With face to face marketing methods off the table, it has never been more important to improve your visibility on social media. At the same time, the social media world has become more hectic than ever.
Getting seen in the crowd right now, is a challenge.
Each of the main social media platforms operates differently, with different audiences and a specific algorithm, so, we usually recommend creating a tailored strategy and repurposing content for each one.
We know this sounds like loads of work, and if it’s not going to be seen what’s the point?
Don’t give up! Today we are sharing 5 general advice, overarching approaches that are quick to implement and will increase your visibility on any of the social media platforms, whether you are a Facebook fan or a LinkedIn lover.
How to increase social media visibility:
1. Be consistent
Decide how often you can realistically find the time to post and engage, make a schedule, and then stick to it. All of the social media platform algorithms value consistency.
Look at it from the perspective of your followers – if you post six times in one week, and then don’t show up at all for three weeks, they really won’t know what to expect from you; they’ll just know they can’t rely on seeing you regularly, so it’s unlikely they’ll bother to engage with you much.
Treat social media like a good friend – you need to put into the relationship as much as you would like to get out.
2. Add value
Make sure that the content you’re sharing is useful, educational, inspiring or entertaining. Think about whether the content you’re posting is genuinely entertaining or insightful – the more valuable it is to your followers, the more they will engage with it, making it more likely that the algorithm will show it to a wider group of people – gaining you more visibility. Hoorah!
3. Be sociable
Comment on others’ posts, be helpful, add useful insights and share your knowledge and experience. Social media is all about conversations and relationships, so don’t be tempted to jump in for the hard sell; let the conversation develop naturally and you’ll be surprised how often a simple conversation develops into a strong relationship or a new client.
The platform algorithms also take notice of this sort of organic conversation, and will ‘rate’ you and your content more highly as a result – so your visibility on social media will increase.
4. Use the right hashtags
Not all platforms support hashtags, but if the one you’re using does, then do your research. Choose hashtags that are relevant to your business and to the specific content you’re posting. But, don’t just cram a load of popular but irrelevant hashtags into your post and hope for the best. It will annoy your followers, causing them to unfollow or block your content, and reduce your visibility in the longer term.
For example, the hashtag #Covid19 has been trending on Twitter for months now, but don’t be tempted to use it unless the content you’re posting is genuinely relevant to coronavirus – it will just look odd.
Remember that each platform is different; a hashtag that’s ‘trending’ on Twitter might not be used at all on Instagram so it would be a waste of time to use it there – check them first.
5. Bring others into the conversation
There’s a fine line between careful, targeted tagging, and an irritating spamfest. But if done in the right way, tagging the right people in your posts can be a great strategy to increase your visibility.
Do make sure the person you’re tagging is either already actively engaged with your account, or has shown genuine interest in this topic before. And don’t tag just for the sake of it – tag asking for their opinion or experience of the topic you’re discussing. Make it conversational not salesy and they’ll be much more likely to take part.
Here’s an example of a post I shared recently, where I tagged in Pip and one of our lovely business owner buddies. It shows how you can tag people subtly, without being spammy.
Above all, remember, social media is a marathon not a sprint – being consistent and showing up is the basic commandment to follow on any social media channel, so stick with it and good luck!
