If you’re looking to build a successful social media presence, you’ll need to start by understanding your audience. Once you know who you’re targeting, creating engaging content that speaks to them is important. However, it can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to the platform. YoutubeStorm is the leading YouTube marketing company that offers services to help you with improving any videos you have and put them to your channel’s top ranking. By following these simple strategies, you’ll be on your way to building a social media following that will support your business goals. Ready to get started? Let’s get started!Sometimes it seems as though social media changes every day. That can be great, for instance, when a networking site makes access easier. Heck, you don’t even need a computer anymore to check your friends’ news on Google+, or to see the trending topics on Twitter.But others are downright aggravating. Just a year ago, Facebook was one of our favorite networking sites here at EMSI – and, of course, around the world. But since going public, it’s constantly seeking new ways to make money, which makes it more difficult to get your message out for free, whether you’re trying to share vacation photos or to promote your business, product or book.Some things, however, haven’t changed, including how you can use social media to build a bigger audience for all of your publicity efforts.At EMSI, our team of social media specialists is led by Jeni Hinojosa. She writes and posts blogs and comments, and tweets updates, on behalf of clients to build a large, credible following for them. And she’s constantly developing new strategies for her team to build meaningful new connections for our clients.I asked her to share a couple of the ways she has spread our clients’ messages and to give you a few tips for handling your own social media.Jeni, by the way, has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a specialty in social media. She studied the “socialsphere,” how it evolved into its own subculture and how we interact with it. In short, she knows how it works – and she knows how to work it.
Here’s what she wrote:
People who casually use social media may send a few Tweets, update their Facebook status and write a weekly blog post. They connect with people whose content they’re interested in: family and friends, co-workers, fellow hobbyists, groups with shared interests or causes.If you have serious goals, however, such as building an audience for marketing purposes, you need to do all of that and more. One strategy I use for our clients is generating “third-party conversations.”Instead of simply posting on our clients’ own social networking sites, I visit blogs, websites and fan pages of people with similar interests. I comment on their content in hopes of engaging their audience in a conversation that ultimately brings our clients new followers and new traffic to their websites.Here’s a for instance: We have a client whose message involves nature. She provided some great photos she’d taken, and I shared them on other sites with comments. The photos prompted conversations, and I stayed involved in the discussions. When it seemed appropriate, I shared a link to our client’s blog.Another strategy I use is promoting our clients when they’re featured in traditional media, such as newspapers, radio and TV, which all seem to have an online presence. We recently had a client who was also on board for our talk radio campaign. I promoted her upcoming interviews to her friends and followers. Then I visited the stations’ websites for links to their Twitter accounts and Facebook pages. I joined the station’s networks, friended their friends, and plugged the upcoming interviews there, too, e.g. “I’m so excited to be chatting with host’s name here on Friday about topic here.”
As a result, this client made lots of new connections among the stations’ listeners.
These are all strategies anyone can use; all they require is time and imagination. To help ensure your success, here are some tips: Don’t over-promote yourself. That’s the No. 1 rule. People are turned off by those who seem interested only in selling a book or product. A good rule of thumb is to make sure at least half of your content is light, interesting, informative or fun.Don’t bury your followers in an avalanche of content. Limit Facebook and Google+ status updates and Tweets to three or four a day.Make friends with your rivals. People new to social media often regard those with similar content as rivals or competitors. Actually, these can be your new best friends. If you’re a baker and you promote Chef Shane’scooking blog, he’ll likely tweet about the great chocolate cake recipe on your website. Become a partner in sharing with online personalities where messages are similar to yours and you’ll soon have a vast support network.Don’t be surprised when your favorite social media sites change – they’re always growing and evolving. The good news is, you can grow and evolve with them!And it’s well worth the effort. Getting the greatest visibility possible requires using all of the tools at your disposal: print coverage, appearances on radio and TV shows, and social media. If your goal is to reach a broad national audience, combining your publicity and social media will vastly expand exposure of your message and recognition of your brand.
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