Social media is constantly changing. That means you cannot keep your marketing strategy the same today as it was when you created your first Facebook business page. Always take the time to reevaluate what your goals are, know what your different social networking campaigns are, and what results you have been seeing from each.
There are always new trends that can make a difference in the success or failure of your business' social marketing strategy. Find out what those trends are and apply them to meet your own needs in order to grow your brand online.
Here are five trends that you need to be on top of for the upcoming year:
Don't put all your followers in one basket
Almost every business has a Facebook page these days. As the network with the most active users, your business almost has to be on Facebook in order to have a strong brand presence. But with all of the recent changes that Facebook has been making to its algorithm, business are seeing a big blow to their current reach.
The organic reach that was obtained by creating great content is no longer the way Facebook is letting businesses reach their followers. For many brands, only 6% of their followers are even seeing the content that is posted. The goal of Facebook is to get more brands to start paying in order to maintain a presence on fans' news feeds.
This is why many businesses should not be content to limit their online presence to just Facebook. The free benefits that the social network brought to businesses is dwindling away. Instead, make sure you are engaging with followers on a variety of networks.
Take Google+ more seriously
Google+ is growing in popularity with many businesses these days, and why not? After all, it's a social network that is linked with the biggest search engine on the Internet!
Users see a lot of ranking improvement when they start actively using Google+. Other social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, do not have an effect on your page rank, no matter how many followers you have or tweets you send.
If you haven't already set up a Google+ business page, start on it right now and start taking advantage of all that it has to offer in brand marketing.
Visual content is still the clear winner
Imagery is a big hit with the people who use social media. Just look at the success that Pinterest has had with its visual-based design. There is no excuse for not incorporating visual content into your posts on your social networks. This can include videos, pictures, and infographics.
Make time to put content on video. Share news stories that are relevant to your industry. Take great photos of your products. Invite your followers to share images of themselves using your products. The possibilities are endless and the results will always be incredible in comparison to plain text posts.
There is no constant when it comes to social media marketing. Sure, Facebook will remain one of the largest platforms out there for some time to come, but it is steadily becoming less of a free marketing platform for businesses.
Always be ready to make changes when they are needed and be prepared for the next big things when it comes to building your brand online.
How are you staying on top of all the changes that are coming in social media?