At 48 million active social network users, nearly half of the Philippine population can be found on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or other platforms. The old adage of “If you aren’t on Google, you don’t exist” is now obsolete…or at least, woefully incomplete. When it comes to digital marketing in the Philippines, social media is where our content needs to be.
Unfortunately, making sure our audience reads this content has become increasingly harder. Algorithms, the magic numbers, and formulas behind a growing number of social networks determine the content that a user sees. They are the platform’s editor and curator.
This is extremely helpful for the user. Facebook has an average of 1,500 potential stories at any given time, but thanks to the algorithm, the user only has to deal with 300—a still-staggering but definitely more manageable amount.
It is the challenge of brand social media to be one of those 300 stories your audience sees. Here are 10 ways to raise the visibility of your posts.
Add Arresting Visuals
A post has only had eight seconds—the length of a typical user’s attention span—to grab a person’s interest. Great photos and pictures can say more at a glance than even the most detailed essay. Videos are also great attention-grabbers, particularly with Facebook’s Video Autoplay feature. Strong visuals should always be a key priority.
Include Interesting Links
Links don’t just lead to an article, video, or story; they affirm your content is sourced. It helps raise the relevance of your posts in the eyes of the almighty algorithm.
Don’t Ask for Likes, Shares, or Comments
It may sound like a simple ask, but unfortunately, Facebook is punishing pages that solicit engagement. Yes, even if it’s displayed in the form of a graphic.
Engage Your Community
Social media algorithms monitor your engagement with individuals. Those that regularly respond have a higher chance of your posts appearing in their feeds. Get people to engage and respond to their comments and concerns to ensure that your brand will always be visible to them…and their close networks.
Target Your Posts
Individuals naturally have different interests, but groups with certain characteristics can be relied on to have similar interests. Young Filipino males, for instance, are quite likely to play basketball. Fortunately, Facebook and other social networks allow you to target your posts to particular demographics, allowing you to tailor content that’s close to their actual interests, instead of relying on scattershot generalizations that are aimed at everyone.
Remember to Cross-Promote
Having another brand mention your name exposes you to new people. The strategy is particularly effective if you share the same demographic or have overlapping fans. Facebook stresses, however, that the cross-promotion should make logical sense (like a tourism page that features a restaurant within its area) or else it will look too commercial and be treated as annoying spam.
Commemorate Milestones
Social media algorithms often love posts that celebrate life changes like anniversaries, graduations, and career changes. Posting your brand’s milestones or celebrating others’ will rate highly, especially since positive feelings get shared more.
Talk About Trending Topics
When topics trend, social platforms explode with activity. Monitor the pulse of the internet, and find a way to incorporate these talking points into your posts while still staying true to your brand. You may find that they’ll get shared even more widely.
Boost Your Posts
Never forget that social platforms are a business. Ads are a simple and easy method to ensure your posts are always in front of your target demographic.
Create Great Content
Even without soliciting, boosting, or other strategies, great content produces likes, shares, and comments. When it comes to quality posts, there are no shortcuts.
Social media is constantly changing as algorithms are tweaked and real-life trends rise and fall. What never changes is the challenge of reaching out to our customer.
