As I’m sure you are aware, social media marketing never stands still. Not only do you need to have an “always on” presence but as social networks continue to develop and evolve (join our Social Networking Support Club to keep up to date with the changes), it is worth regularly checking whether you are using the right channels for your business. You are investing a great deal of time nurturing your online presence – you need to be engaging with the right audience! Take a look at our 5 tips to ensure your social media marketing will be successful in 2017.
Tip 1
Have a social media strategy and keep at it. Social media takes time and effort over a sustained period to achieve results. If you need help with this, take a look at our popular Social Media Strategy online course or ask us about our social media strategy services.
Tip 2
Consider your audience demographic. Trackx has created this infographic which provides an overview of some of the key audience stats for all the major social platforms. This can help you determine which channels will work best for your business in 2017. There is no point spending lots of time on a channel if your audience is not going to be there but on the other hand – don’t use too many channels – there is a time/resource/investment balance required.
Tip 3
Social Media may have changed since you started to use it. Let’s look at some of the key trends in 2017, as these may influence your decisions:
a) Social isn’t just for Millennials anymore – According to this study by Pew Research, social networking use among Internet users ages 50 and older has nearly doubled—from 22% to 42% over the past year!
b) The line between Internet user and social network is becoming less distinct. In the same study, in 2009 only 46% of online adults used social media; this figure has now risen to around 70%. In a recent conversation with a friend of mine who runs a karate club, he refers to his Facebook channel as his ‘website’ and uses this to good effect to advertise his business and keep his followers informed of events and classes together with useful tips. Not every business needs a website and a Facebook page these days.
c) Video remains king – Facebook has enjoyed considerable growth since its launch of live video streaming earlier in the year. According to Social Media Week, the algorithm puts more emphasis on longer videos as long as they have relevant content. We will only see more brands experimenting with this – why not give it a try?
d) Increase in personalised content – With the ever increasing amount of content published online, it is more important than ever to make sure your content is seen by the right people at the right time. Collect data about your audience and create targeted content that really appeals to them. In a simple format, you could use Facebook remarketing to advertise to people who have visited your website or send targeted e-newsletters to different segments of your database.
Tip 4
Take another look at your social media profiles and make sure they still represent your brand. Check whether the cover photos need a refresh or whether the bios still accurately represent what you do and contain relevant keywords, and, if appropriate, hashtags.
Tip 5
Plan your content. Create and plan content ahead of time. We have started to use Content Cal to plan content across the brands we manage. It is a visual tool that makes it easy to post and schedule updates in different categories to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. They offer a free version for 1 user – perfect for small businesses.
What changes are you going to make? Let us know in the comments below.