By Allison Barwacz | Digital Media Content Producer
There’s no doubt that social media is an efficient outlet for news dissemination. And why not? Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are easy to use, inexpensive (if not free) and connect you to a lot of people. Social media encourages conversation, rather than stifling it, and doesn’t present any limitations. That’s why it’s an important tool for generating page views, whether you’re a personal blogger, magazine writer or social media manager. With that in mind, here are some steps for optimizing page views using social media.
First, ask yourself these questions, writes Daniel Newman in Forbes, before posting:
- Who are we engaging with?
- What platform are we using?
- What type of content are we using?
- What are our bigger goals?
- How can we measure our results?
Once you’ve answered these questions, keep these tips in mind:
1. Post on all platforms.
Make sure you post on all of your available platforms. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest or whatever outlet relates to your business. Make sure your posts are consistent across the board, using your brand’s voice.
2. Share, share and…share.
It’s simple: The more an article is shared, the more page views it’ll get. Even if the article is posted on your company’s social media pages, don’t be afraid to share, retweet or even comment on the post. Utilize your own social media accounts to share your work and encourage your co-workers to share theirs — after all, who doesn’t want their own work to be seen?
3. Engage.
Use your social media platforms to build relationships with readers. Professionally respond to their comments, whether you agree with them or not, in a timely matter. Either way, keep in mind: Any response is good. It helps build brand identify, recognition and your brand’s following.
4. Personalize.
A unique feature that many social media platforms offer is the ability to personalize your posts. On Facebook, you can add images to the posts you share. You can edit the headline of the post, as well as the description under the photo. On Twitter, you can add hashtags, which will help you key in on your target audience. (Note: It’s important to look up potential hashtags on Twitter to see how often they’re used.) Use these tools to be creative and set your brand apart from others sharing similar information.
5. Repost.
Don’t be afraid to repost your articles. Use a web analytics service, such as Google Analytics, to determine which of your posts generated the most page views, and repost those articles with new teasers and hashtags. Use the engagement/impression data from the duplicate posts to determine what types of posts your readers best respond to.