Social Media Made Easy

Let social media aid your sales efforts. Here are a few super easy steps for getting started on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more.

With less effort than you think, your organization can increase online conversions through genuine engagement on multiple social media platforms. And who wouldn't want that?

Social media sites can contribute heavily to the top of your lead funnel if the engagement is original and custom-tailored to each specific social media platform. Here are some top tips for increasing online conversions through genuine engagement on top social media platforms based on the Slingshot SEO Guide Increasing Conversions with Social Media.

Facebook

Be visual and light-hearted. Popular Facebook posts tend to be visual in nature. Studies show that photos and videos have a much higher rate of engagement than simple text-based messages. Rather than sales pitches, show the lighter side of your business by sharing office photos, especially of funny moments. No one wants to be given a sales pitch on their news feed!

Twitter

Twitter is all about engagement. Engagement can happen on Twitter with millions or with just one person. Find your target market's influencers and engage directly with quality content. Monitor your brand mentions by Twitter members using services like Twilert or Google Alerts. Optimize your broad-reach tweets to the optimal times throughout the day. For example, if your market were comprised of teenagers, you probably wouldn't tweet at them on Saturday mornings. Services like Crowdbooster will actually suggest the optimal tweeting times based upon previous tweet performance data.

LinkedIn is primarily a business network, so share more professionally focused content. Use the Careers tab to boost recruiting efforts. Post job openings and display employee testimonials. Use the Products tab to highlight different service offerings, display customer testimonials and solicit company recommendations. Interact with your industry's most popular LinkedIn Groups. If there isn't a group for your industry, start one. Deliver quality content to the group and interact with members on a regular basis.

YouTube

Think of this as your company's TV channel. YouTube is your opportunity to display thought leadership through video. Build playlists of videos around industry needs and topics. Be sure to optimize your videos by completing all video meta-data including title, description and keyword tags.

Google+

Pay attention to and interact regularly with Google+ since data suggests that usage is tied directly to SERPs and rankings. Google+ pages operate very similarly to Facebook pages. Be sure to differentiate the content that you share on these two platforms. Choose content for sharing based upon your specific fan base on each platform. Add users to G+ Circles who have circled your page. As a business, you can only add users to Circles who have already added you, but other businesses can be added at any time.

Being active on social media can connect your organization with people in entirely new ways and get them fired up about your company. Reaping the benefits from social media requires genuine engagement, valuable content and brand consistency. Make your engagement original and don't copy and paste content across social media platforms. Treat social media platforms as messengers to distribute content that your target audience will enjoy. Remember to be consistent with your brand communication across all social media platforms to coordinate and enhance your digital brand image.

Aaron Aders is co-founder and chief strategy officer of Indianapolis-based Slingshot SEO, a national leader in online marketing, planning, and execution. Aders steers the strategic vision behind software and business processes. @SlingshotSEO