Like many good things, finding the tools and channels to run your perfect social media marketing campaign is a trial and error process. In a world of constantly evolving technology, new apps and programs are released daily. Each with its own benefits to make the juggling act we call social media marketing easier. Finding that perfect program best suited for you may take some time, but 2014 taught us that there is light at the end of the tunnel. In 2014, Instagram remains the king of food, Pinterest grew at an impressive rate of 120%, Youtube keeps its viewers returning, SnapChat is the fastest growing app in the mobile space with 56% growth and Facebook is still sitting in its chair from years prior, the throne. The opportunities social media marketing present to your brand are endless. We built our army strong this year, and here’s what we learned on the road to become the best.
Find and Conquer Your Audience
With new social media marketing channels arising daily, it is important to establish who your targeted audience is and determine where they are devoting their time. Facebook trends and older audience with 25% of their audience being 45+. In contrast, apps such as SnapChat fuel off a younger audience with 71% of their users under 25 years old. Just because a particular social channel may not sound fit for you off the bat does not mean it is time to rule it out. Roll out similar content to several different types of channels and monitor the results. Your research will allow you to determine which channels bring the best audience and drive the most engaging responses to your brand.
Simple Language Captures Attention
If you are like me, sometimes you just like to ramble. On and on about things that may not be unimportant, however just may not be needed. Many of the highest performing posts are worded in 120 characters or less. Social media happens quickly. People are signing off Facebook just as quickly as they logged in, scrolling through twitter briefly with a few key takeaways, and opening SnapChat to 10 new Snaps to be gone in a matter of seconds. Buffer, one of our personal favorites and most used social media marketing tools recently shared this info graphic from Garret Moon that lists the most commonly-used words in successful and frequently shared headlines. 
Become a News Feed Authority
Social media marketing is a game of strategy. You may wonder how the ads you see are so relevant to your recent searches. Why is a post similar to your own, getting such better traction? Facebook, maintaining social media heirarchy, has established a lengthy algorithm that is designed to decide which of the millions of posts circulating the network will be seen by you. Here are some of the things Facebook looks for when distributing content.
- Posts that tag other pages within the text
- Posts from pages that have an overlapping fan base
- Posts that receive a high number of likes, comments and shares
- Links
- Trending Topics
- Posts that are brief and to the point containing images or video
- Posts that are liked, commented on or shared by ones friends
Optimizing when you post is just as important as what you post. Using a program such as SproutSocial you are able to connect your social pages and monitor a breakdown of time, day, and age of your audience help you ensure all of your social media marketing posts are being distributed at the optimal time to receive the most amount of traction.
When Content’s Involved, Sharing is Caring
Creating quality content is a key element in establishing a solid, fundamental social media marketing campaign. Using your buyer personas to determine what your audience is looking for and how they want to receive this information is important to not only please your community but to grow and strengthen them as well. Do some research into what other types of posts your followers are engaging with and sharing besides that coming directly from your brand. Don’t be afraid to reach out to those companies, explore what they have to offer and share their content as well as your own on your business pages. In 2014 we learned that some of your best and most loyal “fans” will come from an already established market that you cross into through content sharing. People feel good about being supported. There is nothing wrong with business’s working together to boost each other’s reach.
Creating Viral Exposure Builds Fans
In a world of viral videos, pictures, pages and links companies are constantly in pursuit of the next big trend, contest or sweepstakes. All are excellent ways to bring your social media marketing campaign to the next level. Running a “user voted” contest is a very powerful way to grow your audience. A “best photo” contest for example, results in users posting their photos to your page, then sharing that photo on their own channels asking others to like, share and follow. You now have put your brand name in front of the contestant as well as their social audience who you may otherwise have never found.
Finding Your Soul Mate Feels Just As Good As They Said it Would
2015 has just begun. A new year with new beginnings. Business is booming, the food is good, the drinks are cold, and in case you did not know Fat Guy Media is officially “in a relationship” with Hubspot. We have always heard that finding the perfect match, your “soul mate” feels quite spectacular! We were unaware that it felt THIS good! In 2014 we spent a significant amount of time working with the energetic team at Hubspot to learn all tools available to us in order to bring all of our clients to the next level. After becoming GOLD tiered partners and a wonderful trip to Inbound14 (Hubspots convention) we are sure we have found our match. Social media marketing is happening 24/7 and we needed a way to centralize our workflows and monitor social streams while balancing numerous brands and their media. Hubspots incredible social media tools, one of them being monitoring allowed us to do just that. Interacting with leads, competitors and sometimes just other people who love food just as much as we do. We learned that finding a software match for your business or agency is a key element to social media marketing success. The year that now lies behind us had so much to offer. Social media grew exponentially almost daily. Just as people change, so does the way we interact and engage through different channels of the web. If we could give one last piece of advice to reflect back on 2014, don’t be afraid to try! With new outlets constantly emerging, don’t be the first to say a program, CRM, an app, etc. is not going to work for your social media marketing campaign. You may find and entirely new audience and tap into a persona you never thought possible. For more tips from the Fat Guy Media Social Pro’s you can head to our www.fatguymedia.com/blogs and explore the Social Media section. Keep your eyes out for an all-in-one Social Media white paper coming soon!
