There are lots of factors that come into play when it comes to your site’s search engine rankings, but social media is becoming increasingly important for SEO. Audience engagement is a big indicator of how well your posts are performing, and search engines take this into account when deciding how authoritative your site is. Shares, likes and comments all make a difference in your SERP results, so making your social media posts stand out is essential.
Producing social media posts isn’t quite the same as writing content for a blog or website, but your social posts and web content should complement each other. The goal isn’t just to drive up your rank in the search engines, but also to drive traffic directly to your site from social media platforms. If you want to maximize the impact of your social media, here are six ways to really make your posts pop.
1. Go Visual
Social media users love visual posts, so include a photo, video or infographic to draw eyes and encourage sharing. Choose compelling images that tell a story or make the reader curious about what’s going on.
2. Focus on Every Word
Tight writing is required when you only have 140 characters or a small text box to get your point across, but simply stating the facts doesn’t get anyone excited enough to interact with your brand. You don’t have to go the click-bait route to get your audience engaged, but you do need to give them a reason to continue scrolling through your social media posts or visit your website. Use leading questions, maintain a conversational tone and imply what’s beyond the link without revealing everything to incite curiosity in your social media followers.
3. Tailor Your Content
Different types of social media posts work best on different platforms. A photo that works well as a Pinterest pin might flop as an Instagram image, while a clever Tweet may not quite be the right fit for your Facebook fans. Research and understand the demographics of each site before posting to ensure each post ends up where it belongs.
4. Use Hashtags Wisely
Whether or not to include hashtags, and how many you should use, is extremely platform-dependent. On some platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, too many hashtags makes a post feel cluttered. Instagram users expect lots of hashtags and use them to find new accounts to follow. Trending hashtags can draw eyes to your post if the tags are relevant, or they can turn off potential followers if the connection between hashtag and post is too tenuous.
5. Get Influencers on Board
Influencers are social media superstars that can bring attention to your site with a single mention. Avoid mega-celebrities as influencers and approach smaller social media personalities that have a group of extremely dedicated fans in your particular niche.
6. Let Your Social Media Team Go Wild
Sometimes, business social media pages can feel too staid and underwhelming. Give your social media team some leeway to be playful, controversial or clever to get followers talking about your brand. Showing off a bit of personality drives engagement, making it easier to get those elusive clicks and shares.
