So much emphasis is placed on the need to advertise on social media platforms in order to generate interaction. BrandWatch.com declared that 2014 is the "Year of Social Media Advertising." If you have given up on organic interaction via social media, we suggest you do some soul searching, dig a little deeper and conduct outreach to garner non-paid interaction!
Make sure that you are selecting the best platform though as to where you should be concentrating your organic efforts. You might be asking yourself, should I spend more time on Facebook or Twitter to bolster organic interaction? Let's take a look at a well-known campaign that gives a pretty direct answer.
Snickers ran a test during the World Cup where it posted similar messages on both Twitter and Facebook. The result? According to Marketing Land, the Tweet got 39,000 retweets and 17,000 favorites. The Facebook post fell flat, with fewer than 5,000 likes, shares and comments.
The surprising part of the test is that Snickers Facebook page had 11 million "Likes" where the Twitter page just had 54,000 followers. The senior digital strategist at BBDO, the advertising agency that represents Snickers, tweeted that, "Facebook Organic Reach is 100% Dead."
The Snickers social marketing test paints a clear picture that it is time to start investing your organic efforts into Twitter. Below are several ways to score a goal when it comes to organic your organic Twitter strategy.
Outreach
Search for people within similar industries using hashtags. For example, if you are interested in #RealEstate, search for this hashtag and comment on other Twitter users blog posts or witty tweets. You will see your interaction greatly increase and you will start to gain followers when you conduct outreach.
Create a List
Start focusing on relevant people who you are following from your account. If you follow industry leaders and interact with their posts, you will notice that they will follow you back and interact on your Tweets as well. Don't be afraid to ask people when you meet them face-to-face whether or not they have a Twitter account. If you ask someone on the spot, they will be likely to take out their smartphone and follow you. This is a great strategy to bolster your Twitter following when you are at trade shows or industry events.
Blog
If you want users to interact on your Twitter account, the content must be compelling. Start blogging and use teasers with memorable headlines to draw users into your blog posts. This will increase your interaction and drive more traffic to your website.
Create a Schedule
One of the most important components when it comes to Twitter is actually sending out tweets on a consistent basis. Spend 30-minutes each day composing 10 different tweets. If you include relevant hashtags for your industry and the content is compelling, you will notice a dramatic increase in your engagement. Consistent content is king!
Follow the four steps referenced above and you have the potential to generate more interaction on your Twitter account than some major brands! Just remember, interaction is hard to come by on Facebook nowadays. Dedicating time to Twitter when there is still a strong organic reach is essential for your social marketing strategy.