Tuesday Tips: Don't Give Up

There will be days - and not just a few - where you will feel that it is pointless to participate in social media.  No one is liking or sharing your posts. No one cares. And it only gets worse when you realize how low your reach and views are. You're ready to give up on social media and throw in the towel.

Don't. Give. Up.

If you are a relatively new, unknown brand, building your customers and followers and getting them to see your posts, much less like them and share them, is difficult. But if you give up now, you will never see where those likes and shares take you once you do start acquiring them.

Let's be honest, it takes time to build a reputation on social media. It takes time for people to see what you are posting and to engage in that.  You must consistently publish useful and meaningful content - whether it be questions, promotional posts, inspirational images, or videos - so your fanbase can find value in visiting your page and supporting your brand.

Many social media posters will tell you it took them months to get interaction on their pages - even up to half a year. I run several pages and some of my smallest following groups have the highest interaction rate, while the ones with thousands of followers have the smallest interaction rates.  It just depends on finding the sweet spot and getting those interactions going.

Pay attention to your stats and which posts draw the most interaction then post similar posts in the future to encourage further interaction.

Just don't give up on it.

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

Friday Facts: 10 Surprising Social Media Facts

In looking through Pinterest the other night, I came across this pin and had to check it out.  It contained a very nice infographic with 10 facts about social media that I -definitely- didn't know and I think many of my readers will find this interesting.

Some of the facts include:

• Did you know there are specific days of the week to Pin certain things on Pinterest?  You can find out what you're supposed to Pin when on the infographic.
• Did you know Friday seems to be the best day for engagement on Facebook?  (Maybe it's because it's the end of the work week and people are surfing Facebook...)
• Do you know how many interactions per post you should strive for?  That information is also available on the infographic.

Learn about these three things as well as the seven other facts by clicking on the links below.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/infographics/10-surprising-social-media-facts-infographic-0946278#!birBLT

Pin It Here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/492862752943671555/

(Note, I linked to the Pin I found it on.  Please re-Pin from there if you're going to Pin.)

Friday Facts: Instagram Beats Facebook and Twitter for Brand Engagement

Constant Contact often puts out interesting blogs, including those on social media engagement. This article posted a little more than a month ago talks about how Instagram is beating out Facebook and Twitter where brand engagement is concerned.

One of the interesting points in the blog was this:

The report, which looked at more than 3 million user interactions across seven social networks, found that brands on Instagram are seeing a 4.21 percent engagement rate per post.

The article covers a handful of other topics with interesting facts in them as well, all about social media and how we are using it today.  Check it out.  http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/instagram-user-engagement/

Wednesday Words: Social Media Optimization (SMO)

We've talked about sharability, interaction and engagement in the past Wednesday Words.  They, ultimately, lead to today's word, which is Social Media Optimization.  This can be defined, in laymans terms, as Search Engine Optimization for Social Media channels.

As mentioned with sharability, interaction and engagement, the key to getting people to interact - whether it's sharing, liking, retweeting, favoring, etc. - is to create online content that is likely to be shared through social networks.  It varies according to each brand and their audience, but it is an important thing to keep in mind.

If you are looking to find out what things appeal to those in your audience, check out similar pages and twitter feeds and see what gets the most interaction, then imitate it.  Don't use exactly what they use, but use something pertinent and similar and go from there.

Best of luck!

Wednesday Words are a series of definitions released on Wednesday each week regarding a word found specific to Facebook's social media platform, or may be a generic word dealing with social media.  These definitions are to help provide you with a better understanding of common and uncommon terms associated with Facebook and social media.   You can find all the Wednesday Words by clicking on the Wednesday Words tag below.

Sharing a Klout Blog Post: New Research: Topics That Get A Reaction

While I try to reserve posts that take you to other sites to be posted on Fridays and Saturdays, this article was just too good to wait till next Friday to post.

In the recent blog post made on Klout, they disclose statistics as to what topics get the most, and least, interaction via Facebook and Twitter.

The article contains several useful infographics as well as analytics and explanations as to some surprising outcomes from the research as well.

Depending on your brand/direction, this may or may not help you incorporate topics that generate interaction with your followers - but it's definitely something to consider.

Check out the blog here: http://blog.klout.com/2014/05/topics-that-get-a-reaction/

Wednesday Words: Engagement

For the first Wednesday Words we're going to talk about a word that will be used a lot in this blog and that is "Engagement."

Engagement, also referred to interchangeably as interactions, refers to how users and your page administrators engage, or interact, with your page.

Engagement plays an important part in how many views a post gets.  As most current page owners know, only a relatively small percentage of your already active userbase see your posts - generally between 10-20%.  What most page admins don't know is that the more "users" who like, share, and comment will raise the number of people who see your posts because the posts are being engaged by users.

Every like is important.  Every share is important.  Every comment by users and by your page admins in response to your users raises the number of people who see your post because they are engaged.

It's why I encourage people who are admins on my page, not only to switch to their account to like a post, but to share it on their personal walls as well, and - perhaps - leave a pertinent comment on the page.

Sharing of posts is probably the most important thing.  The reason for this is more people will see the post on their walls when it is shared than the page - at least initially.

Just remember this: every like, share, and comment is considered users being engaged with your site.  Encourage your admins, your friends and your families to help you increase your reach by regularly liking and sharing posts.  You will see an increase in stats on posts they share compared to posts they don't share.

FYI for my readers - there will not be Wednesday Words for the net two weeks due to the holidays.  I figure people will be spending time with their families on those days and not online reading.

Wednesday Words are a series of definitions released on Wednesday each week regarding a word found specific to Facebook's social media platform, or may be a generic word dealing with social media.  These definitions are to help provide you with a better understanding of common and uncommon terms associated with Facebook and social media.   You can find all the Wednesday Words by clicking on the Wednesday Words tag below.