If you want to increase traffic using social media, read on to discover our top tips.
With so much content being shared online these days, cutting through all of the noise can feel like an uphill struggle. If you want to increase traffic using social media, read on to discover our top tips.
Make the most of profile links
Let’s start with a simple, but often overlooked means of driving traffic – ensure a link to your website is included on all of your profile pages. You should also link from any personal profiles to company accounts and vice-versa. Brittany Hurlburt from Login Radius highlights the example of Guy Kawasaki, who does this really well on his Twitter profile.
Make your blog content shareworthy
Companies are beginning to move away from simply churning out generic content stuffed with SEO keywords. Make sure every blog post you produce is valuable, with interesting, insightful information that is genuinely enjoyable to read and the reader can gain something from. As David Attard states: content needs to be original and thorough, well-thought out and well-researched, providing a solution to a reader’s problem.
This will not only encourage clicks, but will also bring the people who do click back to your site, along with others. Readers will be able to tell the difference between a rushed piece of content and one that’s been carefully crafted.
Use ‘conversion keywords’
Jawad Khan of Social Media Explorer discusses the effectiveness of using high conversion keywords within posts, and how it pays to know what the words with the highest conversion rates are for each site. On Facebook, for example, words such as ‘where’ and ‘when’ have been proven to convert, while on Twitter, ‘follow’ and ‘check out’ are likely to get clicks.
Use hashtags on all platforms
Hashtags shouldn’t be solely limited to Twitter. Khan says that using them on other sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Google+ will enable your post to reach new audiences. On Facebook, for example, using 1-2 hashtags per post can get you an average of 593 interactions.
Grab people’s attention
When sharing content, bear in mind that no one is going to click on it if it doesn’t grab their attention. Use an effective headline that addresses the reader, such as ‘You won’t believe what happened when…’, encouraging them to click through to your site to find the answer. Think about it from your reader’s point of view and as Attard states, ask these questions before publishing:
Would you be drawn to it? Would you want to read it? Would you find it interesting? Would it benefit you?
Make it visual
Posts featuring images and videos are more likely to be noticed than text on its own, which can get lost in among the thousands of other posts or tweets on timelines. According to Buffer, Facebook photos enjoy 39% more interaction than any other type of post on the social media platform. Whether it’s a beautiful, thought-provoking image or a funny video that makes the audience laugh, your content needs to be noticeable among the reams of other posts in your audience’s feeds. Remember that the best content elicits a reaction or feeling, and if the audience feel something, they’re more likely to return to your site because their engagement will be more memorable.
Post the same content more than once
According to research by Kissmetrics, if you add together the number of clicks accrued from the second and third shares of a piece of content they actually equal more than the entire number of clicks experienced with the first share. Also, multiple shares more than double the amount of clicks generated from just one share.
So make sure you schedule a series of updates for the same post using different keywords, hashtags and images. A word of caution, however, don’t spam your readers by sharing a link to the same content with exactly the same message more than once, this can have the opposite effect of encouraging engagement, causing people to ignore or even unfollow and unlike your profile.
Post the same content more thInclude a call to actionan once
Including a call to action on a social media post such as ‘Like’, ‘Share’ or ‘Retweet’ will remind your audience to engage. If you offer an incentive, such as ‘Share our photo and be entered into our prize draw to win…’ this will attract more shares. Use this opportunity to create something, such as a compelling photo, that will make people take notice of your business.
Amy Callaghan
With experience in copywriting for insurance companies, Amy joined Copify in 2015 and has written on a number of topics including marketing and travel. She also enjoys creative writing.