Social media can do a lot of things for your business, including increasing your website traffic. But you have to do a lot more than simply have an account on sites like Facebook or Twitter! You have to build a relationship with your users, know what to post and post regularly.
How?
Let’s start with…
Say It Well
It used to be you could pretty much share anything on sites like Facebook and it would be enough to spur Likes and comments. Back in the day, social media was new and everyone noticed whatever you posted. You could post something on Facebook or tweet anything about a new product or service–and people would not only see it… they’d actually click on it! (All marketers miss those days!)
Times have changed. These days there is so much content out there that people are more likely to skip right by your post. Making matters worse, is that if you don’t get immediate engagement on your shares, the social platform will take that as a signal that your share isn’t any good and won’t continue to share it with your followers.
So you have to give them content that they will want.
How do you find all this content?
Use Buffer. Not only can you schedule your posts so that you get to do so regularly, it will also provide content options that are valuable to your users in between actual announcements that you have about your business.
Take A Look Around
Be aware of what your chosen social platform is best suited for and participate!
For example, Facebook is all about video right now, so sharing content in this format might give your post more mileage and engagement via comments and likes.
Twitter is working on creating more interactive content, so on top of the usual tweet, GIFs and images also get more visibility. (For a personal touch, direct messages are typical ways to interact on Twitter.)
Work The Room
Just because it’s online doesn’t mean the basics of relationship building have changed.
If you want people to engage, you have to build rapport with them. Social media is about people and how you relate to them, which means you have to interact with them on a regular basis.
This requires you to post regularly and reply to their questions, comment on conversations, and give your opinion–anything that will ultimately complement the interactive experience of being online.
Creating private groups on Facebook and Google+ or sending out direct messages on Twitter or LinkedIn are some ideas on how you can add that personalized connection.
Money Talks
The easiest way to give your posts visibility and engagement is by paying for it. The great thing about it is, it’s completely scaleable! You can go as high as you want or as low, depending on what kind of budget you have available.
There’s No Place Like Home
Finally, remember that you should be posting on a social media platform that you are comfortable with. Whether you choose Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine or any other social media platform, it’s best to master the one before branching out.
TO WRAP IT UP
- Automate (i.e. using Buffer)
- Be aware of your environment
- Build relationships
- Use paid advertising
- Familiarize yourself with your chosen platform
…follow these five social media tips and see how well they work to drive traffic to your website.
Have a social media tip on how to increase traffic? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below.
As always, if you found this post helpful, feel free to share it!
– Mercer
