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10 WAYS TO GROW YOUR SOCIAL REACH

TACTICS TO GROW YOUR SOCIAL REACH

1) PUT SOCIAL SHARING AND FOLLOW BUTTONS ON ALL OF YOUR COLLATERAL.

Whether your marketing materials are online or offline — but really, the online ones are uber-critical — place social calls-to-action that let people know where they can find you on social media. Remember, you need social sharing buttons, andsocial follow buttons. This allows people to share your content, and/or opt in to follow you on social media themselves. Both are big wins for widening your social reach. Think everywhere from your home page and your blog posts, to your email marketing messages and printed collateral at trade shows. (Tip: Consider using QR codes to bridge the gap between print and digital when promoting your social media presences on printed materials.)

 

2) MAKE SURE SOCIAL SHARE AND FOLLOW BUTTONS ARE VISIBLE ON MOBILE VERSIONS OF YOUR SITE.

People are always using their mobile devices when checking out new and interesting companies. And they sure as sugar use ‘em to mess around on social media while they’re waiting for the bus. Chilling in line. Parked in their car. Sitting in the airport. You get the point. So it’s important your social follow and share buttons are easy to find on your marketing assets if they’re being accessed from a mobile device. It makes that next step to follow you or share your content much easier!

 

3) TAILOR YOUR CONTENT TO THE SOCIAL NETWORK.

What you’re saying on Twitter should be short and sweet. Punchy. Easy to digest in a sentence. What you’re saying on Facebook? Well, you have more room to play around. It’s easier for people to see a visual than it is on Twitter — and same goes for Google+. LinkedIn, however, might benefit from a link to a more in-depth content asset, pulling in a snippet from the content itself. Every social network is a little bit different. Treat the content you post there accordingly so it resonates with that audiences, and is more likely to spread.

 

4) TAILOR YOUR CONTENT TO THE PERSONA.

Just as your social networks have a personality, so do the people for whom you’re posting content. Consider the make-up of your audience — and remember that it may differ from network to network — to understand what content spreads the most. This is something you’ll get better at gauging over time. For instance, you might notice that your audience on Facebook loves when you share funny content about Topic X, but your LinkedIn audience engages more when you post educational content about Topic Y. Striking the right topic and tone for your content based on the audience’s persona will help you get your content shared with new audiences.

 

5) RESPOND FREQUENTLY TO YOUR FANS AND FOLLOWERS.

One of the best ways to grow your audience is by fostering a chatty community. Why? Because the more your entire follower-base communicates publicly, the more exposure your social presence receives. Not only that, when you consider how Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm works, the posts that receive the most engagement receive the most exposure in the News Feed. Post content people want to talk about, and foster the conversation with your own responses, too.

 

6) INTERACT AND ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT AREN’T YET FOLLOWING YOU.

Engagement is the first step to building relationships with your network, but also with people you have not connected with yet. If you want to grow your reach, a natural introduction happens through engagement. That would mean retweeting someone new on Twitter, sharing another company’s great Facebook update, or engaging in a discussion in another person or company’s LinkedIn group.

 

7) KEEP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES UP TO DATE.

When it looks like no one has touched your social profile in months — heck, even weeks or days — it’s not giving anyone a reason to follow you. Stay current, stay active, and most of all, mix it up a bit so people have a reason to come back! For instance, make yourself one of those companies who posts amazing cover photos on Facebook. You know, the kinds that your entire fan base looks forward to checking out. Keeping people on their toes not only helps prevent fan/follower churn, it gives new people a reason to both share and follow your profiles, too.

 

8) TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE THROUGH PAID ADVERTISING.

Social networks have really upped their game of late with their paid advertising options. Facebook, in particular, has done a great job improving their segmentation capabilities so brands that have a little money to spend can increase their reach. If you have some budget — a little or a lot — consider running some paid ads that encourage more fans and followers.

 

9) CONSIDER THE TIME OF DAY YOU POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

The time of day you post on social media totally affects engagement. And affected engagement — whether positively or negatively — means affected social reach. Figure out what times of day are best for your audience.

 

10) NEWSJACK ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Newsjacking refers to the practice of riding the popularity wave of a current event for some business gain. If something’s incredibly popular, be the first person to talk about it in social media. That positions you as the information source that people know they just have to follow if they want to stay in the know.

[Via Olea Works]

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