60 Social Media Tactics for Small Businesses

We’re all using Social Media daily, it’s the current state of the Internet, but do you know all the tactics and simple tricks that will help you get noticed?
I’ve been asked a lot these days about tactics I’m using for different Social Media, so Nemanja Zivkovic decided to write about it. Let’s start with some tips for all platforms.

All platforms:

1. Use Micro-content
Now, what the hell is Micro-content? The answer is actually very simple. It’s about keeping people on the platform. A lot of people, a lot of companies, lots of brands will post links that will take people out of the platform. If you post on Facebook, you’ll add a caption, then a link, Facebook will pull off some content – an image, a thumbnail from that page, website or whatever, but it doesn’t work that well, especially if you are aiming engagement. Give people value right in the feed. It gives you engagement (retweets, shares, comments). People are generally scared of sharing links they can’t see, content they don’t know anything (or they know very little) about. This erases that layer. It means – we are giving you all the content up front, here it is, you can decide right now if you want to share this or not. It builds engagement but doesn’t bring clicks, only reach and followers.

2. Redistribute

3. Make GIFs from your videos

4. Always like replies to comments

5. Watch out for new platforms and try them early

Instagram:

6. Optimize your username with keywords
If you are a brand and you wanna pop up in search, change your username into something meaningful. For example, if your name is Dan, and you want people to find you when they search for marketing experts, advice, whatever, use marketing in your username.

7. Use text above your link to push your offer or call to action
If you are going to use offers like 50% off, or free e-book, make sure people know what are you offering, what it is they are clicking on and what are they gonna get.

8. Publish 3 or 4 times a day
Now, some of you will say it’s spammy. No, it isn’t. If you post once weekly, or one post per day, you won’t catch everybody. Social Media is real time, not everybody’s gonna consume your content all the time. I mean, that would be awesome, right? But no no. The reality is different than that. With publishing more times, you are giving people more chance to see your content. This gives you more chances to get in touch with them. The more we publish, the more engagement we get. Content creates momentum. Fantastic, isn’t it? Conclusion – post as much as you can as long as it allows you to have good content.

9. Maximize the number of hashtags and put them in the first comment
There’s always a discussion about hashtags, Should we use just 3, or should we use more, is using lots of them spammy, does it look like we’re trying to get an extra advantage, blah blah blah.. When you’re using your maximum amount of hashtags (which is 30), and you have good once, not just those with million plus posts (they won’t do the job – find hashtags with mid-range posts, under 500 000, under 20 000..), you can actually reach the right people. If you have fewer followers than someone from the same industry, they will blow you out of the news feed when they post with the same hashtag, so go a bit lower with mid-range hashtags, use long tail hashtags, put them in comments and you’ll get to the right people. Don’t put hashtags in your caption. When you put hashtags in the first comments, that comment won’t be seen when you get more comments and won’t look spammy.

10. Use videos. Use more videos.
Even everyone is saying use video, there’s still a lack of videos, especially on Instagram. You have one-minute length, so respect that. Use different forms of videos, like Boomerang, for example. It can make wonders in your news feed – it’s moving and it looks nice.

11. Put text in your videos
Your videos should have text. I’d recommend Title and Subtitles. Everybody’s sound is off in today’s world. They can’t hear your cool music. You know that platforms are adding audio automatically, so people shut down the sound. For that reason you should have text in your videos, to catch their attention, to make them understand what are you talking about and what is the value you’re giving to them. If you are wondering which tools you can use, here are 5 tools for adding subtitles to your videos you need to use now!

12. Use new multiple image upload feature
It’s great, especially for products. Perfect for eCommerce. You can show different products or one product from different sides. Or you can tell a story with showing details. Use new features always! It is also good when you’re talking to your client, like “Hey, we’re here! We’re up to date with changes, using and trying everything so we can come up with the best experience for you, your company and your brand.”

13. Instagram is used primarily to share a users’ own photos. Think about it while you’re creating your content.

14. Instagram is about sharing. People who interact with you on Instagram have that mindset, they want to see what you’re sharing.

15. Instagram’s audience is very diverse. SproutSocial put together a post with incredible demographic information, revealing that Instagram’s audience:

• Has more than 600 million active users
• 26% of all men online, 38% of women online
• 33% of people 30-49
• 18% of people 50-64
• 69% have at least some college experience

16. Instagram posts with smiling human faces got 38% more likes than those without them. (just no duck-face selfies, please).

17. Instagram goes for images with blueish hues as the primary color, and these posts get 24% more likes than those with reddish hues.

18. Instagram likes to keep things simple; users prefer images with a single dominant color. These posts generate 17% more likes than those with multiple dominant colors.

19. Instagram images with more background get 29% more likes.

BREAKDOWN: DON’T BE AFRAID TO JUMP UP TO NEW FEATURES, NEW TOOLS, NEW PLATFORMS EARLY BECAUSE YOU’RE GONNA BENEFIT FROM IT.

20. Use Instagram Stories – 5-10 times a day
In my opinion, Instagram Stories are better than Snapchat. For a brand, I’d recommend using it 5 to 10 times a day. You’re not gonna show up if you post twice a day. You wanna be getting in the feed of what’s new, who just posted, and it requires to post more.

21. Add existing content to Instagram Stories or make content for it outside of Instagram
You know you don’t need to be Instagramming yourself in order to make Instagram stories, don’t you? You can take all the content that you’re making, edit it in vertical, and upload it to Instagram Stories. In that way, you can promote content from other Social Media, website, from campaigns, whatever. There are people using only Instagram Stories, so you want them to see your content.

22. Use the mention feature in Stories to engage community
It can increase engagement. You can add mention Instagrammers, friends, colleagues if you’re working on the same project ect… Also, you can mention yourself if you want people to go to your profiles and click the link you have in your bio. Or you can just shout out your fans! Say thank you! They will appreciate that big time. It shows that brand gives a shit about you. It can work on a black story with a mention. It’s all about community!

23. Add your own username in your caption
People can click on your mention, go to your profile and click a link in your bio or any else you want them to click. Why is this important? Because people don’t see your content on your profile, they see it in your feed. They need to click on your bio to see the link or on your icon at the top. It is also a good way if you are running a promotion. You can’t run a follower campaigns on Instagram, you can just promote it and push them to your website. You can see how many people clicked on your “learn more”.

24. Pay for shout outs
Find influential accounts, tell them I’ll give you 10$ and a sandwich. It doesn’t have to be a large amount of money, but you have to measure it. It’s a branding thing, so don’t do it just one time. It won’t get you anything. Pay for a package, let’s say 5 Instagram post in the next month because that will get you value. A one-time deal won’t. Why? It just doesn’t happen that an influencer says oh, I like that bicycle and I’m gonna post about it only today, tell people how it’s amaaaaziiiing. Will somebody buy that bicycle based on that? No. If you like something, you’ll post more about it and let everyone know that you do. When promoting is done that way, which looks like it’s native, it would work.

Twitter:

25. Use images, videos, and GIFs when linking

26. Video reply to people
People are rarely doing this, but it’s a good way for fostering community. Also, if you’re a company, you are giving people a chance to be the face of the company. It can be like “Thank you for your retweet. Thank you.”. Ad simple as that.

27. Create a weekly Twitter chat
Use the specific hashtag, invite influencer to answer questions and people will see the answers and like identify with them, which will make them retweet or tweet about it. It is very good for engagement.

28. Pin a relevant and well-performing tweet to your profile
If you have a really popular tweet, or a campaign or something that you really want people to see, pin it to your profile. It’s the first thing anybody sees on your profile and it can highlight some content.

29. Create your own branded GIFs and use it everywhere
Rarely anyone is doing this. Nike certainly is. Giphy is a search engine for GIFs, brands are recognizing it and creating branded GIFs related to certain keywords. If you’re not, you are missing a chance. It can be sorry, hate, love…

30. Twitter search for people’s pain
Example: You are selling phones and somebody tweets: “My phone sucks”.
You can search for it, like it, reply to it, say that you’re sorry that his car sucks, engage with him, but not offer like 20% of the phone you’re selling right away. Keep these guys as a customer. And you can search in advance, for only people in certain place, country or county. THIS IS REALLY POWERFUL!

31. Use daily hashtags:

#MondayMotivatin #TuesdayMotivation #WednesdayWisdom #ThursdayThoughts #FridayFeeling

32. Use Twitter to promote content on your other platforms
Redistribute your content.

33. Post several times a day
Twitter is even worse than other platforms You have to be able to post there all times a day. It’s a nonstop platform.

34. Cut your videos to use on Twitter as native

35. If you are sending Auto-DMs – tell people it’s automated
You can basically spam people, and they hate it, but be cool, tell them up front it’s robot, not me, and they will be more acceptable

Facebook:

36. Make longer videos if you’re using Ads
Facebook is putting ads in the middle of videos, so make your video content longer (5+ minutes)

37. Groups work well

38. Post daily: 3 times a day WLB (Wake, Luch, Bed)

39. Get engagement quickly
The Facebook algorithm works like this, it responds to how quickly you get engagement for your posts. What can you do? Quizzes. Questions. Contest. Opinion. HACK THE ALGORITHM!
Get friends to comment first, the very second you launched it, and you’ll be able to hack it.

40. When advertising content – don’t go with cheap countries
They may have lots of inhabitants there, but Facebook will think that you want your content to be shown there are really get more of your content to the people from those countries, instead of countries you actually want it to be distributed. Try to go for the countries you actually want to advertise in.

41. Shorter description text
Try not making people expand your content, except you’re writing a really long caption.

42. Facebook Messenger in terms of users in #3 in the world
You have to understand this. It’s because they forced everyone to use it, but chat is really popular. Be aware of that.

43. If you have an offer, don’t hide it
Make it the first thing people see. Put your offer right up front, don’t make people work for it.

44. Take all the emails in your newsletter subscriber list and them to a Facebook Custom Audience

You can target only those, specific people in your Facebook Ads platform if they sign up on Facebook with that email, of course.

45. Get your Facebook Pixel on your website – now.
Pixel is a Facebook’s conversion tracking system which helps you to understand who’s coming to your website and to advertise to those people who are actually coming to your website, on Facebook.

46. Your logo on your posts/images
People hate advertising. Remove your logo from your photos. It’s not gonna work as well as without logo if you want people to share your content. On the other hand, if you want to get noticed and be unique, add the logo on the pictures. Try both!

47. Like people’s comments in comments

48. Advertise your events you created for your live streams

49. Ask people to share, like, comment on your posts
It’s amazing how asking creates magic

50. Run contest but…
Make it short term sensitive. For example, say: “You have to comment within 5 minutes of posting to enter”. You are posting people to know when you’re gonna post and to comment fast. That’s gonna help you hack the algorithm.

Pinterest:

51. Pinterest is about discovering.

The company’s politics is to become the search platform. This affects how users interact with content on the site. Gorgeous images will do well, but on Pinterest users also need to see some sense of value. stunning Thanksgiving spread won’t get a lot of repins if there’s no recipe or DIY instructions attached. The captions and descriptions of your content should reflect this.

52. Pinterest’s audience is a predominantly female audience (even though Pinterest’s male user base is growing). As of the publication of SproutSocial’s post, Pinterest’s audience:

• Has 200 million active users
• Has 17% of all online men on the platform, and 45% of women who are online
• 36% of 18–29-year-olds use Pinterest.
• 34% of 30–49-year-olds
• 28% of 50–64-year-olds
• 68% had a college degree or higher

Simply put: more women are using Pinterest, and Pinterest has a slightly older-on-average audience than Instagram.

53. Pinterest prioritizes link sharing and saving. When you’re looking to distribute content, Pinterest is the best choice.

54. Hashtags don’t have much of a point on Pinterest, even though plenty of users do attach hashtags. Because pins are already aptly labeled in order to improve their accuracy in search results, you don’t need hashtags to get in front of your target audience. There are already categories you can choose to sort through. All the hashtags do is add text users may not care to read through.

55. Images without human faces are repinned 23% more often than those that include them. It’s why you’ll see full body images to show outfits cut off at the woman’s chin.

56. Pinterest, however, prefers images with lots of reds; they get twice as many repins as those with other primary colors.

57. Images with multiple dominant colors get 3x more replies

58. Close-ups have higher performance on Pinterest

HAVE SOME FUN. IT’S CALLED SOCIAL MEDIA. DON’T BE BORING.

 

Contact us for more useful pieces of information.