If you really want to stand out in the crowded landscape of social media, you have to make sure to optimize your social media.
Optimize comes from the term “search engine optimization.” Basically, you want to ‘optimize’ your page where it is easy for search engines to find them. There are two basic forms of optimizing: text and graphics.
Optimize your Text
The text on your page should include keywords that your potential customers will be searching for. If you own a gym, you may want to include words like ‘get into shape’ or ‘how to exercise.’
About/Description
Every social media has this section and it is one of the most underutilized section of a social media. Depending on the social media, you have a section called ‘About’ or ‘Description.’ You want to include as much information on this section as it will allow. Here is the key: use words focused on your customers, not on your company.
For instance, you don’t want to say, “We have the best lawnmowers in the world.” You want to say something more like, “IF you want the best lawn in the world, our mowers were built just for you.” Keep the focus is on the benefit to the customer.
Posts
Make sure you post on a regular basis. If you can’t post something daily, set up to post 2-3 times a week. Use a program like Hootesuite to automate the process. Basically, you can set this free online program to schedule your posts during the week to multiple social media sites. You log in once a week, set up your posts and let it run on autopilot. (You can even schedule for a whole month.)
Remember, to keep your keywords in your posts, but don’t overdo it. People connect to people. Be sure to post videos, graphics and even humor. You are posting for people, it is just a benefit when search engines find your posts too.
Optimize your graphics
Graphics are the visual media you put on your pages. These are set up for people. You want content that is shareable and catches attention.
Icon
Your icon is the image often called your ‘profile picture.’ Your profile picture could be a picture of you or you logo. It could even be simple text that includes your value statement. Remember, this image is only about the size of a postage stamp. (Remember those things?) Make sure it is readable being that small.
If you use your logo, you may want to format your logo to be a square. The icons are usually square and around 180px or 250px. Don’t worry there are useful online tools to help you set up the right size like Canva a free online graphics tool.
Header
This is the most important part of your social media. Really! When people go to your page, your header is the first thing they see. Basically, your header is the image that is across the top of your social media page. Each social media is different, so you want to make sure you use the right size for that platform.
Make it bold and represent your company. I suggest getting a professional to design your header. This header becomes the social media ambassador for your company, so you want it to look good.
Pictures
Yes, pictures. You want to post in your ‘photo’ or ‘pictures’ section of your social media. Tag this pictures or include a comment that is relevant to the picture and to your customers. Again, these need to be focused on the customer, not the company.
People would much rather see pictures of other people, so instead of taking a photo of the front o your store by itself, throw a few employees out front. They can be working, posing, being humorous…whatever they are doing make sure it fits your branding.
Conclusion
There is so much more we can talk about, but we want to keep this short and to the point. They key in social media is two-fold: focus on the customer with words and pictures.
If you need help setting up social media, contact us. We even have a package that will set up all of your social media with professional graphics and optimized keywords.
