With an average of 80% website traffic growth from using social media, there’s no doubt it’s here to stay. Social media has the potential to add $1.3 trillion to the global economy, and helps brands reach more international markets than ever before. Facebook alone has 1.23 billion active users. With that kind of global reach, there are always emerging ways to drive traffic and sales using social media platforms. We’ve compiled a list of social media tips and tools that will help you maximize your social media potential.

1.    Always have a plan. Before posting to social media, it is important to sit down and strategize. What are your goals? Who is your audience? Make sure that the goals are realistic and measurable. When you have a measurable plan, it is easy to see what is working for your brand and what isn’t.

2.    Do your research. Understand what is important and trending with your audience. Keep up with the news and watch what’s trending on Twitter and Facebook. Use the proper hashtags, tag the proper influencer and post up-to-date material. By doing this, you will see more engagement and an increased following.

3.    Use multimedia content. Our attention spans are new shorter than a goldfish. We have about 12 seconds of coherent thought. We’re constantly receiving information from the Internet. It is very easy to get overwhelmed, especially on social media. Most people like to receive their information in the form of info-graphics, video clips or photos.

4.    Be transparent. Brand loyalty comes from a sense of genuine connection. In order to keep people coming back, there needs to be transparency between your brand and your audience. Always reply to positive and negative feedback. Let your existing and potential customers know you care.

5.    Evaluate. Use your social media strategy to check to see if you met your goals. Did you make the goal amount in sales? Did you gain more followers? If you didn’t meet your goals, try to learn why. Social media (especially in the beginning) is a lot of trial and error.

6.    Last but not least, your brand doesn’t need to be on every social media platform. Learn where your audience is and be there. That way, you are able to give more attention to your loyal followers on one or two platforms rather than getting overwhelmed with too many.

Whether you have a strong following, or you are growing your presence, there is always something new to learn about social media marketing. Happy posting!

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