3 Ways to Get More Out of Social Media, With Less Work
by Catherine HeegFollowing is the latest in a series of guest columns by social media strategist Catherine Heeg.
Psst…Want to have more time in your day? Here are some tips and tricks to squeeze more from every minute of your social marketing time.
#1. Use slideshows for brand exposure
Photos get 104% more comments on Facebook than text-based posts. Imagine the power of a slideshow of your own photos. It’s easy to do!
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You can showcase your greatest photos and optimize your presentations with platforms such as SlideShare, Animoto, YouTube or Prezi.
These platforms allow you to create presentations that will wow your social fans and potential clients. In addition, SlideShare has a remarkable audience community that will focus new eyeballs on your creative material.
Embed the presentations you create into your website, blog or e-blast. Here’s an example that uses SlideShare to show you how to embed. Don’t forget to post the presentation on all your social sites too.
And here’s an example in Animoto of a slideshow presentation on using powerful words to increase your sales.
#2. Breakthrough with blogging
Social media and blogs reach 80% of U.S. Internet users. Yet many travel pros overlook blogging and miss out on this influential piece of the marketing puzzle.
Consider writing a blog each week focusing on your top selling destinations and showcasing your own photos or those from supplier image galleries.
Some travel professionals don’t blog because they think they’re not good writers or believe they don’t have the time to write. When you keep your blog at 200 to 400 words, you’ll be amazed at how quickly the words fly onto the page.
Quick blogging tip: Embed photos and video into your blog to sharpen your focus and shorten your word count.
#3. Embed more links
Let’s get some added mileage from your hard work.
Links to your website or blog can be included in so many areas in your social profiles enabling you to optimize your time and effort. Here are the top five “missed opportunities” for links.
1. Description boxes of Facebook photos and albums
2. Blog photos
3. Google+ profile bio
4. Final slide in your slideshow
5. SlideShare profile and linked profile accounts.
Whew! In less than 30 minutes, you can capitalize on the power of slideshows, blogs and link opportunities to extend your reach.
Leverage these three tips to jumpstart your social media marketing plan while squeezing more time from your busy days. The clock is ticking. So save your precious time and choose one tactic now!
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.
