Online SEO Blog, Search Engine Optimization, Online Marketing Blog

The web is competitive. You need an edge. Social media marketing is becoming an essential tool to optimizing an online presence and creating strong connections with your audience. It is undeniable.

With billions being spent online each year, social media is gaining in popularity as a valuable resource. 4 out of 5 Americans read blogs and 57% of adults online watch or download videos. The stats keep going on.

Marketers are utilizing these tools to the best of their abilities and attracting more consumers than ever before. OK, sure- you need to have good content based around your idea, product or service. But some elements, when put in place, can add tons to that content. What are some of the elements that make a social media piece a success?

1 Know Your Audience :

The first thing would be to know your audience and understand their specific online habits and interests as well as things like lifestyle, age, geography and profession. Discover how your audience communicates best and start a conversation. Maybe you are reaching out to the busy commuters that like to absorb information while in between the office and home. A podcast may be the easiest way to deliver your content or a blog.

* Do They Watch

Creating video is a perfect way to reach a wide audience and get people talking about your product. Does your product have a great visual appeal? Would it benefit for a video demonstration such as ‘how to use it’ or new and ‘improved features’, tutorials are a great way to build trust and relationships with an audience. If your content is created with your audience in mind then more than likely they will blog about it, discuss it and link back.

* Or Read

A blog created for an individual, company or product can create interest especially if it is rich with content. Video, images/photography and links to events all make the experience enjoyable and keep consumers or audiences coming back and ’sharing’ with friends. Social media should be about creating a sense of community and involvement.

2 Syndication :

RSS feeds are an important way to keep people informed and updated automatically with the latest products or services offered. Displaying a graphic on all social media pieces is critical to giving the viewer a chance to utilize this way to keep in touch. When your content is missing this element, it just might be loosing another consumer.

3 Less Page Views :

Less page views is an important thing to consider when creating a piece with lots of images. When companies break out an article into 25 different “slides”, for example Entertainment Weekly is famous for this, they make things into a slide show to increase page & ad views.

4 Healthy Design :

A clean design is also very effective. Imagine opening a drawer that has all your silverwar emixed up and a drawer where everything is in its right place. Yeah, big difference. A clean design can facilitate the viewer’s eye to flow around the content in a specific way and make the experience pleasant and controlled.

5 Image Resizing :

The ability for the viewer to enlarge an image or photograph is great if the content is geared around images. A simple option to click on an image or an icon such as a magnifying glass can keep the original content size down but still offer a more in depth look to specific things. Thumbnails are a great utilization of this, especially when they are able to be clicked and the full image is shown.

6 Get To The Point :

When your content is focused and to the point you aren’t wasting space or the audience’s time that it takes to view or read. Leave all the mumbo-jumbo sales and marketing speak out. Speak in a language your desired audience knows and they will respect you for it.

As you can see there are many ways to make your social media piece gain momentum and build on relationships with your audience. Some of these elements are obvious and simple to include while others take more creative thought and energy.

What do you think is the number one element for success in social media? How do you make that element work for you?