Social media marketing (SMM) and search engine optimization (SEO) are two marketing channels that gain significant attention from digital marketers. This is because both strive to achieve maximum brand visibility among the target audience. But given that many brands are fighting for audience attention, how do you improve your brand’s visibility?
Here is an interesting statistic, according to Asset Digital CommunicationsOpens a new window , 71% of SMBs use social media to market themselves. This means that you may have considerable competition from your competitors vying for attention from social media audiences. So, how do you stand out?
Here are a few ways you can use new social media features such as Instagram Reels and SEO best practices to maximize your brand’s organic reach on social media.
Learn more: What Makes an Ad Successful on Social Media? Pattern89 Has the Answer
Leverage Instagram Reels To Improve Brand Awareness and Engagement
Instagram allows you to create short videos like TikTok. The videos are 15-second long, and you can add music and creatives to these videos. You can also use advanced creative features and augmented reality (AR) effects to make your videos more attractive.
Instagram Reels are shown in the ‘Explore Feed’ section of Instagram and can be discovered in one of the four ways:
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- It will be shown to a person who follows your account.
- Clicking on a hashtag used in a Reel will help people discover it.
- Looking for the audio used for the Reel will allow people to discover it.
- Instagram Explore will show people trending Reels, and they can swipe through them to discover more.
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Using Instagram Reels as part of your digital marketing strategy gives you a broader audience outreach. In addition, Instagram Reels and TikTok are popular among millennials and Generation Z , allowing your brand to reach this audience.
How To Use Instagram Reels To Maximize Your Social Media Marketing Efforts
While Instagram Reels is a great feature that can be leveraged by marketers, it does not yet support advertising. Hence, here are a few ways you can use the tool smartly.
1. Understand how to use Reels
Instagram provides ‘Creator tools’ for people who want to create content. Hence, understand the account features and tools before you start experimenting with Reels. You should know when to use Reels instead of IGTV for promoting your brand. It is also essential to monitor brand engagement on Reels. Once you understand these features, you can start experimenting with various types of video clips.
2. Create content that promotes your brand and products
Creating video content on Reels requires a strategy like your other video marketing strategies. Given that Reels is more popular among younger audiences, you should know how to create content that resonates with them. You can create videos to promote your brand and products or services in different ways.
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- Create informational and educational videos for your audience around your products and services. For example, you can inform your audience about creative ways they can use your products. You can also educate them when and where your product or services fit them. However, remember that your videos should be more about informing and educating your audience than promoting your brand.
- Give your followers a quick peek behind the scenes. You can showcase a few scenes of the product being made, how it is delivered, and a few shots you cannot miss in a typical day at work.
- Answer certain questions or address certain concerns your audience may have about your products or services. Showcase the features and benefits of your products and services. You can also post videos about your product reviews and testimonials.
- Most importantly, keep your video clips fun and personal. Create that personal connection with your audience. You can share some trending memes that align with your brand or bloopers. You can also make your serious moments fun. Create fun challenges for your audience asking them to share a video tagging your brand.
- If you are an organization that stands for a cause, create short clips that showcase these causes as they resonate well with your audience.
- Collaborate with influencers who can promote your brand and products among their fans. For example, Walmart cleverly uses influencers marketing to promote its brand using Reels. Here is an example.
3. Stay on top of TikTok trends
While many will see Instagram Reels as a competitor to TikTok, Instagram may have its own plans to grow it differently in the future. However, a significant number of video clips on Reels are repurposed TikTok videos. Also, many videos that appear on TikTok show up a week after on Instagram Reels. Hence, keeping up with TikTok trends and knowing what is working there can help you stay ahead of the curve on Instagram Reels. For example, Louis Vuitton does not have videos on TikTok, it actively uses the trends to create its videos on Instagram. Here is an example.
Learn more: Top 10 Instagram Marketing Strategy Tips for 2020
4. Know how users engage with content to grow your fanbase
How Instagram pushes its Reels videos is different from that of TikTok. While the latter pushes the videos depending on how many people engage with them, the former pushes the videos based on how many people have watched and liked them. This is because the feature is still new, and many people are not familiar with it as to actively engage with the videos. Hence, as a marketer, when you are looking for engagement on your Reels videos, look for more watches and likes than comments, shares, and engagements. Based on these statistics, you can improve your videos and increase your fan base.
While you may create various types of videos clips, you should remember to keep them aligned with your brand identity and a broader marketing campaign. Given that Reels attracts a younger audience, see how it fits into your digital campaign planning. For example, you can use it to complement an overall fun campaign.
Take Advantage of SEO Best Practices To Improve Brand Awareness on Social Media
Social media marketers can use several SEO techniques to improve brand visibility organically. Here are a few.
5. Post high-quality content
Several businesses and influencers on social media platforms talk about a common topic, be it marketing, technology, or health. So, what makes you stand out in your industry? It is unique and high-quality content. According to a Smart Insights studyOpens a new window , it took 65% more time to create blog posts in 2019 than in 2014. This suggests that businesses are focusing on creating better quality content than quantity. The same applies to social media posts. High-quality content attracts better quality fans and customers.
6. Post content frequently
The famous proverb “out of sight is out of mind†applies to social media posts. People like to engage with brands that are known and interact with them regularly. And the more popular your brand becomes, the higher the chances of getting more customers. Hence, to gain social media visibility and popularity, you need to post content regularly. The more frequently you post on your social media accounts, the more search traffic you will get. You may not post content every day, but you should do it frequently so that your audience remembers you. Your content may include various content types and formats, such as blog articles, text, images, and videos.
7. Use keyword research tools to create better content
Social media search engines promote your brand posts based on how fast they become popular. You must use keywords for social media posts to increase their visibility in the same way, you use keywords on your websites and blog post. Hence, your social media team will need to first identify long-tail keywords, phrases, hashtags, and topics people usually search for that relate to your brand and products. Based on these keywords and phrases, you can create and publish relevant posts. Use keyword research tools such as SerpstatOpens a new window and TextOptimizerOpens a new window to identify questions, topics, and categories you should cover in your social media posts. These tools also help you identify topics that are close to or related to your core keywords.
8. Optimize your social profiles
Besides doing keyword and topic research, it is also important to optimize your social media profiles to become easily searchable on the platforms. This is necessary, because when someone searches for a particular topic such as digital marketing on a social platform, your profile should show up.
Optimizing your social profile is simple, yet many businesses ignore this key aspect of social media optimization (SMO). Here are a few simple steps you can follow to optimize your profile.
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- Use an attractive photo – Use your company logo (if you are a company) or a headshot of yourself if you are an independent consultant. Use the same image across the social platforms you use. Further, optimize the image size for individual platforms.
- Keep your company name for username – The best way to select a profile username is to use your company name. This makes it easier for people to find you when they search for your company on a platform. Further, make sure that your username is consistent across all platforms.
- Have a succinct bio – Your bio should clearly state what your business is. Most social platforms allow you to add a link to your website. Hence, you should take advantage of it to drive more traffic. Use the right keywords to be discoverable when someone searches for a business in your industry.
9. Use videos in your social media posts
Images and videos continue to grow in popularity among consumers and marketers. Content Marketing Institute recently conducted a survey of both B2BOpens a new window and B2COpens a new window marketers. Both reports showed that a significant percentage of marketers (71% of B2B marketers and 66% of B2C marketers) use video marketing. Research has also found that images and videos tend to perform better than plain text content. This is true, both for regular blogs and social media. This means that marketers have a significant opportunity in attracting customers through video content. Further, with the advent of platforms like TikTok and features like Instagram TV (IGTV) and Reels, marketers have a better chance of attracting customers through video content.
Learn more: 5 Best Social Media Automation Tools To Save Time and Stay Ahead of Competition in 2021
10. Optimize social media schedule
Your social media marketing efforts are part of your larger digital marketing strategy. Hence, planning and optimizing your social media posting schedule is as important as scheduling your other web content. Optimizing post scheduling is important to gain maximum eyeballs and engagement among your audience. Here are a few ways to optimize your posting schedule.
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- Identify the best time to schedule – Audiences on different platforms and across industries engage with your content at various times. Hence, identify the best time to publish your posts on these platforms. Several tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer provide suggestions and help you schedule posts.
- Identify the number of posts – Besides optimizing the time, identify how many times to post in a day to gain maximum engagement. This is necessary to ensure that you are visible and at the same time, not spamming your audience. Blog2SocialOpens a new window recently analyzed posts from more than 60,000 social media users across various platforms. According to the analysis, the following is the recommended frequency for publishing your posts to receive maximum engagement.
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- Facebook: Twice a day
- Instagram: 1-2 times a day
- LinkedIn: Once a day
- Twitter: 3 times a day
- Reddit: 1-2 times a day
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Way Ahead
Social media is an essential component of your digital marketing strategy. Just like other channels of digital marketing, social media, too, should be optimized to maximize your brand reach. With SEO practices and Instagram Reels, you can see the needed results.
What are other ways to improve your brand’s organic reach on social media? We would love to know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .