No one can argue with the importance of social media, especially, popular networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. I have decided to create three new lengthier posts which will focus on growing your social profile. Knowing how to grow these profiles will help you promote your content to the right type of people who will engage with it going forward. Many times we all setup social accounts which add no value to our marketing efforts, so our time could have been utilized better some where else. With that said,
If you don’t have a Twitter account, then I recommend for you to set one up so you can apply these strategies I’m going to discuss. We are going to focus on a few ways right now to make sure it’s get’s setup correctly. You can follow through on the steps so by the time you are done reading you’ll have a Twitter account which will build momentum for you going forward. Let’s get started, and your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Profile Images
First, it’s all about making sure you represent your brand so it’s important to ensure you have your logo, cover, etc added to your account. You want to make sure when people arrive on your Twitter account, they’ll be able to connect your logo to your value going forward. I know so many accounts which have NOT been setup correctly, and this is hurting them in the long run. I asked people why they don’t take the time to add the images when setting up, and they have said the following:
First, they don’t know the sizes and don’t want to take the time right now to customize the logo. Here are two things you can do right now to ensure you get this done properly. Head over to Google search, then type in: twitter profile image sizes. You’ll get a handful of results which provide you with the EXACT size of the images. If you don’t have the tools to resize the images on your own, you can head over to Fiverr.com, and find someone to do them for you. It’ll cost you $5.00, and they’ll customize your logo to fit within the Twitter profile.
Secondly, many others have said they didn’t add the image because they don’t understand how this will add to the value. Let me ask you this question: Would you promote your blog or a product WITHOUT having your logo on your page? If the answer is NO, you should apply the same mentality in making sure you don’t do the same with your Twitter profile. It’s that simple!
Cross-Promotion
Just like when blogging you’ll network with others within your industry, it’s important you do the same thing on social media. By networking with others within your niche, you’ll increase the likelihood of cross-promoting your content. What does this mean? The practice of cross-promotion has been used for years to increase exposure of your brand ultimately building momentum.
When you share or tweet content you’re going to increase conversions by having multiple people share at the same time. If you know you’ll be providing value, then why NOT have other influential people within your niche cross-promote at the same time for you. By doing this, you’ll be doing the following:
First, reaching out to other people’s followers which is huge especially if they have more followers then you. Imagine networking with an account within your niche which has over 10,000+ followers?
Secondly, you’ll be increasing the rate at which you build momentum to your content. For example, if you have a fresh account it might take longer to build exposure then if you have an account with 200,000 followers, right?
Third, you’ll continue to build networks which is very important because it’ll come in handy at a later point. For example, you help people, and they’ll help you with the overall objective of increasing visibility achieved.
Once you have setup your Twitter images, it’s time to go through finding other people within your niche with powerful Twitter profiles. Write them an email so you open the initial doors of communication.
Placing The Right Buttons
If you don’t have social buttons on your site by now, then you’re in the wrong business. You should have learned something by visiting blogs online that everyone has social buttons to help streamline the sharing process. The philosophy is pretty simple:
If you provide readers with an easy way of sharing, then they’ll share your content which is great for you. By them sharing, your content will get in front of people which otherwise would NOT have seen it, right?
I really don’t know why you won’t have social buttons on your blog because you don’t even need a Twitter account to have buttons for others to share. The only reason I can come up with is you find it hard to add buttons so DON’T even bother. With that said, let me go over a few ways you can add social buttons to your website.
First, you should be using WordPress to design your blog because it just makes things easier. For example, any additional features you need can be added with a click of a button through add new plugins. This is especially useful because you can add social share buttons in the same manner. With that said, here are two plugins you can install right now which I have used for years:
- AddThis.com
- ShareThis.com
It’s important to note that new themes when purchasing will include the social share buttons already built into them.
Next,
If you have a website NOT using WordPress, then you can head over to the two sites listed above, and create your own buttons. Once your done you’ll get a code to paste into the backend of your website, however you have to make sure it goes in the right place. This can be tedious because you have to paste, then refresh to make sure it shows right where you want it to.
In short, you must focus on adding social buttons to your website because this will help grow your Twitter profile.
Optimize Your Profile
One of the greatest things about Twitter is the flexibility they give you to optimize your profile. For example, they have many tools which you can use to find #hashtags relevant to your content. This means whenever you share content, you can make sure it gets in front of the right channels. Here’s what you can do:
Imagine if you wrote content on making money online, you can head over to hashtagify.me to find other popular tags to add to your tweet. This tool will display you a table of relevant and popular tags which will reach the right channels, especially those which can build enormous momentum going forward. Next,
You can view the table, and find all the tags you are looking for. Here’s a quick example:
The next time you are tweeting content, it will be a good idea to add the right #hashtags so when people search Twitter your content will show up in the results. Here’s what you should do right now:
After you have setup your profile, added images and built a channel, it’s time to do some #hashtag research. I suggest heading over to hashtagify.me and doing a quick search with your target keywords. Make a list of relevant tags which you can use when adding tweets to your profile. It’s a good idea at the same time to make sure they have a solid trend, popularity and are very relevant.
Tap into Your Team
Make use of the resources you have present because this can help accelerate your marketing. I’d ask my entire team to open a Twitter account, and start this entire process above. The more people you have on your team marketing, the better it is for you in meeting your objective. It’s going to be harder when you’re just starting out, however as you grow and get people on your side, it’ll become easier. I would ask everyone on your team to start setting up their Twitter profile then do the following:
First, start adding people relevant to your niche because these people will find your content useful. I would send them a list of content published or even products/services you offer. I would send them a list of popular #hashtags you would like to focus on when tweeting your content. This way you are ensuring they stay focused on specific keywords, and your sharing is optimized.
It’s also a good idea you divide up what you want all of these people to do. However, this is optional because you have a guided plan, but if you have multiple objectives then divide each goal to different people on your team.
Customer Support
Your going to have readers who ask you a lot of questions so it’s important you provide them the support they are looking for. One way, people will communicate their concerns is through the Twitter chat feature. Keep in mind this is as important as when they send an email through your contact form or call your support line. The better support you provide the better experience they have and continue to share your content going forward. Many people have powerful accounts on Twitter so make sure you pay close attentions to their concern. Imagine not doing this, and how a simple message on their account can cause a downward spiral? Imagine is they have over 20,000+ niche relevant followers all who are loyal to them? In the end, providing poor support can cause a shift in your growth so make sure you provide them with the assistance they need when they contact you through Twitter. It’s just as important!
Final Thoughts
Social media can be huge to build momentum to your business however you have to know how to apply the strategies the right way. For example, many people assume all they need to do is setup an account and this will drive enormous people to your blog, they couldn’t be more wrong! It’s important to know what elements drive people to your blog, especially, which ones attract people to your blog. That’s where image, channels, team, customer service, etc all come into play.
It’s time to go through everything which is discussed in this content, and apply the strategies. I would go through each one making sure you apply it when setting up your profile so you can find out which ones have been working, and which have not. This way you can find out which ones build the MOST momentum to your blog. The more engagement, the better for your blog growth, and meeting your bottom line. Next,
It’s important you have a solid way to track your statistics. For example, no point in adding all these elements to your blog if there is NO way to find out which ones have been working, right? The good news is you have two tools which will help you:
Google Analytics – Â amazing tool to give you a handful of awesome statistics like: geographical location. Landing pages, referral traffic, search queries. It’s great to find out where people came from when visiting a page. Add a custom tracking so Google Analytics will show you Twitter referrals.
Bit.ly – This is a URL shortener and is very useful because it will show you how many people clicked on a link within your Twitter tweet or share. From the backend, you’ll be able to track CTR, location, and which Twitter share.