How to utilise the full potential of social media

The number of social media users worldwide is expected to reach 2.67 billion in 2018. That's a lot of people so follow these tips to acheive the best results.

Showcase your Brand Personality

Increasing numbers of consumers want to know more about the businesses they choose to support. This doesn't mean that you need to post silly team selfies on Instagram or crack 10 jokes an hour on Twitter, it just means that it's super important to be authentic and to do this in a way that your audience finds engaging.

If you're hosting a team bake-off style competition, take a long team lunch every Friday, or support a series of charities, use your social platforms to give your audience an insight into the ethos, values, and behind the scenes culture of your brand.

Utilise Engaging Visuals

Instagram's colossal success means that you shouldn't be surprised to learn that social media posts incorporating a visual element of some kind, be it an emoji, a gif, an illustration, or a photograph, will typically perform better than one without. Tweets with images are re-tweeted 150% more than their image-free counterparts and are 80% more likely to be read.

Practice Brevity

Sometimes keeping things short and sweet is best...

... We were just going to leave that point there, but we figured you might like a bit of context. Our lives are getting busier, our attention spans are getting shorter and, as we have access to a whole Internet's worth of information, we don't want to spend time reading anything we don't find valuable or interesting.

If you have a lot of information you want to share on a specific topic, put together an infographic. They're easy to digest and are 3 times more likely to be shared than other types of content.

Avoid Aggressive Selling

If your 'you must buy this now' messaging is nestled between a cute cat gif and a picture of someone's epic lunch, which post do you think will be ignored? Of course, one of the reasons you maintain your social platforms is to boost sales, but there are other, more effective ways to achieve this.

Experiment with a Range of Content but Recognise what Works

Let's just take a moment to appreciate how great boxes of assorted chocolates are. They say that variety is the spice of life and we're inclined to agree. Some of your posts might find themselves feeling a bit neglected, like the jaw-breaking toffees that anyone even mildly concerned for their teeth will avoid forever. However, sometimes they'll be so popular they'll leave your audience wanting a whole box filled with their fave truffles because, let's be real, they are the superior chocolate treat.

If you're not following this admittedly slightly strange analogy, experimentation will help you to avoid samey content and help you to figure out what works best for both your business and your audience. After all, there's no point continuing to create something that your audience just aren't interested in.

If you're keen to boost your social standing and need some guidance, give us a call. Although we can't guarantee sweet treats, we can promise personalised advice tailored specifically for you.