Recent statistics claim that 79% of people who have Internet access have logged in to Facebook, and most of those claims now that Facebook is their preferred method for watching video. With more than 1.6 billion users and 100 million hours of video being consumed through that channel each day it’s not surprising that this form of social media will generate around $22 billion dollars this year from advertising. That’s just Facebook; there’s also Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and others who have statistics that will persuade you that if you are not at the social media party you’re missing out on a large potential network of people you can influence.
Now that you know the magnitude of the power of social media how can you use it to your advantage to get your message out and to build your own network of supporters? We’ve outlined a few essentials that can guide you through creating a good position in your social media channels.
Decide who you want to be.
Many people use social media as an outlet to share funny stories or pictures and to create a fun-loving persona. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but don’t create that person and then expect people to take you seriously if you are trying to promote your professional blog, for example. Be consistent with your social media messages and shape your posts to be more like the person you want to be known as. If you want to share your personal life, while at the same time promoting your profession, make sure that you successfully marry the two in your messaging. For example, if you are a kindergarten teacher who is starting a baking business, use kids and a reference to your teaching experience in your posts. Decide what you want your personality to be on social media and don’t confuse your audience. They’ll come to rely on you if they know what to expect!
Be consistent, but not overbearing.
There’s a lot of good content in Facebook feeds, but there’s also a lot of noise. Everyone has a ‘friend’ who posts so much that their content is not even read anymore. Don’t be that friend. Posting every day is not too much as long as you keep it to one or two sentences with a link if you have more to add to the message. If you post less frequently a little longer message is acceptable as long as it can be read without Facebook automatically adding a ‘read more’ collapsible link to it. That should be your first clue that your post is too long.
Tag friends, as long as it benefits them.
There is etiquette that you should observe in social media. Tagging influential people is the easiest and fastest way to grow your network and you should always have growth as a goal, but don’t overdo it. The fastest way to lose friends is to abuse them by tagging them constantly. Remember that they will receive a notice every time you tag them and every time someone interacts with your message they’ll be notified, which can be annoying – unless – the content benefits them. That should be a motive to write good content, right? Write something extremely meaningful and then include people who will want to be associated with it. Trust us, you’ll know when you thought your content was meaningful and no one else did.
‘Make a deal’ with some of your friends.
When people engage with your content through ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ your network will grow. Find interesting people and start sharing and commenting on their content and ask them to do the same for you. You’ll both grow as a result.
Know who’s enjoying your content.
As the reach of your posts expands, you’ll soon be interacting with people who aren’t in your network. Monitor all of your posts and always invite people to follow you. People expect that, so don’t be hesitant. As you grow, there are tools that can automate that, such as the Chrome extension called ‘Invite’.
Use the algorithms to your advantage.
Algorithms drive everything that you and your audience see. Facebook openly admitted to a change recently that allows them to sort your newsfeed based on what they think you’ll like rather than what you think you’d like. YouTube’s entire recommendation algorithm is based on predictive analytics and the assumption that people who look like you online will enjoy the same content that you do. They are billions of dollars invested in making sure that you are never bored when you’re on social media. What can you do? With the infiltration of Smart TVs in homes now, you can be a bigger part of the algorithm. Watch your own content! A YouTube channel is a must if you are trying to start or grow a business. Organize your content, give it relevant and meaningful titles and point it to your website and social media pages. The more you watch your content the more you can influence the algorithm that presents content to other people who are similar to you. If you watch your content, people with similar profiles may start seeing it in their recommendation lists!
Social media is only going to grow and you can grow with it. Use it to better your position among the audience you want to influence.
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