I’m sure you’ve been there. You’ve read an awesome blog post or social media post and you’d like to learn more about the person and maybe sign up for their newsletter. Lo and behold, there’s no reference to their website or other social media channel, thus starts a Google search, which can take you several minutes and then you realize it’s not worth your time and so you move on. Not good. You don’t want this to happen to you or your brand and miss out on that potential client or customer.
When building your social platform (i.e., website, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and etc.), be sure to think from the users perspective. You don’t want to make them work to find out more about you and your business.
When building your social marketing platform, be sure to think from the users perspective. Can they find you easily?
Take the time to work on your content and get some feedback from a trusted peer or colleague. It’s also important that the content is consistent throughout your platform. The language doesn’t need to be exact, but make sure that the messaging is very similar and cohesive. Personally, I constantly tweak my own content. I think it’s necessary to stay focused and be true to your own brand.
Here’s a quick view of my social world so you can get the gist of what I’m talking about.
Website
This is the foundation of who you are and what your business is all about. Every company needs a website no matter what they sell. This is your chance to tell your story and set you apart from your competition. Be sure to list all your social media channels and how you can be contacted.
Check this out…I’ve listed a quick preview of my business, website, and phone number in the About section that’s visible to the user without them having to actually click the About link.
I’ve also added the thumbnail app to my other social media channels and my newsletter sign up.
Here I had to play around with the words since they wrap and will not allow spaces; that’s no problem. I made it work and made sure I added my website link.
Google+
I know what you’re thinking, why bother? Google+ is necessary to help with your SEO rating and I’ve also noticed that I get more traffic to my blogs and videos when I post them to Google+. Don’t discount Google+ entirely, you need to keep an eye on it. Yes, it’s slow growing, but most things worth anything haven’t been built overnight.
I really like how clean and organized the page feels. Here, I took advantage of each section and populated everything. Be sure you fill in each and every blank for every single Google product you use. This again will help with SEO.
I have a couple of views; personal and business page. You will need to create a personal page prior to creating a business page
Personal page
Profile section: Be sure to link to your professional page.
Summary section: I added my website link, even though, there isn’t a specific place for it. Remember, this is your page. Even though, it’s not ‘live’ it can still be copied and pasted to a browser. Do what you need to do to drive people to your website.
Business
Banner: Make your page looks professional and upload your company banner, don’t leave it blank.
Note: This is a real challenge for most people based on my experience and conversations in the Uploading Banner for your Company Page Discussion. I ended up making the specs of the banner the same size as my Facebook banner and it finally worked.
Description: Your content should be short and to the point and don’t forget to list your website link. The link is ‘live’ even though it may not appear so.
It’s all about the user experience; don’t make them work to find you or what you’re about. Enhance their experience and allow the user to glide through all of your social media channels and to your website seamlessly.
I would love to hear from you. Let me know if you have any questions or if you have any other tips/tricks to add.