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In today’s personal and business environment, social media has become part of our every day life. The question most people ask, how do we use these social media websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, BranchOut, and Pinterest? What are the benefits of integrating social media to my website? Here are some tips and tools for making the most of your social media websites…and if you don’t have any, here’s why you need to get them:
GROUPS: LinkedIn Groups are the BEST way for networking, looking for job/posting a job, sharing ideas, etc. Getting involved in 25+ groups may seem like a lot, but it really isn’t. Try to stay actively involved in each one, contribute to others’ comments, post your own discussions, and hope that your post will make it to the “Popular Discussions” news feed.
POPULAR DISCUSSIONS: If your post becomes popular (or active with comments and likes), your post will show up on the Home page of the LinkedIn Group. This concept is similar to the idea of increasing your SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but on LinkedIn. Doing this will provide as more effective marketing for your company, due to the fact that group members keep seeing your profile picture pop up often and they will remember your company when deciding who to contact for your specific product/service.
POLLS: LinkedIn groups can also help increase your company’s Facebook likes, Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, and even traffic to your website. You can also create polls on most LinkedIn groups. Polls are fun, interactive, and provide as another source for effective marketing for your company.
RE-TWEET: Re-tweeting others’ tweets is another great way to get your company “remembered” by marketing yourself more often. This plays as a win-win situation; they appreciate you re-tweeting their tweets and in return, they might like or follow your pages and remember your company when deciding whom to contact for your specific product/service.
HASH TAGS: Hash tags are also known to be very helpful when trying to spread your tweets around to more than followers. Try to find out which popular hash tags you want to use for marketing your tweets around. This could be local terms (such as your surrounding cities, schools, companies, etc.), relating terms (such as things about your product, service, company, brand, etc.), or even target audiences you want to reach more of (such as other cities, states, sport teams, etc.).
For example, in the College Station, TX area, the most popular hash tags used are #BCSTx #tamu #aggieland #theeagle and #houston.
Google +
Not many have an account with this yet, but if you decide to get one, promote it to friends/followers and help them learn about it so they will want to open an account. Then promote your Google Plus page so they will connect with you.
Again, if you don’t understand it yourself, do the research! Or go to the article: http://articles.centennialarts.com/2012/01/13/google-the-new-and-expanding-social-network/
POLLS: Conduct polls. To do this, go to your company page and click “Ask Question” next to your status bar. Polls are interactive, fun, interesting, and directs people to your page.
SUGGEST/SHARE: You can also suggest your page to friends to “like” your page, while also inviting them to participate in the poll by sharing it with them. Don’t forget to add the link to your poll on Facebook by sharing it on Twitter. This invites your followers to go to your Facebook to vote…which could also lead them to “like” your page while they’re at it.
PROFILES: It is important to have both a company and a personal profile page. Why? Without a company page, you can’t gain “likes” or the ability to conduct polls. Without a personal page (which manages and has a linked account with the company page) you won’t be able to suggest friends to like your company page, or even invite friends to events/promotions.Therefore, have both a company and personal profile page for Facebook.
POSTS: On your company page, stick to posts/status updates that are relevant to your company. On your profile page, stick to posts that are “you,” fun, random, interesting facts, etc that have nothing to do with your company. If you post something that is really interesting and important on your company page, you can also post it to your personal page. This way if your friends haven’t liked your page yet, they can still get the updates on what you posted on your company page.
BranchOut
JOB SEARCH: BranchOut is a professional, career networking component of Facebook. It is similar to LinkedIn, but not as effective or as frequently used. It also does not have as many features as LinkedIn. But if you decide to become active in BranchOut, promote it to your Facebook friends and help them learn about it/understand its’ purpose. If you don’t know about it yourself, do the research!
POSTS: This unique social media site is something many companies are starting to get plugged in to. This site is most popular with industries in wedding, food, fashion, photography, and travel, but if you can be creative in using your specific industry to be apart of Pinterest, then give it a shot!
INDUSTRIES: For example, a company in the technology industry can post pictures of new devices on the market, great pictures taken with the new iPad3, creations using Photoshop, colorful and fun QR code designs, etc.
SHARE: If you post anything on Pinterest, you can also share the link on Twitter or Facebook to get followers/friends to take a look at your Pinterest page.
Integrating your social media today!
There are many social media sites out there, but this article provided the most popular sites with tips on marketing your company in the most effective way. We want to make sure you understand how to use each website to the maximum, bringing these tools of success to help increase your company’s clientele and marketing. For more information, contact Centennial Arts with the link below!
