2012 will go down in the history books as the year that social media became really huge. Here are 25 tips to make the most of social media marketing in 2012:
- Offer mobile check-in deals for your customers, no matter what kind of business you run. Every business can benefit from the publicity brought by check-ins on FourSquare.
- Blog as frequently as possible. Think writing a blog post once or twice a week is enough? Hardly, the best way to bring in constant traffic is by posting at least once a day, every day.
- Tailor your blog to your target audience. It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing only the content that you want to read.
- Use tact and don’t forget about your manners. It’s easy to forget that although you’re online, you’re still dealing with real people. A please and thank you goes a long way.
- When using your Twitter feed or Facebook fan page for customer service, respond to issues on them only during business hours. It’s all about boundaries: do you really want to be expected to problem-solve at 4am?
- Stay as professional as possible. There’s nothing wrong with showing a little personality, but getting too personal can hurt your company’s image.
- Look at what your business does and time your updates accordingly. If you know when your fans and followers check Facebook or Twitter make sure they catch your updates.
- Write your blog entries about the problems your company helps solve. Explain how you can help . This demonstrates to your readers the value your company brings to the table.
- Make a special Facebook group. It’s an easy way to stay in touch without sending emails that don’t get read or leaving voice mails that don’t get returned.
- Convert a few blog posts into an eBook and promote it on your blog. Converting existing blog content into an eBook is a quick and cost effective way to increase your influence and reach new customers.
- Don’t use too many Hashtags in your Tweets. You’ll annoy more followers than you’ll gain.
- Cross-link everything. Bring in more followers and fans by placing links to your Twitter feed, Facebook fan profile and blog URL on everything, even emails.
- Get retweets by posting things that interest your followers, instead of updates about yourself. It’s not all about you, it’s about what your customers want.
- Turn on the Geo-Locator on your Twitter feed. This will help people in your area find your Tweets.
- Don’t follow more people than are following you. This makes it look like you’re a follower, not an influencer. Search engines will take note and your feed won’t be as influential for SEO.
- Your customers are characters in the story of your business. Focus on highlighting the experiences of your customers.
- Admit your mistakes. If you Tweeted to the wrong account or posted something inappropriate, let people know and own up for it.
- Great content on your Facebook page is critical for attracting new “likes”. People need to have a reason to “Like” your business on Facebook, great content is one of the ways to do that.
- Share your blog posts on Twitter and Facebook. Posting to both Twitter and Facebook will increase the overall exposure of your blog posts.
- Host webinars with experts. This will attract new “Likes” and followers while also leveraging the existing network of experts who participate.
- Remember, social media tools are just that, tools. Without a great message or compelling content the best social media tools won’t be able to help.
- Focus on your brand champions. Empower your brand champions by making them famous and promoting them to your network.
- Choose metrics wisely. Make sure to use metrics that are aligned with your goals.
- Learn how your customers find out about your business. As your fans and followers how they found out about you or host a giveaway where they have to share this information.
- Google Plus SEO. With the integration of Google Plus with search results it will help improve your visibility for potential customers searching on Google.
Have any social media tips for 2012 that we missed? What tips are you going to incorporate into you social media marketing for 2012?