Sometimes the most obviously helpful tips are often overlooked, or under-utlized. That is probably the case with one of the most basic elements of modern marketing; the social media icons. They are as vital to your everyday strategy as any other weapon in your arsenal. Are you using them? If so, are you using them correctly?
You've done all the right things in launching your digital marketing plan. You have:
-
A handsome, responsive, easily navigable website
-
Lots of content, including a blog
-
CTAs that are helpful to your visitors
-
Regular emailing to your customers and clients
You probably have links to your Facebook page and Twitter feed on your website's homepage, but did you know that you can, and should, add social media icons to all of those places listed above, including on the footer of every webpage? These icons should automatically link to your social media sites, giving access to other content that you've generated and shared. This will also compel the user to add your social media sites to their network, and spread the wealth of your knowledge and services. Ultimately, the more exposure you gain, the likelier you are of connecting with your ideal audience.
Social media icons should be placed on anything with your brand or professional profile. Business cards, brochures, emails, presentations; anywhere people connect with you professionally, you must also give them the opportunity to link to your social media accounts. It is no different from sharing your phone number or email address.
Another benefit to social media icons is their eye-catching ability, and colorful designs. Art, even commercial art, is welcome relief to the eye on a page. It is even possible that some social media outlet that your business uses will be new to one of your visitors, and they will click on the icon out of curiosity. There is no wrong way to get someone to be interested in you.
You don't have to share all your content with all social media outlets. You have every right to decide which sites are appropriate for your message. Frankly, if you believe that your content isn't suited to Pinterest, or LinkedIn, the choice is yours. It is also very time consuming to maintain a healthy presence on multiple social media sites, believe me, we know! Nevertheless, we would urge you to at least explore the benefits of what we call the big five in social media, because of their reach and clout to so many disparate types of individuals.Those five are (in alphabetical order):
Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter
You might also consider:
Delicious, Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Tumblr
And, if you are posting video:
Vimeo, YouTube
Whichever icons you select to add to your content, please give them time to develop followers. Don't get discouraged by small numbers of followers. As your content grows, the followers will find you.
Do you have favorite social media sites, or do you notice that some icons get more attention than others when added to your pages? What works best for you? We'd love to hear from you.