17 Ways to a More Visible Social Presence
by Catherine Heeg /Is your social media presence working tirelessly to link you to your clients? Are you making it easy for people to find you or your agency on social media? Or is your social presence in need of some ‘attitude adjustment’?
Here’s a checklist of tactics, from novice to advanced, to increase your agency’s visibility on leading social platforms.
Facebook strategies
1. Add clickable links to your website on your Facebook page. This easy, visible tactic is an easy way to cross-promote and boost your site’s SEO.
Here are a few places to add clickable links on Facebook and drive users to your website:
• in the About section on the main page of your Facebook site
• in the description box of your Facebook cover photo, along with each photo album.
2. Change your cover photo frequently to showcase top-selling destinations or events.
• Create eye-catching shareable graphics with tools such as PicMonkey, Pinstamatic, Canva and Quozio.
3. Boost your Facebook posts. This is a powerful way to reach a wider audience for a small investment.
• Advertise your next tour, event or newest activity.
4. Draw readers to your Facebook page from your other social sites by getting creative about including your Facebook URL in other places, such as:
• within the text of your blog (link to a new Facebook photo album or app);
• in your profiles on all social sites;
• in the closing seconds of a YouTube, Vine or Instagram video.
Pinterest promotion strategies
5. Verify your website on your Pinterest profile by putting a line of code into your website. This step lets people on Pinterest know that you own the site, and gives you access to your Pinterest analytics.
6. Use hashtags (#) in your Pin descriptions to aid in searches
7. Add video, SlideShare presentations and Infographics to your Pinterest boards. (See sidebar for image editing tools.)
Blogging
8. Help your creative blog posts reach more eyeballs by adding share buttons to your blog. (See sidebar for share tools.)
9. Set up Google Authorization and authentication for your blog.
10. Coordinate your blog topics and Facebook themes to create a cohesive message. (Here’s inspiration for creative blog topics.)
LinkedIn
11. Participate in group conversations related to your top client segments and trade groups.
12. Construct a company page to showcase your company and highlight your expertise.
Google+ for Business
13. Include your blog posts on your Google+ page. Your material will be indexed more quickly and your SEO effort rewarded.
14. Use Google HangOuts for live video chats to connect with your top clients and future travelers.
15. Record your HangOut and post the link in your other social platforms.
Twitter
16. Twitter chats are a ‘twunderful’ way to converse and draw new followers. Join or start a TwitterChat within your niche market or sector. (Learn more about TwitterChats here.)
Email and newsletters
17. Gain more fans and followers by including links to photos and social posts in your emails and e-newsletters.
As you work through this checklist, I hope you’ll add more tactics that apply to your niche market. Have fun and evolve your social presence continually to meet the needs of your unique audience so you stay visible and vibrant.
What else are you doing to make it easy for people to find you in the world of social media?
Catherine Heeg is president of Customized Management Solutions. An international speaker and trainer, she delivers interactive social media, marketing and communication workshops and webinars for clients in the travel industry. Connect with her at http://www.cmsspeaking.com/contact.php and socially: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest.