quality output.
66. You can hire people to do the short articles.
This is now easy to find. You can now hire ghost writers to write articles and even eBooks for you.
Tips on dealing with trolling, defamation, and other derogatory comments from users
67. Check for possibly derogatory messages all the time.
Check your page all the time, or at least have someone do it for you. You need to deal with negative comments as soon as possible before they affect the opinion of other subscribers.
68. Avoid the domino effect of negative comments.
When one person makes a negative comment, it is possible that others will sympathize. Then it can become a string of negative comments form more users. End it before this happens. Delete the root cause.
69. Do not leave a serious question hanging unanswered for too long.
Some questions, if unanswered, can lead users to doubt your company’s credibility (e.g. the product I bought is lasted only a month, can I have it replaced?). Questions like this one should be answered immediately.
70. Maintain a professional tone when replying to possibly derogative comments.
Sometimes, you need to answer derogatory questions to set things straight, so other users will know the truth. But when doing so, you should avoid being rudely defensive. You should always maintain a professional tone.
Other users will see this and appreciate it.
71. Know which messages should be left unanswered. You do not need to respond to every question.
72. Open a group account, not a personal account.
There are two types of account you can open on Facebook. For social media marketing, you should open a group account instead of a personal account. Its features are designed for marketing.
73. Get your first 25 likes.
A group account will only have access to all its features once it already gathers 25 likes from other users.
74. Consider getting a paid advertisement service from Facebook.
Facebook offers a tool that will make your page appear on the advertisement section of other Facebook users. You can also set this option to appear only on a select market niche (age filters, address filter, gender filter, etc.). But this is a paid feature.
75. Post things that your subscribers will feel like sharing.
If one of your subscribers shares a post from your page, it will be available in their profile page. This way, it will be exposed to everyone in the friendlist of that person. This will extend the reach of your social media account.
76. Like pages or groups which are in some way connected to your market niche.
By liking pages from other groups, you are exposing yourself to the subscribers of those pages.
77. Like pages or groups which are frequented by your target customers.
Go to pages which your target customers might frequent. For example, if your target customers are women, you might find them fashion pages. Like those pages and perhaps post a comment to those pages to help them find you.
78. Get help from people you know who also have Facebook accounts.
The start is the difficult part. Ask people you know to like your page. You can also ask them to share the contents of your page. Their friends can also help out.
79. Include a photo album which shows the faces of your company staffs.
Studies show that people trust online organizations more if they can see faces. If there is no face, it is as if the organization is hiding something.
80. Keep the photo albums organized according to event and date.
People like to browse photos. But it is annoying if different photos are just mixed together. Make sure that you organize them in albums.
81. Advertise your Facebook account on your other social media account.
If you have a Twitter account for example, post a Tweet inviting your followers to check out your Facebook page as well.
82. Use only one account.
This is to prevent confusion. If your services and or products are not widely varied, consider getting only one Facebook account.
83. Use several accounts only if your company has varied sectors.
For example, if your company sells different stuff (e.g. clothes, food, toys), you should probably have a separate account or separate page for each genre.
84. Use your Facebook account to connect with people you meet on business trips and meetings.
If you met possible affiliates on meetings and business trips, you can use your company’s Facebook account to stay connected with them.
85. Your Facebook posts should be in harmony with your Twitter posts, if you have both.
Contradicting posts on your Twitter and Facebook account will be seen as an inconsistency. Subscribers might question how your company runs things.
86. Update users about increase in subscribers.
Tell people that your number of subscribers is growing! This will give the impression that your company is moving forward.
87. Edit the URL name and use a main keyword which best describes your company.
From the default URL assigned to your profile by Twitter, edit it into something like www.twitter.com/YouCompanyNameHere.
88. Regularly post news and events.
If you leave your Twitter account unattended, people will stop following you. And even if they do not unfollow you, they might stop checking your posts.
89. Follow groups, organizations, companies, and/or people which you believe are connected to your company in some way.
Follow twitter accounts that are related to the nature of your business. This will increase your exposure to more Twitter users.
90. Avoid posting Tweets on other’s profile.
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