5 Of The Best Social Media Marketing Practices

Social media has been around for a long time, but it’s only in the last few years that companies have really taken advantage of social networks to spread their brand and message. Organizations have finally realized that social media efforts offer a fantastic ROI. This makes all the time and money required to develop a social media presence more than worth the effort.

But only if you go about it in the right way… there’s a big difference between social media marketing done well and done badly. Just being a little smarter with your social media optimization practices can help you to reach thousands more people with every post. Here are some of the best social media marketing practices that will help you make the most of your efforts.

Get Your Branding Straight

Before you begin a full on social-media assault, it pays to make sure you have your branding and identity sorted out first. This means you should have a logo, perhaps a jingle, a byline and a mission statement before you begin pushing your company online. This way you ensure consistency across all channels, and you send the right, targeted message to the target audience. If you don’t have a branding strategy before you go online, then you can send out mixed signals that only serve to confuse your audience.

Here’s a good marketing resource that can help you to develop your branding skills before moving onto the next stage.

Metrics

Metrics are incredibly important for monitoring your success on social media, setting targets and using split testing to fine tune your approach. The old saying goes that ‘that which is measured, improves’ and this is very much the case for social media campaigns. Here’s a guide from MOZ looking at the best use of social media metrics.

Be Everywhere

While certain social media sites may be more popular, it’s important to recognize the power of the smaller, more niche networks – and more importantly the power of being everywhere.

If you are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr, then you will be able to reach potential customers and clients even if they don’t have accounts on all those sites. Furthermore, if the same users see your content repeatedly across platforms it will help to build brand identity, recognition and authority. If you are providing information in particular, then it might take someone to see your branding several times before they begin seeking you out.

Don’t Forget the Smaller Networks

There is real value to using both bigger and smaller social sites. While the bigger sites bring a larger audience, the smaller networks are less crowded, allowing you to make a name for yourself. And if you find a social site before it takes off, then their success can translate into your success. Here are 7 emerging social networks to keep your eye on.

Provide Quality Content

As with running a blog, the secret to success on social media is to provide quality content. Whether this means providing behind-the-scenes insight, industry news, entertainment or special offers, you need to give your subscribers a good reason to stay subscribed and to share. Don’t use social media as a giant spamming-machine; consider your accounts as products and put the same care and attention into them as you would for any other product. This means high quality posts, great images and videos, and real social interaction.