Welcome back to the 4-Part Series where we’re unlocking the 4 Marketing Secrets of the Future!
Now’s your chance to get ahead of the EDO crowd by upping your online marketing game. These are the strategies many EDOs are currently overlooking… and can set you apart from the crowd.
Today, we’re diving into social media.
Maybe you’ve been posting semi-regularly on Facebook or Twitter, and now you’re wondering: How can I take this to the next level? What should I be doing on social media to get results?
Your social media strategy starts with everything we’ve already discussed:
- Keep your target customer in mind in everything you do.
- Tell your community’s story in interesting ways.
- Make sure your website is optimized to collect email addresses.
As you consider a social media strategy, first identify what target market you want to reach, and what social media networks they’re spending time on. For example, if you want to reach millenials, you may want to have a presence on Instagram or Snapchat. If your audience spends time on Facebook or LinkedIn, you’ll want to be sharing content regularly on those networks.
Now, let’s look at five specific social media strategies.
#1. Think about all social media as a funnel to drive people to your website or to take a specific action you want them to take. For example:
- You may want to get people to sign up for an event
- Read a blog post
- Visit your website
- Sign up for your mailing list
Include a call-to-action in your posts that guides them to the action you want them to take!
#2: Create posts that add value and follow the 80/20 rule – Spend 80% of the time talking about and sharing others, and 20% talking about your own business.
Who do you need to be talking and sharing about? Success stories within your community, repurposed blog content or other beneficial information about your community! These could be blog posts or videos on your site that you link to.
When promoting an event, product or program, keep your posts totally focused on your target audience and the value they can get from what you are sharing.
And don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit and try something different! Facebook LIVE and Instagram stories can be a fun and engaging way to connect with your audience and share your content. Try them out at events, giving a sneak peek into the insider experience.
#3: Optimize your profile – No matter what social media site you’re on, make sure you’re optimizing your profile.
- Your profile or About Page should be up-to-date with a description of your organization and key hashtags.
- Have an appropriate picture or logo as your profile pic, plus a header image.
- Include a call-to-action on your profile, encouraging visitors to go to your website to receive the lead magnet.
#4: Take it to the next level with paid ads – Because there’s so much traffic and information on social media sites, your posts might not get seen without boosting or sponsoring them.
Due to Facebook algorithms, business page posts show up on fewer feeds if they are not a sponsored or paid ad. I recommend that all EDOs have at least a small budget for Facebook ads and boosting posts. This can allow your posts to be seen by a much broader audience.
You can utilize paid advertising on other social media networks, like Instagram and Snapchat.
#5: Allocate time weekly to keep up the conversation – You can start by blocking out just one hour a week to schedule out content.
Repurpose blog posts, articles, and videos. You can use online scheduling tools like HootSuite, TweetDeck, Zoho, or Buffer to create and schedule all of your posts in advance.
Growing a following and seeing results doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a consistent effort and visibility.
And remember — it’s social and conversational. Check your page regularly throughout the week and reply to every comment! The more you interact with other users via commenting, sharing, replying or retweeting, the more interaction you will receive!
Note: As social media is constantly changing and sites are tweaking user capabilities, some of the information in this guide may have changed since publication.
