Social Media Optimization is the ability to use social media as a platform to grow your small business online presence. While creating and using a social media page for your small business is a good first step, Social Media Optimization is strategically maximizing a social media plan to connect with your target audience, build brand awareness, and generate leads for your specific business.
While many companies focus on SEO (your ability for your website to be seen through search engines like Google, Click here for more on SEO.) SMO or Social Media Optimization is just as important. These two strategies are more alike than they are different and having a healthy about of both will do wonders for your companies traffic.
In an effort to help small businesses optimize their social platforms for business we want to highlight just a few things you can do:
Optimize Your Profile
We can learn a lot from SEO to optimize our social media pages. When implementing your SEO strategy on your website the goal is to make Google think that the content on your page brings the most value to the questions people are searching for. Social Media Optimization can be very similar.
Although setting up your profile may seem like a very simple task, platforms like Facebook & LinkedIn have created a lot of opportunities to show what your business has to offer. Not understanding how to fully set up your profile on these platforms is where a lot of small businesses fall short. If someone clicks to your profile and the profile page is weak, your bounce rate will be much higher.
Here is a couple of things to focus on:
Profile Photo: Use your company logo. Just like in SEO on your website, having a clear strong brand is vital to your company image. When consumers can connect your brand to be the answer to a need the more likely they are to do business with you. Your logo is your brand, so show it off.
Username: Use your company name. Using your brand name as your username makes it much easier for consumers to find you on social media. This can be a huge tool for things like reviews or sharing your business with others, allowing others to do marketing for you by sharing with their friends.
Bio: Be clear and concise on what your business offers. Almost all social media platforms allow you to place a link in the bio to link back to your website! Use it! The more people can see your content the better.
Fill out your whole social media platforms. As stated before some social platforms allow you to put a large amount of information about your business on the page. Services, Reviews, Offers, and so much more can be placed on these sites. People use social media, let them see what your about when they are on the platform.
Optimize Your Content
Everyone can post on social media. Most apps are extremely user friendly allowing just about any demographic the ability to use. Posting for your business page with the idea of generating business is a whole 'nother animal. Just like SEO for your website, several things that can make your post much more likely to be seen by your target audience.
1. Use Hashtags
Hashtags can not only help you find new people to reach, they can give people a way to find YOU.
Figure out which hashtags influencers in your niche are using, just like keyword research
Find trending hashtags in your line of business
Look for conversations happening around your brand or niche
Create your own hashtags to create buzz around a contest, promotion or marketing campaign
2. Use Images
A study from B2B Marketing Mentor found images were the most important tactic for optimizing content for social media.
Include high quality images in your social media updates whenever possible
Include personal pictures in each blog post
Everyone is very similar in the fact when there is something pleasing to the eye, they will stop and take a look. Use analytics to see what kind of pictures perform best on your page. Funny? Inspirational? Infographics? After testing multiple types of pictures you will get a view of what your audience connects with MOST.
Optimize Post Timing
When you post is just as important as what you post. Everyone loves seeing great photos when they log in on Instagram, but posting at an inopportune time might mean they never will see it.
The most optimal posting time really depends on your specific audience and the platform you are posting on. Most social media platforms will give you insights on when your posts are seen the most, but their are external tools like SproutSocial that will help you identify when the best time post on your social accounts for the greatest chance of engagement.
On top of when you post it is also wise to be mindful of how often you post. Both of these tactics are important to be tried to identify for YOU when and how often you should post for the most engagement. Simply put, you want to show your content as often as your audience wants to see it. Make sure not to bombard your audience, or leave them guessing if they will ever see your content again. Here is a guide from Constant Contact on how often you should post a week.
Facebook: 3-10 times per week
Twitter: 5+ times per day
LinkedIn: 2-5 times per week
Pinterest: 5-10 times per day
By simply making this strategic shift from just posting about your business to optimizing your social media content, your business can be seen by a much larger potential customer audience.
Razor Thin Media is here to help. If optimizing your social media platforms or focusing on your online SEO strategy is seeming like too much to handle amidst all your other duties, contact us today!
We have had 25+ years of experience in helping small businesses reach their goals and generate more business, and we would love to help you.
Visit our website at www.razorthinmedia.com or give us a call at 928.978.2219
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