Just a few years ago, social media (namely, Facebook) was considered to be a passing fad. Yet, social media has only gained in popularity. We use it to gain a view of the world, and to access every kind of information under the sun.
"Nearly two-thirds of American adults (65%) use social networking sites, up from 7% when Pew Research Center began systematically tracking social media usage in 2005."
Pew Research Center, Social Media Usage: 2005-2015
Here's how to reach them in order to increase traffic to your website.
Here's How to Increase Website Traffic With Social Media
In case you're unfamiliar with the term, a hashstag is a pound sign. When used in social media, the term hashtag is used to denote a popular word or phrase that is gaining considerable traction (e.g., #WomensMarch, #KindnessIn5Words), or has already gained traction and is here to stay (#WednesdayWisdom, #LifeHacks).
Another way to find hashtags within a social media site is to set up your geographic defaults. For instance, Twitter displays top trending hashtags -- customized according to your city of choice -- in the left sidebar (see image to the right). Twitter is a very popular choice for hashtag usage, since hashtags give tweets a 16% boost in traffic and engagement.
There are also websites like Hashtagify.me that will help you discover the top 30 hashtags for the last 30 days.
Today, January 27th, is National Chocolate Cake Day. Tomorrow, January 28th, is National Blueberry Pancake Day. These would be terrific hashtags to leverage if you have a food related business, or if your business is known (or wants to be known) for creating content that is irreverent, light-hearted, or comical.
It's up to you how creative you'd like to get with hashtags. Just remember to always make sure they are relevant to your content and your business.
It's so simple that it's often overlooked altogether, but the best way to get others to share your content is to ask. Studies show that simply asking for retweets (or “RTs”) is an effective way to boost shares and increase website traffic. Of course, you must have content that deserves to be shared. So again, make sure to be helpful and engaging to your core audience.
People love images. In fact, posts that include pictures on Facebook get 53% more likes, 104% more comments, and 84% more clicks. Including an image in a Twitter post can get you 18% more clicks, 89% more favorites, and 150% more retweets.
But will any image get you this much love? The answer is no if:
Twitter published a study of 2 million tweets to discover why some are retweeted and others aren't. The study showed that images receive a 35% increase in engagement. The same (or greater) level of increased engagement happens across all social media platforms, because people are attracted to images more than text.
It cannot be overstated that the most compelling, shareable social media outreach for business should add value to your audience. Asking a question flips the script, but in the best possible way.
There's another upside to asking questions that isn't directly related to likes, shares, and website traffic but is just as important for your company and that is: the answers you receive can inform your marketing decisions.
Did you know that "how to" and list posts get 47% more social shares than other types of content? Here are several more metrics:
So it's no surprise that lists are very popular on social media. They are shared often, and consistently outperform other types of content, because we are all trying to become more efficient at what we do, how we think, and why we do what we do. The image to the left shows a travel checklist that anyone can use to make the most of their pre-flight packing and preparations.
These days, everyone has a smartphone glued to them at all times. This reality accounts for the fact that a third of the world's population is engaged with social media. When you consider that this number will continue to rise, it's easy to see why you should make social media outreach a priority for your business.
Can't Find Time to Tweet?
If you are bogged down by administrative tasks, it can be hard to find time to tweet. If you're juggling your own scheduling and expense reports, you may not feel that posting on Facebook is the best use of your time. And when you have 40 business cards sitting on your desk from last night's networking event, your priority is to add everyone's contact information into your CRM not post cool images of the event on Instagram.
With all of your current tasks, it can be tough to justify spending time on social media. But if you understand the revenue generating importance of being active on social media, you'll quickly realize that hiring a cost-effective virtual assistant to take those administrative tasks off your plate is crucial.