Tips to Boost Your Business at a Lower Cost
Tips from Shivam Singh to Boost Your Business at a Lower Cost
Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest… Each social network has its codes, its robots, its audience. During the SME 2020 show, Shivam Singh, a specialist in social media strategy, delivered the essentials to her audience to penetrate - without spending too much - on social networks.
Storytelling, hashtags, user mentions… In the country of social media, trends follow one another, algorithms are king and the commodification of visibility is developing at great speed. Except on Facebook where the purchase is law, certain free techniques resist again and again to the invader. You still have to know them. On the occasion of SME 2020, alone at the desk in the Maillot room, Shivam Singh, Founder of TechGrits.
Social Networks: "The Important Thing is Commitment"
"The race for audiences is no longer a priority," says the specialist from the outset. As surprising as it may seem, the number of subscribers does not matter today. Or rather: instead of seeking to increase its audience, it is necessary to boost the activity of the faithful. "Capture the people close to you," urges Shivam Singh. "The important thing is commitment," he insists.
Why? Because "robots" no longer give gifts: only 2% of Facebook fans will see your publications on their threads. "At the start, social networks were a pretty promise," said the speaker. Now, "the reality is the algorithms," he continues. It is, therefore, necessary to address both the target and the algorithms. And the commitment of “followers” becomes the nerve of war: “it predicts the future”.
How to Engage your Community? 3 pillars: Recruitment, Animation, and Interaction.
To recruit, you must "look at all the points of contact you have and invite them" (colleagues, colleagues, clients, potential clients, etc.). Shivam Singh recommends not to go with a dead hand: "you have to be heavy on the subject, principle of repetition". Then the animation. In addition to the quality of the publication and its interest for the target (image, tone, adequacy, etc.), this must lead the internet user to act, to exchange. For example, a quiz or an invitation to comment may do the trick.
Finally, the “interaction” section draws attention to the comments. "The thumb or the like is not enough to make the audience," said the consultant. It is imperative to "bounce back on the comments" - a guy to respond to them - to continue the exchange and thus retain the Internet user. Above all, it is necessary to successfully adapt to the codes and key success factors of each media.
Social Networks: Everyone on Their Own Way, Each on Their Own Way
For each objective, its social network. And each social network, its procedure to follow. On the “objective” side, to retain customers and make themselves known, Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram are ideal. The target of Facebook and Instagram is the general public (individual customers, BtoC) and the target of Linkedin is specific (corporate customers, B2B). Conversely, Twitter, Pinterest or Youtube will be used more from a “utilitarian” perspective. Twitter is the best place to stay informed and keep an eye on it, Pinterest is interesting to inspire and organize like Youtube to host its videos. Side "how to follow", several tips to remember.
Linkedin: "A Long Text, Images, and Hashtags"
The important thing about Linkedin: "take care of your pitch and your publications". The Linkedin robot more easily detects keywords in certain places rather than others. This is why, your keywords - like your target, your area of expertise or simply fashionable keywords related to your activity - must appear in priority in the profile title (below your name on the main page) and in that of current experience.
Then the pitch must be clear, direct. It must give “the desire to go further”. Shivam Singh advises that it be structured as follows: What (what is my offer?)? Who (type of clients?)? Why you (differentiation)? "Elements of reinsurance" (references). Do not hesitate to illustrate your profile with for example a slide (with your customers' logos) or a catalog of your services.
Regarding publications, Linkedin robots "love long texts (700 characters), images and hashtags," says Shivam Singh. “He hates unique link sharing. For the target audience, the most human and sincere storytelling possible obviously works better than a long impersonal paving stone.
Tips? "Mention other users with the @ key before their names" and "add the URL at the end of publication". It is also best to split the publication in half. The second part - hidden at the start and devoted to the algorithm - hosts hashtags, mentions, and other URLs.
Finally, buying media on Linkedin (premium version) is not a must. The option is only recommended if the free account has been worked to the maximum. "The free account has a lot under it," said the trainer. "The advantage of seeing the profile of visitors is interesting if it is really exploited," he adds, "and must not only aim to look at the navel. Recruitment is always the prerogative of Linkedin (the message must be extremely personalized).
Facebook: "Pay per play"
On the other hand, free access on Facebook is over. The horizon is blocked, the place to "Pay per play" (translation: pay to play). The specialist advises planning a small budget of 5 to 10 € per day to sponsor your publications. Be careful, not just any. "You have to focus on organically functioning publications," he insists.
That is why looking at the statistics provided by Facebook is essential. To bypass ad blockers and avoid deletion, the subtlety of your ads is essential. Either way, poorly crafted advertising is counterproductive. "It becomes wallpaper," laughs the speaker.
Last Tip: Re-targeting. It is an advertising technique using a visitor's cookies to broadcast your advertisements in real-time on the sites he visits after passing through your website. "It's an extremely powerful technique for converting" (converting visitors into buyers), says Shivam Singh.
Twitter: "It's Hard to Build Your Audience"
According to the speaker, Twitter is mainly intended for eve. Today, starting from scratch, it's "hard to build your audience," he concedes. However, this social network is ideal for looking for journalistic content to share and thus feeding the different threads of your social networks. "You can do a search on Twitter without having an account," said the consultant. Note that Twitter is particularly well suited to Linkedin.
Instagram: "A Relevant Media for Visual Services"
Arrived after the others, Instagram continues to ramp up today. Next to the Twitter / Linkedin synergy, there is now the essential Facebook / Instagram one. Or rather, that of Instagram / Facebook: "the engagement rate on Instagram is higher than that of Facebook", notes the specialist. On the other hand, this social network is "only relevant for visual services", he insists. Understand an activity with a strong “image potential” (a ski resort for example).
Instagram's codes are different from those of Linkedin even though they both share the requirement for engaging content. What does it matter here if it takes the form of a storytelling or a simple description? Special features? The links are not clickable (except in the case of advertising purchases) and the hashtags must be numerous (20 or even 30). In this regard, two tips to remember.
First, "Instagram does not like when there is no relevance between the hashtags and the photo posted," says Shivam Singh. Then, it's better to "avoid garlands of hashtags, "he advises. Indeed, on reading, the human eye would quickly lose interest in these repetitive variations. Also, just like on Linkedin, they should be reserved for the “Instagram robot” by isolating them at the end of the publication.
Note, regarding the weight of the image, Pinterest is also interesting, in particular thanks to its visual suggestion tool which allows searches by photo and not by keyword (by zooming in on a particular object for example).
