5 Ways To Optimize Your Social Media Profiles For Greater Reach [Podcast]

From the Bootstrap Digital Marketing Podcast

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Read the Edited transcript:

Today, we’ll talk about five things you can do now to optimize your social media profiles, enhance your brand awareness, and get greater reach. 

When setting up your digital marketing network, you must correctly optimize your social media profiles so your target audience can find you on these channels. Also, you can relay to your target audience what you offer, whether it is a service or product or whether you are a brand, such as a musician or an artist. 

It surprises me that many people don’t take full advantage of what these social media platforms offer us. Whether it’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, or Snapchat, you can fill out the information and add images that will optimize your presence and enable your target audience to find you more easily. Your audience will also immediately know what you offer, and you can send traffic wherever you want your audience to go. 

1. Upload a Cover Image and Logo

One of the first areas to optimize on your social media profiles is your cover image and your logo.

Most social media platforms, except ones like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, have a place to upload a cover image. What to use as a cover image depends on what you are trying to convey to your audience. For example, it can be an image of your brand that indicates your industry, services, or products.

You don’t have to have text on your image, but it sometimes helps convey what your business offers. You can also include a unique selling point or value proposition on your cover image. 

Many people will put a website address or a phone number, but the image may become crowded. Best practices are to use something simple, something clean and impactful that conveys what your brand or business is about. Then, you have room later in other areas of your social media profile to catch the attention of your target audience. 

Avatar or Photo?

If you’re a personal brand, you’ll want to put an image of yourself rather than a logo. Many people use avatars, and that’s fine. However, I favor an actual photo of the person you can see for several reasons. If there’s an image of a person, they are more likely real, which helps with connection.

So if you’re a personal brand, an image of yourself is better than a logo. On the other hand, a logo is more appropriate if the account represents a company or a business. 

2. Choose an Effective Social Media Handle

Another critical area where you can optimize your social media profiles is your social media handle or username. A social media handle is your company’s or brand’s username on a platform. An @ symbol usually precedes it. 

For example, my company handle is @crackerjackscribe. If you type that into Facebook, Instagram, or another channel, you’ll find my company. However, on Twitter, it’s @CJscribe. It’s abbreviated because Twitter limits username character lengths to 15. Best practices are that you use your company name or your brand name for your social media handles across all channels. This way, no matter what platform your audience is on, they can easily find you. 

Another option is to add a keyword to your handle. For example, many real estate agents on Twitter either have their first name or initial and add the keyword “real estate agent” or “real estate.” Adding a keyword helps with search discovery when people are looking for real estate agents or content related to real estate. 

So choose a username representing your brand or business and make it consistent across all your social media platforms. And, if you like, add a keyword. 

Now, if you already have your social media profiles, you can change your username on some platforms. But some platforms do not allow you to change your profile username. So it’s best to consider what handles you want to use before you create your social media profiles.

3. Add a Value Proposition or USP

Another way to optimize your social media channels is to add a value proposition. Describe what your business offers and what makes your business unique. On some platforms, you won’t have room to add a great deal of information, such as Instagram or Twitter. On the other hand, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other channels have more space where you can elaborate your profile description and describe your value proposition or unique selling point. Tell your audience what benefit your brand or business offers and what differentiates you from your competitors.

Use Hashtags for Greater Discovery

Additionally, in your profile description, use hashtags for greater discovery. You should add hashtags to all your profiles. 

For example, if somebody wants to find a hair salon near them on Instagram, they use the hashtag #HairSalonsOrlando. So if a salon owner has that on their profile, and their competitors do not, their audience will find them.

My social media profiles have #DigitalMarketing and #GrowthHacking. If you’re a technology company, use hashtags related to your industry. In addition to greater search discovery, hashtags in your profile description help define what you offer.

So be sure your profile description is filled out with your value proposition or unique selling point, and include hashtags related to your industry. 

4. Add a CTA

A call to action or CTA is critical to include in your social media profiles. A CTA tells your audience what to do. It sounds presumptuous, but it’s necessary because, most times, people aren’t going to think about what to do next after they read your profile— unless they are in the immediate market for your product or service. But if you include a call to action and an enticing offer, it will allow them to follow through.

You can even include it on your cover image. Book Now, Call Us Now, or Visit our Website. Keep it short and straightforward. The  CTA can send a person to your website, a landing page, your LinkedIn profile, or wherever you want to send them to take action.

You should include a CTA on every social media profile you have. Tell your users what you want them to do. 

5. Include a Link

With a call to action, you need a link so your audience has a place to go.

All your profiles should have a link to where you want your users to go to get more information or convert them into hot leads. 

Your call to action can include a link to your website, your landing page, or wherever you want to convert your audience. 

If you have a campaign giving away an ebook or a white paper, your call to action and link should send visitors to the landing page where they can sign up and download it. 

Also, you can always change your CTA, links, and cover image depending on your marketing strategy. For example, if you’re running a campaign for a new ebook, switch your cover image to one that promotes your book. Also, put the link in your profile description to send people to the landing page with the book. Then, when your campaign ends, change it back to your standard cover image and CTA. 

Summary

OK, these are five things you can do now to optimize your social media profiles for greater brand awareness and discovery. Use an impactful cover image and logo, include a value proposition or USP, and add hashtags, links, and a CTA.

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If you have questions, please email me at laura @crackerjackscribe.com or comment below or on any of my channels. Also, subscribe to my blog to get new blog posts and podcast episodes delivered to your inbox.

You can find the Bootstrap Digital Marketing podcast at anchor.fm/BootstrapDigitalMarketing, Apple Podcast, Google podcast, Overcast, or your favorite podcast app. You can leave an audio message on Anchor and ask me a question. I can incorporate the question and my answer into one of my upcoming episodes.