Introduction to Social Media Platforms (continued)
This site is a professional social media platform where you list your experience and expertise in order to attract potential connections. When posting on this social media platform, you need to ensure the post is suitable for the formal audience it will reach. As a general rule, your LinkedIn profile should be strictly professional.
LinkedIn’s personal and business pages are extremely different. LinkedIn Company Pages require a much smaller set of information than LinkedIn Profiles. These include: company name, company size, type, website, main industry, operating status, year founded and location. We would recommend posting on this social media platform around twice a week to gain the attention of other businesses.
Google+
Having a higher page rank in Google search should always be a priority in your digital marketing plan, and the best way to achieve that is keeping your Google+ page active. Google favours Google+ content, especially if it has been optimised for the right keywords and offers valuable information for a wide audience. So, just from an SEO perspective, Google+ is almost a necessity these days for businesses that are looking to increase their online presence.
On this social media platform, you can post videos, photos, write as much text as you want, and you can even format that text. The bigger following you build on Google+, the more visibility you’re going to have in search engines.
Instagram’s highly visual nature lets you share quirkier content on this social media platform. Aside from your username and real name, the only information that appears on your profile is your website and a short bio. Since you’re limited to 150 characters for your bio, you should say who you are, but don’t make it dull!
For your Instagram profile you should share only the best photos. Consider sticking to a certain style of image, keeping to a specific set of filters or one style of cropping. Doing so will give your Instagram feed a specific brand, making it more recognisable to followers and more consistent to new profile visitors. Short captions can be used to explain the images you post. Hashtags and locations can be added to the post to make your Instagram image easier to find. Other users may search for a specific hashtag or location and will be able to find you.
We recommend posting one image a day for a couple of weeks, this will fill up your profile considerably. After these two weeks, posting 3 pictures a week will keep your profile fresh while not annoying your followers with too many visuals.
This social media platform is used to create attractive Pins with your products. Shopify recently identified Pinterest as one of the leading platforms for social sales. This site is very much like Instagram in the way that it focuses on visuals however, with Pinterest you can organise your Pins into specific Boards. It’s designed for images only. We think that this social media platform is an option for certain businesses as it will allow you to showcase your projects in a unique and quirky way.
Only post the best photographs onto this social media platform to ensure you business continues to look professional and polished.
Things to Consider with a Social Media Platform
Although each profile bio will differ on each social media platform, your name (or handle) should be consistent across all networks. The consistency allows people to find your business easily, without being confused by varied titles. As well as this, profile pictures should be of your logo. Image consistency across social platforms will help people connect with and trust you.
Note: When using social media profiles it is important to record and analyse your successes and failures, and then adjust your marketing plan in response.
Managing a Social Media Platform
Like the rest of your social media presence, your profiles should be regularly updated. But having the time to control all of these platforms can be a difficult job. At The Capture Factory we use Hootsuite which is a is a social media tool where you can manage all of your social media platforms within one dashboard.
Not only do you have to find the time to post online, but you’ve also go to find content to post. For inspiration as to what to include in your social media, look to what others in your industry are sharing. Yet you need to distinguish yourself from competitors. You can also research into how your target audience uses social media, and strive to mimic that style.