Social Media is probably already part of your everyday life unless you’re living under a rock. You already notice it dominating almost every field, and penetrating all markets. Learn how you can capitalize on Social Media Basics here. This blog will go through four fundamental basics to help you join the trend.
Imagine being connected to everybody directly. You could say anything to anyone at any time. You could share any content privately or publicly. In a nutshell, that’s what Social Media represents; a real-time, efficient, and quick, sharing platform.
Today Social Media has outgrown its early beginnings and is much harder to monetize and capitalize on them. As a beginner, the sheer amount of online information and various platform might make it overwhelming to get started. This blog will help you get started by following these simple four steps in Social Media Basics.
1# Select The Right Social Media Platform
Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Linkedin are just some of the major Social Media apps available. Being present online doesn’t mean owning an account on every single platform. It’s all about being active, which we will talk about later. But as a start, your far off better if you select one platform and focus on it.
You need to know who your audience is and what they need. Are your clients looking for videos? Then you might consider starting on Youtube. Knowing your audience will help you a long way in making your choice.
The critical point here is not to open accounts on several platforms just for the sake of being online. There is no point of having an inactive account; actually, it might have adverse effects on your brand and image. Whatever platform you select, you should aim at being active and giving it the time to grow.
Chose one platform, focus, and commit to growing it.
2# Start Creating Content
Once you’ve identified the platform, you will engage your audience in, its time to create content. Yes, the very first step is building your profile page, adding the profile images and description. The more time you spend on this, stage, the better the results. You might think that it’s vital to get followers and subscribers at the start. But no one will follow or subscribe if you offer no content at all.
When you have your profile page in place, you need to add content that attracts your audience. If you find yourself struggling with how to create content, you could look at your competition. You’re most likely going to find competitors on the same platform, try seeing what type of content they are posting. From there, you could learn what to do and what not to do and also gain inspiration.
However, remember this is Social Media; your content can be as simple as a status update. Just pull out your phone, snap a selfie, or a short video, add a few links and post it. Remember, the aim is to be as active and engaging as possible.
Create good content, and followers will come.
3# Social Media Basics – Build Connections
So, you chose your social platform and started creating targetted and quality content, but still, you have no network. Well, it’s time to build connections, and here’s the thing, you’re making them with real people. You could start with sharing your platform with people you already know, your friends, your colleagues, ask them to follow or subscribe. That’s always an excellent way to build traction in the account. But that’s not always the case, what if you have no one to share with?
It is harder to build a connection with someone you don’t know at all and therefore, is going to require more effort. One of the most rewarding ways is actually to be proactive on Social Media. Sharing other people’s content, answering questions, and joining in on the comments. That way, you will show that you have something to offer, and you’re already contributing constructively.
Even if it’s on your competitors’ page if there’s a question from their followers that you can answer, then go for it.
Think of it like establishing a presence on the platform, through providing content and engaging. The connection that you build will be real and with real people.
Build real connections with people.
4# Engagement Rather than Followers – Social Media Basics
If you think that a million followers are a good thing, you might want to reconsider. A million engaging followers is a remarkable result; however, without engagement, they might as well be zero.
Social network algorithms look at engagement percentages rather than follower count. If like above, you have a million followers, but only a thousand are engaging, your engagement percentage will be deficient. Your content will not be favoured or ranked higher.
The higher your engagement rate the better signals you are giving to the Social Media networks. That’s why you notice, for example, how many Youtubers focus on telling users to subscribe, like, comment, and share their content. If you had a few followers, but all of them were engaged and did all four actions, your content will be shown to more people.
Keep in mind that the most effective way to engage your audience is through comments. Respond to comments, whether its feedback or a question, always acknowledge it. Let your audience know that you are committed to them and active.
Focus on engagement, not on Follower Count.
Conclusion
Social Media Platforms offer an excellent opportunity to connect directly to your audience. To get started, follow these simple four steps and watch how your network grows.
To learn more about Social Media Basics and how it can help your SEO, you can click here. You can also follow our blog to know more about Social Media Tips and Social Media for Businesses.
If you still require help in setting up your profile or engaging your followers, leave a comment below, and we will help you.
