Hi, Emily here!
“You have to be an amoeba and continually absorb everything from every angle”
This is how you become a successful on social media, according to one response to the B2B Marketing survey last year – by immersing yourself in the saturated world of content, conversations and conversions in order to get your followers interacting with it.
After all, there’s no point making interesting, useful content if no one clicks through and shares it right?
So this all-seeing amoeba method…Does this sound at all likely when you juggle a small business, family/personal life and other projects??
Yeah… I didn’t think so. But don’t let this stop you from really getting to grips with your content schedule, especially when it comes to what it can do for you in terms of engagement on social media.
I’ve found three sites that make it all a breeze, whilst still allowing for your brandonality to shine through! But first:
According to a report from the Content Marketing Institute on Business to Business marketing strategies, businesses are moving away from a social sales approach that churns out content for the sake of it, and are instead prioritising platforms for their help to achieve other goals. 84% of businesses asked said that brand awareness was the most important B2B marketing goal, which is closely followed by Lead Generation at 83%.
Engagement on social media was classed as a stand-alone goal – separated from brand awareness and other social marketing targets. I found this is really interesting, because it shows that what you post, and the reach of your brand, can only take you so far to achieve your overall marketing goals.
What people are aiming for are conversations, sharing connections and showing appreciation for contributed content. The link between content marketing and social sharing is simple – if your content schedule is sorted, this gives you more time to spend making the connections that count – so you can create strong relationships built on trust and mutual gain with potential customers!
In the interests of time-saving, I’ve put together a quick list of three things to think about when optimizing your content for social sharing.
1. Use Canva for Better Image Content.
There’s no excuse anymore I’m afraid…what with image led posts generating the most interest and click-throughs than plain posts. An awesome site that’s really simple to use is Canva – which is a bit like having a graphic designer on hand without the fees! Fresh, clean designs and a really easy to use interface.
2. More videos!!
You could go full vlog mode like Sam if you are feeling brave! But you don’t have to use your face or voice to get the benefits of using video on your social media and sales pages. One pro tip: make sure that if you do have sound, you uncheck any “autoplay” options so that your followers can choose how they receive the message. Programmes like Easy VSL are a great way to get your content in a dynamic format. On top of all of that, by providing captions in this way you’re making your content more accessible.
3. To Meme or Not to Meme.
Sites such as Imgur are smaller than Facebook but steadily growing. If you are looking to reach out to a younger audience with memes and photosets then they might be worth checking out! I would advise that you approach with caution – these platforms are about conversation in its purest form, and anonymity rules – it’s not always going to have content you can share with your professional following! However, if you’re not sure of what your millennial audience are talking about, and you want to get your finger on the pulse, Imgur could prove useful.
With these in mind, it might be easier to be the all absorbing, all seeing amoeba than we first thought! What do you think – would you be tempted to use some of these ideas? Got any tips or places you go to for cracking content when time is tight? Let us know!!
