Social media is bigger than ever and keeps growing at an exponential pace. Facebook currently has over 1.5 billion users, Twitter has over 600 million, and Instagram just hit 500 million people per month!  These channels create perfect platforms that businesses can leverage for branding and marketing purposes. If you are a social marketer, the massive scale of social media can be a bit overwhelming. With so many portals and with new media emerging almost every day, it is important to know where to focus your marketing efforts in order to reap the most social media ROI. Amidst so much “noise”, you must find a way of crafting a coherent social media strategy that will help in running effective social media marketing in a fast-paced and ever-changing social media landscape. When it comes to tapping into social media for business success, you are not alone. Even the social media portals are helping marketers to effectively tap their channels in order to boost their businesses. One of the best ways you can ensure you are getting your social media marketing right is by incorporating tried and tested best practices in social media engagement that can offer you results in whatever landscapes you are engaged in.

Use Data and Analytics

When it comes to social media engagement, many companies adopt a “soft” approach of engagement rather than a “hard” one of data and analytics. While it is good to work on the user engagement, it is also beneficial for your business to gather data about your social media audiences. There are numerous social media analytics tools that you can use to help you understand your audiences better.  Some include: 

• Sprout Social 
• Hootsuite
• Iconosquare 
• Google Analytics 

Focus on Loyalty Rather Than Numbers

It feels good to have a million followers on your social media account, but what use will they be to your business if they are rarely engaging or purchasing your products? Instead of just focusing on going viral, it is better to build a user base of loyal followers. Focus on building relationships with your users by replying back and engaging with them, rather than treating them as “likes”. This will take a greater amount of time, but will be more rewarding in the long run.

Use Videos Across Social Media Platforms

Videos are no longer just for Youtube channels. Facebook currently has more video views than Youtube; so upload your videos across social media channels. Do this especially on Facebook,  but remember to share on Twitter and Instagram as well. It is important to be cohesive and consistent when posting on all of your social media platforms, so you don’t confuse your audience. Also, use your social media accounts to advertise your other social media outlets, such as listing your Facebook name in your Instagram bio, and providing clickable links for an easy transition.

Be Prepared to Pay

Social media used to be a platform for free engagement, but to get an edge over the competition, be prepared to pay for social media marketing on channels such as Facebook, with its page promotions and Facebook “Boost” option.

React Fast

Be as engaging as possible and react fast to mentions, replies and direct messages from your social media following. Facebook pages feature even faster measures from your response rates to direct messages, and it notifies your fans of your average response rates and times. Fast reaction will assist you in useful conversions on your social media channels that will create relationships and show your loyalty to your audience.