Tips on Thursday: Social Media Presence

English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last Sunday I met with a local blogging group to discuss managing social media presence for a brand. I thought I would share with you some of my top tips.

General:

• Make sure your tone/voice is the same across all platforms
• Use an image/logo to make your brand visually identifiable
• Use a program like Hootsuite to put all your social media on "one screen"
• Personal accounts aren't always private - don't post things you wouldn't want your brand posting.

Twitter:

• Be conversational
• Don't tweet just your own content, but show you are a thought leader in your field by tweeting top content from others
• Combination of live tweeting and scheduled tweets
• Tweet at popular times - around 8 am, lunch time, and late afternoon/evening (most of the US population lives in the EST zone, plan accordingly)
• Use relevant hashtags (make sure the hashtag you want to use is being used for your intended purpose)
• Engage your followers - create lists to easily see what groups are tweeting and check your mentions regularly

Facebook:

• Profile - for your personal life
• Page - brand is communicating to fans
• Group - collaboration and interaction among fans (kind of like a virtual fan club meeting place)
• Put links in comments and not in the status (post will get more views)
• Posts from third parties (ie Hootesuite) get less views than posting directly to Facebook
• Quotes, questions, and images get the most interaction

Google+

• At least share your blog posts and +1 - increases search engine ranking
• I find it is easier to tag guest bloggers on G+ than to send them the link

LinkedIn

• It's a professional network - keep it professional
• Post only your top content that would be of interest to your contacts (not general interest)
• It's like your resume - update it every 6 months and as needed for major milestones/accomplishments

Pinterest

• Great for visually inclined industries (food, fashion, home decor/projects)
• Be aware of copyright and fair use - when you pin something that is not your own ALWAYS add a comment. 
• Pin from original source when possible

Related articles

• 10 Easy-To-Digest Small Business Social Media Tips (amsterdamprinting.com)
• Social Media - Attraction or Distraction (marlenembryan.wordpress.com)
• 3 Social Media Tools to Streamline Your Accounts (scottsmarketplace.com)