One of the primary goals of every agency is to get clients more visibility on the Web.
This can be accomplished through a strong content marketing campaign that covers a broad range of ways to reach potential customers. This includes websites, blogs, eBooks, white papers, video, images and social media, to name a few of the most common approaches.
While social media may not be the biggest traffic or conversion driver, an attractive presence in the space is still vital. In recent years social media has increasingly grown in use by consumers. According to some statistics, approximately 73 percent of Americans have at least one social media profile.
Consumers often seek out a company’s page to offer feedback, ask a question or share a complaint, and others will follow to see what the company is saying or sharing. That being the case, appearances matter.
Focus on content quality
We’ve all heard that “content is king” and at no time has this been more true. People crave content, and quality will trump quantity every time. Agencies want to make sure their clients’ content is of high quality and interesting enough to make readers want to share on social media. Boring content not only will result in bounced pages; it will bring very little social media engagement.
While not easy to attain, it is nice to get a viral post once in a while to grow visibility and hopefully gain some additional visitors. But without quality, that will not happen.
Carefully choose social media platforms
It is virtually impossible to maintain an attractive and engaging presence on every single social media site. In order to succeed, company profiles have to be actively sharing and being interactive with followers. Do the research and pinpoint which social media outlets where the client’s targeted market is likely to be spending its time. This way, spreading a client’s social presence too thin can be avoided.
Once research is complete, speak with company decision makers and determine which networks are best suited to build a strong profile. Once this is decided, establish the client as an expert on these platforms. Followers interested in the client’s niche are likely to follow an authoritative presence. Expert content matters in this perspective.
How to post
There are no hard-set rules on how to post; this will vary from company to company depending on the industry, time constraints and other factors. However, there are some general rules of thumb that can be followed.
• Don’t be a faceless business; humanize the company’s profile.
• Share interesting content.
• Answer all questions, complaints and compliments.
• Write engaging titles and use good imagery.
Many marketers wonder how often they should be posting. Again, there is no firm number, but buffersocial has some recommendations on often to post on certain networks. Also, it is better to be consistent than post so much the profile cannot effectively be managed. In that case less would be more.
Watch the level of promotion
Ultimately, while agencies want to promote their clients and cast a wider net over targeted audiences, it is important not to be too self-serving. Readers will quickly pick up on this and, chances are, will tune out. This is especially true in the beginning of a campaign. First and foremost, social networks are about being engaging.
Promote content that does not necessarily relate to the client. Choose to curate timely, relevant and interesting content found on the Web or social media to share with readers. Remember to include the company’s insight or thoughts as well. Aim to go beyond the copy/paste.
Establish an interactive presence before jumping into promotion. Convince people to like, follow and connect with the company by sharing interesting content. A good rule of thumb to follow is approximately 25 percent of social posts should be promotional or “owned” content. The rest should be curated from other sources.
Social media have evolved to become a key portion of an overall content marketing plan. For many, consumers may first spot a company on a social media profile and first impressions can mean everything. It is important for agencies to ensure their clients are looking their best.
Tempesta Media is a managed services provider of custom original content for digital agencies, website developers and PR firms. By seeing the content we produce through every step of strategy, topic development, production, SEO optimization and plagiarism protection, we make it easier for agencies to provide their clients with the high quality digital content they need to succeed.
If you have a content marketing program, or are planning one, download our ebook: 100 mistakes businesses make when starting, optimizing and scaling content marketing programs. Learn from the mistakes of hundreds of other companies. 100 mistakes walks you through common and uncommon challenges that they faced with their content marketing programs.
