Social media platforms never cater to a universal audience. Frequent Twitter users might rarely set foot on Facebook. Pinterest users might not even have a Twitter account. If you are looking to successfully market content for your business through social media, identifying and understanding your audience on these platforms is crucial.
As a small business owner, you need to create a content marketing strategy that can be tailored to align with specific social media channels. Using the same blueprint for each platform will only spell disaster down the road.
What are the most effective ways to tailor your social media blueprint?
Make Everything Visual
A picture really is worth a thousand words on most social media platforms. Smart phones and tablets have only increased the demand for content fortified by images and graphics. Putting an emphasis on visual content will appeal to visual learners. Images are powerful because they bring your content message to life – in essence giving flesh and bone to an idea. Visual content is more likely than other types to have an impact on a reader long after they are done reading it.
Craft Killer Headlines
You only have a split second to make a good first impression in the world of social media. That’s why a killer headline can be your best tool. Headlines should be punchy and grab your attention. A headline isn’t just designed for summing up what your content is about. It is there to spark curiosity in your target audience and get them to care about your content. Good headlines can go a long way to boosting traffic to your website.
Offer Useful Information
Putting out bells and whistles is only effective if you have created content worth reading in the first place. There needs to be more to it than inserting the right keywords or doing a list to capitalize on short attention spans. Content needs to offer real informational value to your target audience. Poor content can damage your social media reputation in a hurry. Find writers for hire who possess the skills and experience to turn your ideas into polished content that will leave your target audience begging for more.
Understand Your Audience
The biggest factor influencing your social media blueprint should always be your audience. You need to market content in a way that will appeal to the demographics using a social media platform. Content marketed to Twitter will be skewed toward a 20-something crowd. If you are marketing on Pinterest, on the other hand, your target audience is more likely to consist of women with larger amounts of disposable income. Knowing who your audience is makes it easier to figure out how they will respond to your content marketing strategies.
John C is a professional writer and editor who has written articles and blog posts for dozens of websites and publications for more than a decade. His current goal this summer is to branch out into the exciting world of fiction writing.
