7 Tips to Boost Your Social Media Shares

7 Tips to Boost Your Social Media Shares

Having a social media strategy is a must when it comes to digital marketing. Just take a look at how much social media has influenced the way we market and communicate!

However, we can all agree that the right social media strategy will bring you the best returns. Not all methods built equally, which is the difference between a good strategy and a bad strategy.

One area to focus on in your social media strategy is the number of shares you accumulate. After all, part of what makes social platforms so powerful is the ability to expand your reach and gain enormous amounts of exposure — only by word-of-mouth. Going “viral” is a thing — and it’s not always bad.

Social shares do precisely that. However, to get the maximum amount of social media shares, there are steps to follow. Results don’t come by easy — they need the effort to achieve it. Here’s what we think can help you get the shares you need.

 

1. Prioritise the most shareable content format

 

This might go without saying, but a lot of times, marketers make the mistake of sharing all forms of content without considering what sort of content they are.

Research has shown that visual content is the most shared on social media, as they are quick to read and easy to digest. TikTok is one such proof that visual content is all the rage right now — look at how rapidly it has grown within the past few years. Sprout Social Index found that of all content that has been shared on social media, 68% of them are images, and 50% are videos.

Use the functions that are already available in these social media platforms to your advantage. For instance, Twitter allowed you to pin one tweet that your followers would see above all else, and Instagram has the Highlights section where your audience can click in to discover more about your brand. So prioritise putting videos and images in these areas for maximum shares.

 

2. Use in-built features to generate responses & increase engagement

 

When we talk about the function, social media platforms are now rolling out many features to cater to the increasing number of brands that use their site. Twitter has an in-built poll feature, as does Instagram. Besides that, Instagram also has a question-and-answer feature for their Stories. Get your audience responding and boost your brand awareness with such features!

LinkedIn also just released a new update where users can add links to their stories as well, to redirect viewers to their site. There are plenty of inbuilt features that you can play around to increase engagement on your social media platforms, so don’t hesitate to try it out!

 

3. Ride the wave on trending topics

 

This is the formula for getting viral — which, as mentioned, is not always bad. Want to score more shares? Find out what are the hot topics and capitalise on that. Better yet, use a popular meme to capture your audience’s attention. Not only does this personalise and humanise your brand, but your audience is also more likely to want to share it around. When you project your brand to be more than just a business-oriented figure, your consumers would be able to relate with you more.

 

4. Craft engaging captions

 

Captions are another essential part of what gets your post noticed. Without a good caption, you would probably lose half your audience. Depending on the platform, you need to adjust your captions accordingly — for example, people go onto Instagram for the pictures, and hence they are more unlikely to want to read a lengthy caption. However, those scrolling on Facebook and LinkedIn would be more open to reading and taking in an enormous amount of text and information.

Whether your caption is long or short, make sure that it includes the keywords that you want to highlight about the post. Furthermore, always remember to put a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of every post to make it more engaging. Whether it is to ask your audience to follow your brand, purchase something, or click a link, we cannot stress enough the importance of having a CTA. Just remember not to overdo it and stick to only one CTA instead of having multiple — that will confuse your audience and result in them not wanting to take any action at all.

 

5. Come up with a strong hashtag strategy

 

Captions aren’t the only things that can help boost your post. Hashtags are just as important when it comes to building up your social media strategy. Using the right hashtags would bring your brand not just more exposure, but the right kind of exposure. An excellent first step is to use your own branded hashtag so that new followers can find your content easily.

Additionally, you can engage in tools to help you find the best hashtags. Our previous blog post talks about some of the best free SEO tools beginners can use so that you can start there. Some helpful tools include All Hashtag’s free hashtag generator and Influencer Marketing Hub’s hashtag generator tool. Others like Sistrix, Kicksta, and HashtagsForLikes are all free as well.

Since Instagram only allows a maximum of 30 hashtags, All Hashtag will give you up to 30 relevant hashtags based on one single keyword. The site also has an analytical tool to help you get useful information about your hashtags for your marketing strategy. And if you’re not sure where to start, they can offer you insights into the top trending hashtags on Instagram. So start exploring and experimenting with some of the incredible free tools out there!

 

6. Make your posts mobile-friendly

 

Let’s face it — most consumers nowadays are scrolling through social media on their phones. More than 80% of shares from social media visits come from mobile devices. To reach them properly, it is exceptionally vital to make sure your social media posts are crafted not just for the desktop version but also for mobile versions.

Take into consideration each platform’s image previews so that the main point comes across in a single glance. Check those graphics are legible (even on a small screen) and zoomable so that your message is readable by your audience — otherwise your words will be for nought.

 

7. Find out when the best times to post are

 

Although this sounds like common sense, you may be surprised to find out how many marketers don’t consider this when planning their marketing strategy. Knowing which days and times your audience are the most active on social media is a crucial step to getting your post noticed.

Sprout Social has an in-depth guide to helping you find out which are the best times to post, depending on the platform you’re using. Of course, this differs based on the industry you’re in and from company to company, so it is best to track your analytics to decide what works for you.

Do also keep in mind that Covid-19 has changed the way consumers use social media and how they engage with brands. For your marketing strategy to work effectively, it is best to adjust your brand behaviour to adapt to such changes. Why not check in with MIU to find out how you can further optimise your marketing strategy? We offer free consultation services for anyone who’s looking to up their marketing game!

Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

If you’ve scoured through many marketing articles, you have no doubt picked up on the fact that digital marketing is the new form of marketing. As internet penetration soars at a record high – and is still rising, the number of users on the internet is expected to increase.

Digital marketing provides brands with a way of reaching out to an audience that they might not traditionally have access to. As social media becomes a highly popular platform for everyone to connect on, businesses are able to use this opportunity to grow their audience and brand.

While digital marketing can span plenty of aspects, from SEO to PPC to email marketing, this article will discuss the details of social media marketing in particular. Read more if you want to find out how to use social media to your advantage!

Digital marketing on social media

Social media as a marketing strategy is all the rage right now. It has been proven that social media is often the driving factor (and one of the most influential) behind word-of-mouth and evangelist marketing.

In the information age, consumers often turn to the internet to seek answers to their problems and pain points. While this may be the best chance for your brand to put itself in the spotlight, it can also be a double-edged sword if your brand does not have much of an online presence — or worse, a negative one.

This is where marketing can step in to help. Managing your brand’s online presence is no easy feat, but it is possible to do it — and do it well. Of course, it helps if you understand what each social media platform is meant to do and how it aligns with your brand. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Facebook

facebook marketing

Facebook is one of the most versatile social media platforms as it is widely used not only for personal use but for professional matters as well.

Businesses can use Facebook to connect to their followers by sharing photos, updates and general news on their page. Fans of your brand may visit your Facebook page to explore events, check updates and more.

As of April 2019, Facebook was reported to have 2.38 billion monthly active users worldwide. It is an absolutely useful place to start building a fanbase for your brand. Remember to engage with your audience bty posting status updates, photos and more! Start by publicising your page and linking it everywhere, including your website.

Share your products, offers and services to keep your followers informed about your brand. Better yet, if you can invite them to engage in your posts by including things that nudge them to like, comment or share your content, it would do wonders for your brand.

Although you might be running a business page, it’s important to remember that plenty of your followers also use Facebook as a personal network to connect with their friends and family. Make sure your brand fits into this atmosphere rather than constantly hard-selling your products and services. This way, people will be more interested and engaged in your brand.

With Facebook Ads, you can check details like social graphs and activities to better understand your buyer persona. Knowing the preferences of your page visitors will go a long way in helping you market your brand, be it on social media or otherwise. Use this information to tailor your content to your main audience and turn them into leads!

Instagram

instagram marketing

While it may have started as a personal social media platform, Instagram is quickly turning that around. Since it has been bought over by Facebook, plenty of business-oriented functions have been introduced to the app to help brands connect better with their audience.

With 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is a fantastic place to market your brand and improve your online presence. In Singapore itself, there are 1.9 million total active users — a huge audience that you can potentially market to!

Since being bought over by Facebook, Instagram has introduced many tools that can help businesses market themselves more efficiently in a non-salesy manner. From polls to FAQS, such tools supported by the platform itself can simplify the customer service process so much more — so take advantage of it!

When consumers are satisfied with their customer experience, they will naturally have a better impression of the brand and are more likely to patronise them again.

Twitter

twitter marketing

Twitter’s 310 million users may pale in comparison to Facebook’s and Instagram’s user statistics, but make no mistake. The social media platform is a concise way to connect with your audience by serving them bite-sized information that they can consume on the go. In fact, 175 million tweets are generated in a day, making up for what Twitter lacks in the quantity of its platform users.

With 280 characters or less in each tweet, Twitter is a sea of content waiting to be read, followed, and re-tweeted. By allowing you to share quick bites of information and photos, the social media platform is a perfect vehicle to drive people back to your landing pages.

Since each tweet is often short and sweet, people tend to scroll through them quickly in an effort to consume as much as they can. When marketing on Twitter, make sure your content is enticing enough to capture your audience’s attention and make them pause on your tweet.

Try incorporating quotes, photos, GIFs or even polls related to the link you’re tweeting to get people wanting to read more. Remember to build relationships with followers — while people may follow you because they enjoy what you have to say, it is important to engage them in conversation as well.

Like you would on Facebook, ask and respond to questions, respond to mentions and direct messages. This not only personalises the brand but is a good way to show your customer service as well.

An important marketing function that you can adopt is to use hashtags on Twitter. They allow you to reach a wider (and more targeted) audience, as people who are searching for specific information often turn towards hashtags to find what they are looking for. Conduct some research to see what your buyer persona is hashtagging to make sure your posts will be found by the right people.

YouTube

youtube marketing

Since it was bought over by Google in 2006, YouTube has become the leading video-sharing platform in the world. As one of the world’s most used search engines, Google has since incorporated its advanced technology and algorithm into YouTube as well. YouTube is now but another platform that the search gives priority to in its search results.

It is no doubt proven that videos are a lot more engaging and shareable than text content. Not only that, but they also help your search rank in Google. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

Creating videos for YouTube therefore matters a lot. You want to make sure that there’s a purpose and value to the video you are uploading, so as to provide high quality content for your audience. Keep in mind your production value as well. Both the video and audio of what you upload should be crisp, clear, and easy to understand. No shaky cameras!

YouTube gives you a gateway to be an educator in your industry. Upload webinars or videos speaking on important topics that further the education of your audience. When you position yourself as the source of important industry news, people will naturally flock to you for trusted updates and information. In return, your brand will gain a reputable name for itself.

Hashtags on YouTube are also another important aspect that you can take note of when posting your video. Though they are not often talked about, hashtags can actually help your video go a long way in finding the exposure that it needs. Read more about our guide to YouTube hashtags here.

All in all, no matter what social media platform you choose to engage with, the best tip is to use whatever is available to you at hand while keeping a customer-centric view. Your brand will go much further this way and your consumers will thank you in the long run.