Today I want to share this great infographic on becoming a digital rock star from On Blast with you . Much of this information is pretty readily available, but having it all in one place is a great way to ensure your digital marketing rocks!
My advice, print this out and put in next to your desk so you can refer to it frequently.
A couple of caveats, however. Not every market performs exactly the same. Recommendations rely on data across a large number of brands, so your market may respond very differently.
Second caveat, responses change over time so don’t expect you can follow these recommendations forever.
That said, let’s explore how you can become a digital rock star.
A digital rock star
Recommendations cover image sizes, best times to share, shortcuts, and tools for each of 5 marketing channels — Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Your market may respond in each of these channels, only a few of them, or require additional channels, such as Snapchat (for younger markets), Periscope, LinkedIn (for B2B marketing), or any of hundreds of other social marketing channels.
For each channel, I’ll add my own perspectives to the recommendations in the infographic and I’ll add my expertise on LinkedIn, as it’s one of my major channels. So, let’s dive right in.
Facebook business marketing
Using Facebook for business marketing is very different than using it for personal enjoyment.
First, you face the decision of whether to use your profile for business or create a page or group.
Advantages of using your profile include having an established network and relating to your followers as a more genuine and caring person. When Facebook allowed followers, you overcame the limitation on the number of friends each profile can have. Several social media experts, including Guy Kawasaki and Micheal Stelzner us this method.
On the downside, your friends and family probably don’t enjoy seeing your professional posts in their newsfeed.
A page is the standard means used for marketing your brand. I manage several brand pages and the major drawback I find is it’s slow going generating a following, especially in the beginning. A positive aspect of owning a Facebook page is that it blocks anyone else from creating one using your brand and you have more control. You’ll also need a page if you plan to do Facebook advertising (which I highly recommend). Some automation tools only handle posting to pages, as well.
Also, consider a group if you’re brand is suitable — meaning you have something folks might care about. The major advantage of a group is that you can create your following by placing folks into groups rather than just sending invitation for them to join. Members can also include friends in the group. Groups encourage more interaction and engagement, which makes them a great option.
Next, create images for the page that reflect your brand. Facebook recently removed prohibitions on marketing on your cover image and the limitation on percentage of text in your images in advertising, making them must better marketing tools. I use Canva because they have the preferred sizing already built into their platform.
Finally, schedule some posts using the recommended post times from the infographic below — I use a combination of Sprout Social and Buffer. Remember, you should use an 80/20 mix between valuable posts and promotional ones. Include mentions of influencers and reach out to share your content with them.
You’re not limited to image and text content. You can include video, including the new option for live broadcasts that compete with Periscope (on Twitter).
Become a Twitter digital rock star
Twitter marketing is much the same as Facebook, only you have fewer options for types of accounts. Here, more folks use a personal account to share brand messages. I only use branded accounts and share within the account.
You’ll still need images and content and the 80/20 rule still applies. Twitter cards are the name given to Tweets that include images and users have the option to view images automatically or only on click. A variety of types of Twitter cards exist, so choose the right one for your context.
However, with Twitter it’s ok to post multiple times — with that number varying between 5 and 15 depending on the source. It’s OK to publish on Facebook multiple times, but try to limit it to 2 per day.
Be aware that there’s talk of increasing the character limit for Tweets, but for now, you’re limited to 140.
Also, don’t forget #hashtags. While folks use them on Facebook, they’re most effective on Twitter because they allow users to search based on topic. Serious damage can occur if your hashtag is coopted to embarrass your brand.
Pinterest for visual impact
Pinterest has a huge impact on brands, especially if your market contains a number of women — 80% of Pinterest users are women.
Pinterest is VERY visual, so make sure your images look great and are sized so that they fill the available area and don’t get cropped.
Analytics on Pinterest give valuable guidance on creating images for everything else you do through tracking which images are pinned the most.
YouTube challenges
YouTube is likely the most challenging of the social networks because creating video in time-consuming and requires more skill, IMHO, than any other tool.
I used to use Final Cut Pro to create or edit video. Now, I use Adobe Premier. I think it’s easier and it comes as part of Adobe Creative Cloud, which is well worth the subscription price. Still, it’s not easy to create video. Plus, you’ll still need content for your videos.
Increasingly, folks are using Periscope or other live streaming tools to create video content. I’m not sure how effective it is — I don’t find it particularly engaging.
I find doing interviews a productive tool for video content, although that comes with it’s own challenges such as scheduling and recording. But, interviews are a great way to build connections with influencers who might share your content.
Being a digital rock star using Instagram involves taking great pics related to your brand.
I’m not using Instagram for any of my clients, so I really don’t have much to add to the advice contained in the infographic.
LinkedIn for the digital rock star
Most of my clients are B2B, so LinkedIn is a major effort at Hausman & Associates. As it has grown, LinkedIn has become a little more challenging to use effectively, so here are my tips:
- Create a complete business profile for yourself and your company. Include white papers, images, presentations, and a variety of other content in your profile. Include a resume and ask for recommendations and endorsements.
- Join groups related to your brand and be active in the conversations taking place on the groups.
- Publish posts from your blog to LinkedIn, plus create original content for Pulse.
- Seek out and connect with influencers and others working in your area.
- Promoting others (ie. liking, commenting sharing) is the most effective tool for getting your content out there — it’s a tit-for-tat world.
- Engage those who take the time to promote your content.
- I’ve tried LinkedIn advertising. I didn’t find it particularly effective, but your experience may differ.
Concluding thoughts on being a digital rock star
Obviously, these recommendations are just a start — although a good one based on sound research from leading digital marketers.
- You’ll also need a blog — which should be the cornerstone of your marketing activity as it allows you to engage your audience, inform about products and the company, sell, build a subscriber list, and many other activities that are central to a sound digital marketing campaign. With effective SEO, it is also a great way to introduce new prospects to your brand.
- Some brands don’t include a blog on their website and function very effectively. The key is having new, fresh content on your website on a consistent basis. So, if you’re like Amazon and have a lot of user-generated content, you can survive nicely without a blog. Otherwise, consider adding one.
- Don’t forget digital PR in planning your digital marketing strategy. Cultivate relationships with influential bloggers, media folks, and others who might spread your brand’s message.
- Digital marketing is supported by traditional marketing, so don’t cut your advertising budget for non-digital to $ 0.
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