10 Easy to Implement Ideas to Help you Crush Social Media [16 bonus ideas]
Editor, MGI
May 2019
Here’s the problem, regardless of your industry or niche I can almost guarantee your competitors are active on several social channels. So, to stand out and compete for a slice of your customer’s attention, you need a little more effort than one Facebook post every three weeks. Here are 10 easy-to-implement ideas to help you crush social media.
You’re marketing efforts just aren’t complete unless you have a broad-spectrum, social presence. And to be honest, in most cases, the bigger the better. But it’s all so … daunting. Where do I start??? Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or YouTube or LinkedIn or…
Well, the simple answer is yes to all the above … maybe. The truth is it really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and who you’re trying to attract. If your business is B2B then LinkedIn might be a better channel than Instagram – if you’re trying to build a personal brand, it could be the opposite. The point is there are no “blanket” answers to this question and you’re going to need to research the subject to make sure you’re fishing in the right pond (avoid the carp!).
The simplest, and cheapest, method of research is the dependable hashtag. Yep, the ol’ #
The simplest, and cheapest, method of research is the dependable hashtag. Yep, the ol’ #. First, make a list of all the keywords associated with your business. If you do SEO, you have a head start. Then, do a Google search for those keywords with the hashtag (i.e. #marketing). Note the channels with the most posts, associate with your keyword, and that’s a great place to start your social focus.
Once you’ve identified the ponds you want to fish in, you’ll need some bait … er, content. Getting started with a strategic and consistent social effort doesn’t have to be difficult if you lay the right foundation and use some easy tactics to build your content. We think the ideas below are a great way to hit the ground running.
Create a content calendar with a publication schedule
First and foremost, use a simple tool to help you plan your social posts. This does not need to be rocket science – in fact, the simpler the better. Amy Porterfield has some good advice and a free tool to help.
Repurpose content like blogs and videos
This is by far the lowest-hanging fruit. If you’re already creating content for your blog or website, simply repurpose it in your social channels.
Share user-generated content from your fans and followers
Say it with me, UGC! Aka, free content. If you have a blog or website where your customers are leaving comments and/or suggestions, use the best quotes and ideas in your social posts.
Curate third-party content
There’s a lot of great information on the web you can curate with a little bit of effort. Do a search on those areas that are of interest to you – you can be sure there are others that share your curiosity and haven’t found the answers. Post that content, with the appropriate attribution, and your followers will thank you.
Trending topics
Is there a hot or polarizing topic that’s making the rounds in your industry? Those are typically trending for a reason and you can use the power of the trend, to ride the wave of exposure.
“Day-of-the-Week” posts
Whether it’s #MotivationMonday, #TechTuesday or #YouGetTheIdeaWednesday, DOTW-themed posts are a popular way to associate your posts with particular content, on particular days. Your followers will look forward to the variety of topics you cover.
There’s a lot of great information on the web you can curate with a little bit of effort.
Share an attention-grabbing statistic
People love sensationalism so if you have a fact or statistic that you think will boggle people’s brains, post it. If it came from someone else, attribute it.
Highlight a customer of the month
Who doesn’t love attention? Spend a little time doting on your customers. Be sure to emphasize the problems you helped them solve.
Images or Videos of Your Product
If you have a product that is remarkable or unique why not show off those traits in a pic or vid on your social channels?
Holiday/Seasonal Posts
Don’t underestimate tried and true. Holiday or seasonal-focused content will always resonate with your followers.
Product Reviews
If you’re seen as an expert or if you’re just getting started and want to position yourself as one, start posting reviews of products you carry or are aligned with your industry/niche.
Inspirational Quotes
This is a simple one and a great way to get started or fill in some content gaps. Find some inspirational quotes, related to your industry or niche, and post a couple a week. Try to keep them as unique as possible and focused on things that will make your audience smile or think. You can get started with two of mine – “Patience is knowing the difference between right … and right now” / “We make time for those things important to us … excuses for everything else!”
Free or Valuable Resources
Regardless of your niche, there are a ton of apps or SaaS solutions or utilities that you and your followers would find useful. Make it a habit to seek out and share those remarkable finds with your followers and they’ll reciprocate with their attention.
A great way to stay on top of the latest trends and best practices is to subscribe to one (or several) podcasts that focus on the social arena.
Podcast Episodes
If you have a podcast then you also have a ton of content for your social channels. Take snippets and post them to your social media. If you don’t have a podcast, but hear something repeatable on someone else’s, post it with attribution.
Create a how-to video
Do you know how to do something your followers will find interesting or useful? Of course, you do. Record a video of you demonstrating your knowledge. If it involves something online, use a free screen recording tool (search free screen recording) to capture your mad skills!
Poll your audience
A few weeks ago, I posted a question to our Instagram followers and asked, “If you’re not asking your (potential) customers what they want, or think, how do you know?” Do you know? If not, ask.
Question Posts
Do you get questions on your website or social media? If you do (and if you don’t, you will) is it possible more of your customers have the same questions? Post the questions and your response and your customers will think you’re a mind reader.
Listen to a podcast
A great way to stay on top of the latest trends and best practices is to subscribe to one (or several) podcasts that focus on the social arena. There are a ton but we particularly like Social Media Marketing by Social Media Examiner. Take all that newfound knowledge and share it with your followers.
Use the right hashtags
Remember the hashtags we discussed using to find your target audience in the intro to this article? Well, those same hashtags, and any others related to your content, should accompany each of your posts. The “correct” number to use is debatable but we recommend starting with 3-5, and testing engagement with higher, and lower, numbers.
Use social sharing tools on your blog/website, but not too many
If you’re posting shareable worthy content on your blog/website (and if you’re not, why?) make sure to make it easy for your visitors to share. The addition of social sharing tools is typically pretty easy – usually as simple as a WordPress plugin. They are a great way to leverage the power of your publications to get social exposure. But be careful with the number of sharing icons you place at the bottom of your articles. Several studies have shown too many can cause confusion and actually decrease the number of shares. Start with 3-5 and test your results.
Hay while the sun is shining (aka, post when your prospects/customers are online).
Include your social accounts in your email sig
For a lot of us, we spend more time in email than we do on our social accounts. This article is about changing that but why not get those accounts some additional exposure by including them in your email signature line. My recommendation is to rotate the social accounts so your sig isn’t too heavy. Every little bit helps.
Respond professionally to the haters
It’s inevitable, the more popular you become on social media the more you’ll encounter the “haters”. Don’t take it personally – it comes with the territory. The truth is you’ll have to develop a thick skin if you want to have a successful presence on social. Take the high ground, if you feel the need to respond, it’ll pay off with your true followers.
Hay while the sun is shining (aka, post when your prospects/customers are online)
All too often we find ourselves posting when it’s convenient, or when we happen to remember. What do you think the chances are your target audience is online at that very moment? The truth is there are strategic ways to ensure your hard work (posts) get seen. Do a quick search on, “best time to post on social media” and you’ll find a couple billion of them. Keep in mind, they vary by social channel. Take the recommendation that works best for you and plug it into your content calendar (#1 above).
Leverage content across social channels
Sure, in a perfect world diversified content will perform better but we’re focused on getting started in this article and let’s face it, it’s much easier to copy content from one platform to another. Once you get rolling you can get more strategic and focus your content on the audiences in different channels.
Use a tool like ClickToTweet
Another great way to encourage social sharing of your blog or website content is with a tool like ClickToTweet.
And last but not least, if you did something that worked well … DO IT AGAIN!
There’s nothing wrong with reposting similar or edited posts, if you’ve had success and your audience likes the content. Not all of your posts will be home runs so squeeze every drop out of the ones that perform!
