Social media, while certainly still behind organic search, is now the fastest growing content distribution channel around the world. Over the years, this great shift means that much of the news we consume is being found thanks to the various social channels available to us.
How can organizations advantage of this? How does a brand maximize the amount of people exposed to their content on social media channels?
Let’s take a look at three simply ways brands can improve their social media distribution strategy, while making sure it will work anywhere, any time.
LEVERAGE SLIDESHARE
Slideshows and presentations are nothing new. They’ve been around for long enough to have their own share of the market. But to this day, when it comes to finding good, reliable and educational slides, there is still higher demand than supply.
The first way for brands to improve their distribution strategy is by shifting their focus away from some of the lesser known methods, and instead paying attention to ones that people
want!
.
INVEST MORE IN YOUR *EXISTING* CUSTOMERS
This isn’t a new channel, but improvement on existing ones.
One mistake new businesses often make is not paying enough attention to their existing customers, while getting distracted chasing new ones — not listening to their needs and questions. One might think that each question is just a single question from a single customer and will have limited impact. But each of these queries can also lead to:
- Good feedback for your product or service
- Positive reviews on external sites, leading to higher customer awareness
- Word of mouth recommendation, considered by many to be the only way to achieve high growth
- New followers listening to these answers and following along
When organizations take the time to interact, they make it that much more personal. Everyone likes to feel good about themselves, and good feedback / customer service is a way of making sure your current and potential customers feel good about their relationship with you.
PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE METRICS AROUND EACH CHANNEL
The techniques mentioned above will certainly bring in new business if organizations invest the time & effort required, but how do you make the most of the traffic and amplify its impact?
Data. DATA. DATA!
It would be silly to pour all this effort into multiple channels, see your traffic and conversions rise, but then not know which channel actually caused it! There’s a great John Wanamaker quote that comes to mind:
Half of the channels you’ll experiment with will likely lead to waste too. How do you figure out which half? Be sure to measure each of the platforms used
and their success rates. This way you will what works, and what doesn’t work – instead of putting your time into each technique, hoping for the best.
A good starting point is
this tutorial from Kristi Hines, and her advice on how to measure your social media goals. It’s in-depth and beginner-friendly, with a lot of questions answered in the comments section.
CONCLUSION
If there’s one thing to take away from this post, it’s that organizations should focus more on tracking and amplifying existing channels that work, than trying to be everywhere all the same time. Why
not go the extra mile and interact with current customers beyond just addressing their issues?
Social media has given organizations the ability to interact with customers directly, it’s time to use it for growth!
Keyhole is a real-time conversation tracker that provides keyword and
hashtag analytics for Twitter and Instagram.
