The sheer amount of digital media the average person consumes on a daily basis is alarming. From Instagram to Twitter, Facebook and beyond, it’s obvious that digital presence matters. Not only can digital media serve as promotion for your business but it can also prove to be an important link to help your business connects with individual consumers. With over 70 accounts that generate over 18 million interactions on average, ESPN’s digital presence is unquestioned. In his talk, Senior Manager of Digital for ESPN Nicolas Ayala emphasized that, “Digital media consumption is key.”
Here are some quick tips to make sure that your digital media is maximizing user engagement:
INSTAGRAM
• Diversify your feed
The point of instagram is that it’s a visual platform, so naturally visually appealing posts with attract followers. Alternate your posts between posts that directly pertain to your business and fun posts that
• Use hashtags
Clever and popular hashtags are any easy way to garner traffic.In addition to common hashtags such as #tbt (throwback Thursday), use your brand name as a hash tag and try to keep it consistent throughout your posts. Keep in mind that while hashtags are a great way to connect with a new audience, but try to limit them to about 3-5 a post.
• Post stories
Keep your customers up to date with the day to day happenings within your business. Stories that highlight staff, your location or events going on within your business provide viewers with a deeper understanding of your purpose and company culture.
• @mention other businesses
Creating a sense of community and strategic partnerships are now made easy with Instagram. Mentioning others makes them more likely to comment to you and to mention you in future posts, this results in a new audience of followers of a completely different account.
• Follow back
Follow staff, other local businesses and supporters. While you can’t follow everyone back, supporting those that support you is still important.
TWITTER
• Post content for conversation
While the focus of Instagram is visual media, it’s not the same for Twitter. Twitter is a literary platform intended to create conversation, so post interesting quotes, tidbits and questions related to your business. Using the poll and survey features on twitter can also generate buzz for your company.
• Less is more
Keep your posts short. Your followers will appreciate this.
FACEBOOK
• Events
Most people use Facebook to RSVP for events and to help mark their calendars. Make sure to keep your page updated on a regular basis in order to publish upcoming events and promotions.
• Ads
With over 2 billion users each month, Facebook ads are a great way to gain internet exposure.
• Blog posts and websites
If you would like a short, comprehensive guide for formatting blog and website content make sure to check out our other posts. The key is simply utilizing multimedia content.
With so many different digital platforms it can be difficult to keep up, but by creating a schedule for when, what to post and on what platform, engaging with your customer base can become that much easier. Remember that while your social media content should be coherent across platforms, do not just link all of your accounts. The mass amount of media this shortcut generates can be both overwhelming and simply annoying for followers. Having a general plan for posts will help your business control the quality and frequency of digital content you produce.
As always we hope you continue to learn, act and build @thelabmiami