Creating and Optimizing Social Media Campaigns
The most powerful ability that social media enables for a marketing campaign is real-time optimization. There’s no longer a need to wait for trends to develop before understanding them; you can react as fast as new trends unfold.
Account optimization: (general audit of social media)
Accounts must be optimized. Pictures, posts, and outreach all need to be organized and presented in an appealing and attractive way to target audiences and different demographics. This way, customers can easily understand who and what they are dealing with and how it relates to them.
Also known as social media optimization or SMO, this is how a business can understand, analyze, and adjust its content. This allows a business to stay in line with best practices and remain reflective of its social media presence.
If a business wants to be found, it is best to make it easily searchable. Like SEO deals with search engine results, SMO does the same for social media searches.
Keyword optimization
This works similarly to SEO; instead of search engine results, social media results are used. Having the right keywords makes marketing materials easier to find and more likely to appear in a search.
Include relevant hashtags and keywords in the bio section
A lot of social media content is organized by category. Hashtags are a great way to ensure those looking for a specific category or type of business can find it. Having the proper keywords in a bio will also make it more likely to be found in a search.
Users can even search for hashtags and keywords. If both are utilized, the likelihood that a search result will be beneficial increases even further. Specificity is the key to being found in the largest marketplace in human history.
Fill out the “About” section on every social media platform
A major goal of social media marketing is to humanize a company or business. An essential step in this process is to populate the about section. Potential customers, particularly on social media, want to deal with companies that align with their interests and values. So don’t leave any doubt in their minds.
A good “about” section will give prospective customers a clear idea of the business they are dealing with. This can set apart those serious about expanding their outreach from those who aren’t. It also shows a business cares about connecting with its customers.
Content strategy optimization:
Social media content that is results-driven and relevant is more likely to be viewed. Developing a strategy to ensure posts stay relevant and up-to-date is the best way to achieve this goal.
Establish a consistent publishing frequency:
Fresh content drives social media interaction. Old posts are quickly lost in the sea of content that is generated every second of the day. A reliable frequency of new content separates the winners from the losers when it comes to social media optimization.
Determine which platforms should be focused on:
As mentioned above, remember that most social media platforms have a specific audience who prefers to use them. Some, notably Facebook, are so large that they have a huge reach across demographics and social strata, but others are much more specific, like TikTok or Twitter.
Finding out what community works best is key to your success. A business that appeals to a large portion of the Twitter user base may not be as successful in gaining attention on Instagram or TikTok, and vice versa.
Individual post optimization
Each post can be optimized as part of an overall social media strategy. This is the best way to ensure each post is seen and relevant to the target audience.
Write relevant captions that support the business’ promotions and incentives
Relevant captions relate to the business promotion, product, or service; and are often unique to the platform. For instance, a relevant caption for a product on Instagram may not be the best option when advertising on Twitter.
A great caption relates to the promotion/incentive and draws viewers in. Getting potential customers to click an ad or promotion is dependent on having a great caption that speaks to them on a personal level.
Include relevant hashtags, keywords, and a call to action
Relevant hashtags and keywords must be used. This is how people see what is being posted. A call to action should inspire action to change the status quo, such as purchasing a specific item to make life easier or safer, etc.
A good example of this is instead of saying something like “Buy our product,” you would instead say, “If you want your yard to be poop free, buy the poop scooper 3000.” Give the customer a compelling reason to move forward.
Link optimization
The world of social media is ever-changing, and only links that are optimized should stay on a page. This means legacy or older links will often need to be changed or updated in order to stay current. Check the links on profiles, services, and affiliates to ensure this happens.
Assess which links are getting the most clicks
A domain’s URLs can be tracked via Google Analytics. This will show who is clicking what and which links are getting the most clicks. Dead links, or links that don’t have any traffic associated with them, are pointless and should be removed.
Set up UTM parameters on the social links
For analytics to be accurate, UTM parameters must be set up. There are five parameters, and three must be used at all times to get accurate information. This would include the utm_source, which is the source of the traffic, such as search engines, social media posts, etc.
Another key UTM parameter is utm_medium, which details where the link was used. This could include email or any other method of sharing. These help track the marketing campaign across traffic sources and media where it could be published.
Consider UTMs to be tags that are put on a URL. They can even be used to track what CTAs are performing better and if the traffic you are receiving results from a post or is coming from sites or social media pages beyond your control. Use this UTM builder (ga-dev-tools.web.app/campaign-url-builder/).
Make sure you are sending the correct links and landing pages
As with any optimization strategy, having the correct links and optimized landing pages is of the utmost importance. A link that doesn’t go where it should is of no use to anyone. A bad landing page can literally ruin the entire effort, as customers won’t be interested in continuing.
The goal is to get customers where they are needed, so they can click and purchase products/services without hassle. Double-check any link that is used, make sure that they are all working, or else the entire effort will suffer or fail. Wasting time and money is not going to help a marketing campaign succeed.
Ready to Take Your Search Hustle Further?
Social searchability optimization