Create ‘Perfect’ Posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+

Is there any such thing as a perfect social media post? Each social network has a specific set of expectations, limitations — and pros and cons. And each one is constantly evolving in terms of potential. A one-size-fits-all strategy just isn’t feasible. This makes it more challenging for brand marketers whose goals are growing their fanbase and creating engagement around relevant content. So what’s the best strategy to engage followers and attract new ones on each site?

My recent post, 10 Tips for Better Facebook Status Updates, offered some great ideas for increasing Facebook engagement through crafting better status updates. The folks at MyCleverAgency, a social media consultancy in the U.K., did some research and formulated these 17 guidelines to help you gain the traction you need to jumpstart your social media engagement.

Best practices for Facebook posts

1. Keep things positive

Being positive breeds engagement and encourages sharing.

2. Provide information

The most appealing updates are ones that offer something, but don’t disclose everything — this increases the likelihood that fans will click.

3. Provide a link

If you’re going to provide a link, use Bit.ly, TInyURL, or another link-shortening service so you can track how many people are clicking through.

4. Include images

Posts with images get the highest amount of engagement on Facebook, so be sure to include one when you can. The perfect size is 800×600.

5. Make your posts mobile-friendly

Use simple imagery that can be easily seen on mobile devices — 70% of your fans read your posts on their phone.

 6. Engage with users

Posts aren’t the only activities that grab attention — comments and responses do, too. Engage with people and build relationships through conversation.

7. Be available

Post when the audience is listening, not just when your business is open. This will ensure more user engagement.

Best practices for Twitter posts

1. Call to action

Give a clear call to action so your readers know what you want them to do.

2. Punctuation

Don’t sacrifice grammar because you only have 140 characters.

 3. Format

Use questions, facts, and figures to engage your audience and drive retweets.

4. Mentions

Use @ mentions to prompt influencers to engage with you and make sure you respond.

5. Retweet

Retweet relevant content for your audience. Don’t forget to leave 20 characters so people can add content or comments.

Best practices for Pinterest posts

1. No human faces

Images with no human faces are shared 23% more than those with them.

2. Multiple colors

Images with dominant colors — red, dark green, pink — are shared 3x more than images that don’t contain them.

3. Light and color

Images with 50% color saturation are repinned 4x more often than those with 100%, and 10x more than black and white images.

4. Minimal background

Use a compelling background that doesn’t take up more than 40% of your image, otherwise your repins will decrease by 50%.

5. Use red

Red or orange images are repinned twice as often

6. Portrait style

Vertically oriented images perform better than those that are horizontally oriented; the perfect ratios are 2:3 and 4:5.

Best practices for Google+ posts

1. Use hashtags

Increase your page’s reach by adding relevant hashtags. Google+ automatically adds hashtags for key/trending topics.

2. Tag brands and people

When brands and people are tagged, they receive notifications from Google+ — this can lead them to engage with your post.

3. Trending topics

Get involved with the “hot topics” to improve visibility and show that your brand is keeping pace with real-time events.

4. Use images

Use full-sized images — 800×600 — to make your posts stand out. Tiny images and thumbnails pale in comparison.

5. Find communities

Find relevant communities and contribute your expertise — your engagement will increase as a result.

Source: Pamorama | Social Media Marketing Blog - Socialmediatoday.com
Author: Pam Dyer