Social media, just like any other form of promotion, has positives and negatives but common sense is vital if you want to get great results. Whenever talking about social media we need to be aware of reputation and of the fact that branding is a huge part of everything that we do.
Joining social networks automatically means that a profile becomes public. That profile can be personal or connected to a brand. No matter what the case is, relevance stands out as highly important and you should never be fooled by the apparent convenience that we see.
In order to help you out, here are some simple, common sense social networking tips to employ at all times. They will be paramount in your promotion efforts.
Everything Starts With Your Target Audience
The very first SEO tip I highlighted on the blog of the company I do consulting work for was connected to identifying your audience and how important that is. This is important for any type of profile you have and the reason why the social profile was created. You need to know who you talk to in order to entertain, inform, provoke controversy or make a sale.
Identifying your target audience leads to understanding where the audience can be found. People naturally use some social networks. Not all the people you want to reach will be present on Facebook. Some may have Twitter, Google Plus or Pinterest accounts, among others.
Only Join The Social Media Websites That Count!
As soon as you know your audience, you will understand what social networks you need to join. Keep in mind that there are options ranging from less used Stumble Upon and YouTube to highly popular Twitter and Facebook. Only join those networks that are frequented by your audience.
As a simple example, let’s consider Pinterest. If you have a blog that talks about food and gives visitors access to many recipes, you will want to join Pinterest since thousands of people that are looking for recipes use the network every day. If you sell protein supplements, you will not want to join Pinterest since it will not be useful.
Never Forget About Security
Since there are large companies that own the social networks, we do not think about security but that is something that we have to consider since all the posts that we publish on the internet will be visible for years. This can lead towards reputation, career or relationship problems in the future.
When talking about security, we do not necessarily mean passwords or data theft. We mean everything that is connected to the identity of the company/brand that is represented. Whenever thinking about information links, it is the followers and friends that can cause problems. There are many companies that will analyze the social networking profiles and blogs of employees. You should do the same. Never post anything that compromises the online presence or reflects badly on you as an individual or a brand you represent.
Auto Posting Can Cause Problems
As time passes, you do end up using auto posting because of the fact that it helps you to gain time. This is not a bad idea since it will help you but you need to never neglect using manual posting. I say this because it will add a personal feeling that is visible. You may believe that nobody realizes that the posts are automatically posted by many actually do. Always use unique snippets since they are attention getting. Use unique wording since this is always more personal and all followers/fans want to see a personal connection. Also, use words that actually work on the social media sites you use them on.
Use Different Snippets For Different Networks
This is something that often happens as people tend to believe that different fans exist on different social platforms. In many cases this is incorrect. If you post the exact same links, photos and snippets to all the social media sites, you end up with duplicate content and people are not given a real reason why they would follow you on different channels. Invest more time in your campaigns and always keep things different. Your engagement will automatically grow!
Only Promote High Quality Content
Sometimes you just come across some content and you share it. Do not do this! Take that extra time to analyze the content that you share. Make sure that it is of a really high quality. There are many studies that confirmed the fact that online readers just skim blogs and click buttons instead of reading all that is offered. That is why you have to ALWAYS be extremely selective where content is promoted and how you promote it.
Conclusions
We can say that the bottom line is that you actually need to allow enough time for the social networking profiles to grow. A simple rule of thumb is that if you do not love the content that you think about sharing, the audience will most likely feel the same. Being selective about what networks you use and what you post will help you a lot more than you believe now, no matter how much extra time you spend on this!
