When publishing a post on LinkedIn, make it six to eight paragraphs in length.
From author and marketing leader Chuck Hester.
For more LinkedIn tips and best practices, check out the latest episode of Social Geek Radio.
Tag: #socialmediatips
Social Geek Tip of the Week: Don’t Inadvertently Advertise Your Competitor
Be careful of inadvertently advertising a competitor.
If you share curated content like news articles and blogs, be sure to read them thoroughly before posting to your company’s Facebook page or Twitter account to make sure you’re not giving a paid plug to a competitor.
I have been very close to sharing a post from a site but did a quick double-check to find that a competitor gets a big (and often paid) credit in the last paragraph.
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: Podcast Through Twitter
If you’re doing a podcast on Blog Talk Radio, be sure to post your latest episode’s link on Twitter.
Not only are you promoting the show, but also the link goes live when your show does. Followers and anyone who found your Tweet could listen live through Twitter.
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: Change Your Facebook Cover Photo
Tip for next week: start changing your Facebook cover photo once per month. And, don’t just switch out the cover photo on your main brand page, but also change it on all child pages, franchisees’ pages, and any other business units’ pages too.
Even if once per month seems too often, at least update it next week. My guess is that it’s been up there a while! A simple change will register as a post with an image in your fans’ newsfeed. With organic reach approaching zero, that may not be a big idea but it can’t hurt.
Not having the time to change multiple pages’ photos is not a very good excuse to skip this. If you have multiple pages for the same brand with different locations or franchisees, use the same photo. And, if you want to know about using a management app to change cover photos simultaneously, send me a note.
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: Follow Every Person Who Follows Your Brand on Twitter
Follow back every person who follows your brand on Twitter.
Every one? Yes!
Following back every person who follows you, as well as every one who Tweets to you or mentions you in a positive way is the easiest and cheapest way to start engaging an individual. And that’s what this entire social universe is all about.
I can’t count the number of times I have engaged (as a customer) a brand like a hotel, airline, or restaurant with a question, suggestion, or compliment only to not have them follow me back after our initial exchange was finished. They missed out on a great opportunity for a customer to feel valued.
Why would you not follow them all back? Are you worried that it’s too many people to read through in your stream? You will never watch your whole stream anyway – you will be searching for specific words, hashtags, or getting alerted to mentions of you.
The only ones you might want to skip are those who appear to be robots or selling a certain number of followers for money. But even for those, what harm does it cause?
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: Post Photos, Not Just Links
Share Photos, Not Links on Your Facebook Page
When you post a link on Facebook and your fans share that post on their profiles or pages, it will state, “Jane Smith shared a link”.
But when you post a photo and your fans share that post on their profiles or pages, it will state, “Jane Smith shared (YOUR BRAND NAME)’s photo.”
This is extremely valuable real estate! In the age where organic reach is falling fast, your best bet to reach new consumers (without paying for ads) is to have your current fans share your content and have their friends see your name on the content. If you’re posting links, they won’t see your brand name. If you’re posting photos, they will see it!
But what if the whole point of the post is to drive traffic to your website, blog, or article on the “other end” of that link? Simple – create the post as a photo first, then paste your link as part of the body of the text above the photo. This now clickable link will be just as accessible.
Bonus – by posting as a photo not a link, you can choose an image and size instead of leaving it up to the thumbnail choices!
Example:
In the above example, a link to a great Social Media Today article was shared by Manalto. But Manalto posted it as a photo with a link. When another Facebook page, FranTech, shared Manalto’s post, Manalto’s name was shown. If it was only a link, Manalto would not be visible on FranTech’s post.
Social Media for Promotion and Networking at a Conference
Many people start tweeting or posting once they arrive at a conference or convention. These mostly consist of messages like “I’m at the XYZ 2015 Conference. WOOT!” There’s not much value there for anyone else. This is the conference version showing us what you’re having for lunch.
A better use of social media for conferences is connecting with people before you arrive. You can create some awareness and interest for your business and services before anyone sets foot into the convention center by sharing information that is actually of value to your connections and potential connections.
My Social Geek Radio co-host Deb Evans and I recently aired an episode devoted to Social Media tips for conferences. Listen to it here and check out our list of top tips:
- Post some interesting info about the event or topics in the weeks leading up to event. Don’t wait until one week before the conference and Tweet “stop by booth 123 and see our stuff.”
- Encourage a Hashtag for the event. Connect with anyone who also uses it!
- Organize a Tweetup. Set it up on Tweetvite.com and promote that link with details across all of your social channels. Also, email the link with the invitation to your email list of potential attendees to the conference. A Tweetup may be an unintimidating way for first-timers to network.
- Create a Facebook Event for the conference or subset activities.
- Do a Google Hangout leading up to the event with other attendees and perhaps a speaker or panelist to discuss their session. Many people are interested in promoting their own session and would love the opportunity to connect before the conference.
What would you add?
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: Keep Your Videos Short
Keep your brand’s YouTube or Facebook videos short. 5 minutes is plenty. 3 minutes is better. 1 minute is better yet!
Most people don’t have the bandwidth – literal or figurative – to watch more than 5 minutes. The majority of potential viewers would watch on their phones and may not have fast wi-fi. Long or slow video is the easiest way to get your video skipped!
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: MLK Day Observance
Be mindful that Monday is Martin Luther King Jr Day in the US. Your fans and customers will see lots of great MLK-related posts in their feed throughout the day. Don’t be the brand that shouts about a sale or 10% off or some loud sales pitch in the midst of this stream of content. Share an inspirational quote or image or something else that your fans will appreciate.
On the other end of the content spectrum, the State of The Union Address is Tuesday night. This means your fans will see more argumentative political posts than usual on Wednesday and your posts may get buried deeper than usual. If you have timely content or messages you need to get out, Wednesday would be a good day to boost a Facebook post. Some positive messages might play well here too to rise above the political debate.
Social Geek Tip for Next Week: Change Your Location
Need some new ideas for your blog, landing pages, or social media posts? Change your location.
I don’t mean change a setting on your phone or tablet. I mean change your actual physical location. It doesn’t have to be a tropical island, just different.
Go to the lobby of your building or hotel. Change to a new coffee shop. Or just move to a different room of your home. New surroundings will give way to new ideas.
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