Social media marketing isn’t the new kid on the block anymore. Things that felt fresh and exciting just a few years ago are now old hat and that means we’ve all got to find ways to take our Facebook and Instagram marketing to the next level.
Fortunately, there are still lots of things you can do to “level up” your social media marketing. Here are some suggestions to help you stay ahead of the pack in 2021.
Poll Your Followers
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all allow users to create polls for the followers to respond to. In most cases, we’re talking simple polls with just two or three potential responses.
That said, even a simple poll can be useful as a way to collect information from your followers. Because polls are interactive, they encourage engagement. In many cases, respondents won’t even need to leave their feed. They can respond by clicking their choice.
If you want to take it to the next step, you can try using a poll as a quick form of split testing. Include links to two different versions of your landing page or home page and ask people to vote on their favorite.
Engage in Social Listening
You’ve probably seen at least one brand make a critical mistake on social media by responding in a tone-deaf way to something in the news. Does that mean you should never respond to anything topical? No – but it does mean you need to be careful.
The best way to avoid missteps is to engage in social listening. Before you post, scroll through relevant hashtags, and get a feeling for what people are saying and how it might relate to your brand, products, or services. Then, you’ll be able to craft a response that is equal to the moment and will speak to the concerns and needs of the people who follow you.
Fine-Tune Your Twitter Voice
Having a clear and consistent brand voice is essential on any social media platform but it is most important on Twitter, where you have just 288 characters to get your point across. You can expand a thought over two or more Tweets (sometimes known as a Tweetstorm) but you still need to fine-tune your voice.
Your voice might be authoritative, funny, snarky, or highbrow. Whatever it is, you should learn how to get it across in a single Tweet. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation and trying a couple of different options will help you to get it right.
Vary Your Instagram Content
Because Instagram got its start as an app where people could share mobile photography, it’s common for business owners to get stuck in a rut, posting only high-quality photographs and never taking any chances.
Instagram’s options have expanded and it’s time for you to get on board with the changes. You can try any of the following to diversify your content.
- Create short videos to share with your followers
- Do an Instagram Live video
- Create one or more GIFs from your videos or other sources
- Get creative and make some memes that are relevant to your brand
- Take advantage of micro-blogging and share your thoughts
There’s a lot you can do with Instagram and as users become increasingly sophisticated, they expect more from the brands they follow.
Start an IGTV Show
Speaking of expanded content on Instagram, did you know you can create long-form television shows using IGTV? Content creators use IGTV to do Q & A sessions, live stream events, interview experts, share reviews and testimonials, and much more.
The great thing about IGTV is that you can start small and build your channel. You don’t need fancy video equipment or sound equipment. If you can produce quality video with clear sound, you have what you need to create your own IGTV show.
Use Custom Retargeting to Increase Conversions
When you are marketing your products or services to a “cold” audience, it can be nearly impossible to make any money from your Facebook ads. That said, there’s a way you can increase your ROI without spending a lot more money: retargeting.
For example, you might run a video ad to people in your area featuring your product. You don’t need to run it for long – just a few days or a week. Then, you can create a custom audience of people who watched at least half of your video and show them a new ad designed to pique their interest and encourage them to buy your product or fill out your lead form.
You may also want to check out link retargeting, which allows you to add a Facebook pixel to any content you share, even if it’s curated from a third party site.
Find Micro-Influencers to Share Your Content
Few local businesses have the money to hire nationally recognizable influencers. For that reason, some business owners have written off influencer marketing as something that’s a waste of time.
The correct response to the rise of influencer marketing is to focus on micro-influencers: people who have authority with the (relatively) small audience of people who are in the market for products like yours.
Micro-influencers may be industry superstars or popular local figures. Focusing on them means spending far less money than you would on a celebrity influencer for a higher rate of return. You can find influencers by searching for relevant hashtags and looking for people who are sharing content to your target audience.
Optimize for Mobile
Our final tip cuts across all formats and social media sites. At this point in our digital history, you should assume that everybody accessing your content is doing so via a mobile device. There’s no excuse for not optimizing your social media content for mobile users.
On Pinterest and Instagram, that means using vertically-oriented, rectangular pictures in a 2:3 aspect ratio to fill mobile screens. The easier it is for your followers to view your content on their device of choice, the more likely it is that they’ll buy your products.
Social media marketing has come a long way and it’s time to get caught up and try some new things. As we head into the second quarter of 2021, take advantage of the updates to increase your ROI and profits.
