In the fast-paced world of social media, timing can make all the difference when it comes to reaching your target audience and maximising engagement.  

With countless posts flooding users’ feeds every second, knowing the best times to post your content can significantly impact your social media marketing strategy’s effectiveness.  

In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of timing in social media marketing and provide insights into finding the optimal times to share your content for various platforms. 

Why timing matters 

Social media platforms use complex algorithms that determine the visibility of your content on users’ feeds.  

These algorithms consider various factors, including engagement, relevance and timeliness. Posting at the right times can help your content appear when your audience is most active, increasing the likelihood of likes, comments, shares and overall visibility. 

Who are you posting for?  

Before diving into specific posting times, it’s crucial to understand your target audience‘s behaviour. 

Consider factors such as: 

Demographics: Different age groups and professions have varying online habits. For instance, teenagers might be more active in the evening, while the older generation or professionals might check social media during lunch breaks. 

Geographical location: If your audience is spread across different time zones, you’ll need to schedule posts to accommodate their local times. 

Platform preferences: Different social media platforms have distinct peak usage times. For example, LinkedIn might see higher engagement during weekdays, while Instagram could be more active on weekends. 

How well do you know your product? 

Another key variable that impacts the best time to post on social media that is individual to each business or account is the product or content that you are posting. 

For example:  

Industry knowledge: Sharing industry knowledge generally performs better across social media during weekdays, and early morning posts such as 7-9 AM means that those early bird workers could be seeing your content while drinking their morning coffee, after their morning meeting or while sitting on the train going into work.  

Home fragrance: If you are a business selling a product such as home fragrance, your content will generally do better in the evening and during the weekend. These times are for relaxation and ‘me time’ out of work, so your target audience will interact with this content more during this timeframe.   

Work event promotion: The promotion of any event is key to the turnout! This type of content is a little different, as it’s a great practice to start promoting an event the month before to boost interest, so a range of posting times will be efficient. But mainly, you want to target the time your specific target audience (who you want to attend) is most active.   

These are just a few examples, but it can be pretty simple to work out if you plan and think about your content and audience. If you’re struggling with social media planning, get in touch with the 10X team.   

Popular platforms and when to post 

Remember, these are only guidelines, and your own products and content will perform differently than others. It’s important to experiment to find your perfect timing! 

Facebook: 

• Best days: Wednesday, Thursday 
• Best times: 9 AM 
• Avoid: Weekends before 8 AM and after 8 PM 

Instagram: 

• Best days: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 
• Best times: 10 AM- 3 PM 
• Avoid: Monday 

Interested in finding out when your Instagram followers are most active? We’ve already made a step-by-step guide for this!  

Twitter: 

• Best days: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 
• Best times: 9 AM- 3 PM 
• Avoid: Evenings after 9 PM 

LinkedIn: 

• Best days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 
• Best times: 8 AM- 11 AM, 2 PM- 3 PM 
• Avoid: Weekends, Friday afternoons 

TikTok: 

• Best days: Saturday, Sunday 
• Best times: 11 AM – 12 PM, 4 PM – 7 PM 
• Avoid: 8 AM – 10 AM weekdays 

Post experimentation 

Regularly reviewing your social media analytics can reveal when your audience is most engaged with your content. Many social media management tools offer insights into engagement metrics, helping you identify trends and refine your posting schedule over time. 

So, finding the perfect times to post your content on social media requires a combination of understanding your audience, platform-specific behaviour and diligent monitoring of analytics (something that we’re great at here at 10X).  

Remember that trends can evolve over time, so regularly reassessing your strategy is essential to maintain engagement and reach your target audience effectively.  

By mastering the art of timing, you can take a significant step towards creating a successful social platform and killer marketing strategy!  

Want to skip all the hassle and get straight to the results? Check out our social media packages. 

The post Social media: The best times to post your content first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Social media: The best times to post your content appeared first on 10X Marketing.

In today’s digital age, establishing a solid social media presence has become crucial for businesses seeking success. With the advent of powerful tools and platforms, companies can now reach a wider audience and maximise their potential.  

This is part of what we do at 10X, so we thought it was only fitting to share our strategies for creating a killer social media presence and using digital platforms to benefit your business.  

Yes, your business should be on social media, but that doesn’t specifically mean that you need to be on EVERY social media. For example, 10X doesn’t use Twitter’s platform. Why? One of the main reasons is that we reach our target audience best through other platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn (follow us if you don’t already).  

Our content is valuable and, therefore, can be hard to condense into what, 280 characters? That’s crazy talk; we’ve just got so much to say.  

This introduction is 947 characters alone!  

1. Wider Reach and Increased Visibility  

Thanks to the billions of active users across various social media platforms, businesses can tap into a never-ending audience. Platforms that undoubtedly offer a diverse and expansive reach are found nowhere else in the business world.  

Social media breaks your business from the confines of geographical location and can connect you with potential clients and customers from all walks of life; you need to utilise it!  

Visibility is measured by how much your content is exposed to your audience, whether they are aware of your platform and how much of your content increases awareness and engagement. To put it plainly, social media is your way to do this.   

The power of social media visibility lies in its ability to attract individuals who align with your company’s values, interests, or needs and who may have yet to find your company through traditional marketing techniques.   

So, jump on your phone or laptop and start setting up business accounts and catch up on untapped potential!  

2. Enhanced Customer Engagement and Communication  

Another important reason for using social media to promote your business is its opportunity for enhanced customer engagement and communication.  

By engaging and pushing engagements through sharing stories, creating polls and including call-to-actions in your posts that spark a conversation in the comments, you can establish a direct communication channel with your target audience (and hopefully future customers!).   

Online accounts help put a face in front of your business and give your potential customers someone to talk to on the platform; that’s why we suggest using a personal business account that repurposes your content from your perspective.   

Download our FREE Ultimate Social Media Guide for more 10X tips! 

3. Cost-Effective Social Media Marketing and Advertising 

Are you a small business, don’t have a huge budget, or maybe even just don’t want to splash the cash on marketing your products and content? Posting online is the way forward!  

Traditional methods can be expensive, but with social media marketing, you can use a low-cost, low-risk strategy that, IF done right, can produce crazy results. Signing up on platforms is the only thing stopping you from maximising your investments.   

What side are you on? Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing.  

4. Brand Building and Reputation Management  

The online sphere has emerged as a powerful tool for shaping a brand’s image and managing its reputation. By showcasing valuable content across different social media platforms, you can position yourself as a valuable asset in the industry and make your business a trusted name in your niche.  

But it’s about more than building your brand; managing how you and your business are seen is also crucial to your success. You can control your reputation by…  

• Promptly addressing feedback, concerns, and inquiries can demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.  
• Be proactive and responsive with engagement.  

The wide web is a public place, so you must be careful about the content you post, as it will all influence how your brand is perceived. 10X are experts in personalising digital marketing strategies to fit specific business needs; why not let us take the reins?  

5. Competitive Advantage and Business Growth on Social Media

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, having a presence on social media is no longer a choice but a necessity for your business.   

Failing to establish an online presence can leave you lagging behind your competitors. Basically, you’ll get left behind if you don’t adapt to the new ways of business; that’s just the hard truth.  

Instead of being left behind, use social profiles to do the following:  

• Stay updated on industry trends  
• Boost your business
• Monitor competitor activities  
• Respond quickly to market changes.  

Or let us do it for you…  

Social media has changed the way businesses connect with audiences.  

Don’t miss out on the opportunity that it can provide your business. Join the ranks on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok and a new contender in the mix, ‘Threads’ and embrace that online lifestyle!  

Understand the value but don’t know how to manage social media? We do! Check out our 10X Monthly Social Media Subscriptions and watch your business grow across the platforms. 

The post Why Your Business Must Be on Social Media   first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Why Your Business Must Be on Social Media   appeared first on 10X Marketing.

Social media platforms are constantly evolving and developing their features to improve how users communicate with each other. LinkedIn has made some changes that we, as content creators, find very exciting…   

The first feature that we’re finding very effective is LinkedIn Articles. If you’re not already familiar with them, they are a piece of long-form content (such as a blog or news article) that LinkedIn hosts natively on the platform.    

LinkedIn Articles are much longer than traditional posts (a LinkedIn Article can be up to 125,000 words as opposed to a post being 3000 words maximum) and provides an opportunity to showcase your expertise and demonstrate your in-depth understanding of your niche.    

But what is the most effective way to use them?    

Of course, writing engaging content specifically for LinkedIn is the best way of ensuring you’re leveraging the feature to its full potential. But if you don’t have the time, resources or budget to facilitate this, there is a workaround…   

We suggest uploading your blogs to LinkedIn as Articles. It’s a fantastic way of repurposing your blogs and maximising your return on your investment. You should always upload blogs to your website in the first instance (to improve SEO, drive people to your website and help build your presence). But by uploading older evergreen blog posts onto the platform as Articles, you can give the content a new lease of life, establish your presence as a thought leader on the platform, and demonstrate your knowledge of your industry.   

LinkedIn Articles are searchable on and off LinkedIn, so if you have a piece of content addressing a frequently asked question, your LinkedIn Article stands a chance of ranking in search engine results. This can drive interested parties (who could be potential clients or customers!) to your LinkedIn profile.    

Another exciting feature of LinkedIn Articles include their placement on your profile. Your Article is displayed in the activity section of your profile, adding a layer of depth to your presence. It will show your profile visitors that you’ve invested in developing your presence and help to build authority.    

LinkedIn also allows you to tag people in Articles AND use hashtags that LinkedIn hyperlinks to other content with the same hashtag (helping to expand your reach and target a wider audience). 

Phew! As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also been ANOTHER major update to LinkedIn that we can’t get enough of… 

Introducing LinkedIn Newsletters. These are a fantastic way of building your relationship with your connections by posting updates about you and your company, insights into your industry and sharing news, developments and your opinion on recent happenings.    

Similar to Articles, creating content specifically for the platform would be the most effective strategy. But if you already invest in email newsletters, it would be a missed opportunity not to repurpose this content and post it to LinkedIn as a LinkedIn Newsletter.   

What makes us so excited about this feature is that LinkedIn notifies ALL of your connections when you launch a Newsletter, making it an excellent opportunity to engage your audience from the moment you publish your first one. To give you an idea of how effective this is, we launched a 10X Newsletter on our director, Talisa’s LinkedIn (you can subscribe by clicking here if you haven’t already!), and in 10 minutes, it got 30 subscribers! What’s more, just from launching it and posting it, the 10X Newsletter has gained over 400 subscribers.  

If that wasn’t enough to engage your audience, every time a new edition is published, subscribers receive a push, in-app and email notification from LinkedIn, informing them that there’s a new instalment of your newsletter for them to read. Helping increase readership and strengthening your relationship with readers whilst ensuring you’re at the forefront of their minds. Can you see why we’re SO excited about these new updates!?    

Should I be publishing LinkedIn Articles and Newsletters? 

So, now you’re caught up on the new features, you’re probably wondering what this means for you… 

Recently, Hootsuite conducted a very interesting experiment that caught our eye. They posted content over time, seeing what performed better – posts with links or posts without links. The results concluded that posts without links got six times more reach than posts with links. Moreover, posts without links received almost four times more reactions and 18 times more comments than the average post with a link. Therefore, it’s evident that users are more receptive to content that tells them everything they need to know in one place.    

We know that the LinkedIn algorithm tests your content by showing it to a portion of your connections. If it gets quality engagement, it’ll then show it to a wider audience. Using this knowledge with the Hootsuite findings, it’s clear the best way to ensure your posts are seen is by delivering valuable content in one place. By giving your audience entertaining, educational or emotive content, they’ll be more inclined to engage, resulting in better performing posts (which helps to drive interest and leads to your business).   

Finally, by consistently posting Articles and Newsletters to LinkedIn, you’ll build credibility and trust by demonstrating your industry knowledge and build a better relationship with your existing clients, prospects and industry partners. These connections will respect you highly and regard you as a thought leader, meaning they’ll be more inclined to choose you over a competitor.      

How can I experience these benefits on LinkedIn?   

Now you know the what and why, next comes the how. If you’re looking to reap the rewards of these new features, we are able to support you. 

We have a wide range of offerings for LinkedIn Articles, depending on your needs. We can create content especially for LinkedIn or repurpose your existing blogs to the platform. To support this, we can create engaging LinkedIn posts that will encourage your connections to read and engage with your Article.    

Similarly, we can work with you to establish your presence utilising LinkedIn Newsletters and ensure you’re reaching your connections and prospects with content that will resonate with them. From creating original content for LinkedIn to repurposing existing email newsletters, we’ll find the solution that works for you and will create supporting posts to ensure you’re always at the front of your audiences’ minds.   

Book a call to discuss these offerings further and find the right strategy for you.     

The post Are you using LinkedIn to its full potential?   first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Are you using LinkedIn to its full potential?   appeared first on 10X Marketing.

It’s safe to say that Gen-Z are more likely to be on their phones than in front of a TV. As a result, the easiest and quickest way to get news is through social media platforms; enter TikTok – Gen-Z’s news outlet.

We’re all aware that TikTok is one of the fastest growing platforms, with almost nine million users in the UK each month, but when did this dancing app turn into Gen-Z’s news outlet?

Why TikTok?

First, let’s discuss why TikTok has become the chosen platform rather than any of the others available.

TikTok is winning the social media game because it’s the only pure social media platform as it stands at the moment. It falls into a category known as hybrid, but the developers don’t stray away from creating only video content.

The three types of platforms are:

• Social, such as Facebook and Instagram
• Hybrid, which is a combination of messaging with entertainment, such as TikTok
• Non-social, such as Netflix or Spotify

TikTok is just for video creation

As you may know, the public has called on Instagram to be just an image-focused social media network and to return to its roots. Something which the CEO of Instagram does not agree with. 

The CEO of Instagram has rejected the public appeal by saying he wants to move forward with a mix of videos, photos, and messages, something users of the platform do not want. The outcry for Instagram to return to its original format shows that users want each platform to have one main focus and to remain as it was created. This gives the users separation for each platform, meaning they can create different content ideas without overlapping. 

That said, we know why the CEO is trying to move Instagram to Reels. Video content is growing; in 2022 alone, the report said that 82% of global internet traffic would come from purely video, and he wants to ensure that the image-based platform doesn’t get left behind. 

At the moment, TikTok is a platform for uploading and viewing video content and is more popular than Reels. Users know the experience they are getting, which is why they keep returning to this app. It moves fast with trends, and creators can become a success in a matter of clips going viral.

So do we trust TikTok to provide us with news updates?

Why is TikTok Gen-Z’s news outlet?

If a news broadcast channel such as the BBC puts snippets of news clips on TikTok, this will get shares, and people are more likely to pay attention. The full clips are usually no more than 60 seconds long to account for the attention span of users.

TikTok, unlike Instagram, has one focus: video, so users know if they want to find information, this is the place to come.

TikTok is more used than Instagram Reels due to less disturbance from images, e-commerce adverts and suggested pages.

Now that TikTok has allowed for longer videos, this has helped news platforms grow and gain a large following. Videos that get straight to the point are watched, rather than long, repetitive news programs. 

Ofcom has recently announced that TikTok’s reach for news has increased from 1% in 2020 to 7% in 2022. The report has noted that half of TikTok’s user base, aged 16-24, use the app for news.

The report also states that younger age groups are much more likely to use the internet and social media for news. In contrast, older counterparts favour print, radio and TV.

Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom’s group director for strategy and research, said, “Teenagers today are increasingly unlikely to pick up a newspaper or tune into TV News. Instead, preferring to keep up-to-date by scrolling through their social feeds.” 

Is Gen-Z’s news outlet a bad or unreliable source?

Although it’s great that Gen-Z is still taking an interest in the news, there is a downside to them getting this information from TikTok alone. 

The main downside is that users often share what they see without backing it up. Misinformation is spread when clips are edited and don’t show the full news story.

The spread of fake news is another issue TikTok is seeing. Traditional news outlets must vet the information before presenting it on TV or printing it on paper. However, this is not the case with social media platforms. Each creator can start recording a video and put it online, ready for the world to click that share button.

Although TikTok is trying to keep on top of this under TikTok’s community guidelines, the app stresses that it “will remove misinformation that causes significant harm to individuals, our community, or the larger public regardless of intent”.

What does the future entail?

Although TikTok is not a replacement for traditional media, as a new generation grows, this alternative method will too.

TikTok will continue to see growth as an outlet for news stories and newscasts among Gen-Z. The platform has already been monetized, making it even more appealing for content creators.

If you need help with your social media platforms, contact our director, Talisa Vallance, for a no-obligation consultation.

The post How TikTok Became Gen-Z’s News Outlet first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post How TikTok Became Gen-Z’s News Outlet appeared first on 10X Marketing.

TikTok started to blow up in the pandemic when we were all stuck in our homes looking for something to do. The platform went from around 54.8 million active users in 2018 to over 1 billion active users in 2022, and TikTok was downloaded a staggering 3 billion times in 2021. We started sharing our lives with our friends and partaking in trends to cure our boredom.

If you are wondering what TikTok is (first of all, how did you get through the pandemic without it?), then we’re here to help you decide if you finally need to download the app and join the 3 billion other people.

What is TikTok?

So, what is TikTok? The platform is a short-form video-sharing app that allows users to be a creator or a viewer. As a creator, you can create videos in lengths of 15 seconds up to 10 minutes. The platform uses different filters and effects that are constantly updated, along with trending sounds and music.

If you want to use the app as just a viewer, you can enjoy seeing people living their daily lives via vlogs or participating in challenges such as dance or lip-synching videos. You can share any videos you’re enjoying in just two clicks, keeping views high for content creators on the platform.

Who is using TikTok in 2022?

You may be thinking that TikTok is an app that only children are using. Well, this used to be the case. But, during lockdown, the app was downloaded by many adults and is now most popular amongst Gen-Z (those within the age range of 16-24). With a staggering 41.5% of all users falling in this age bracket.

Although this app is famous for its dance challenges, the platform is now used for a vast array of videos. It is home to a new world of influencers, celebrities, music artists, brands and everyday people showing their daily interests. A TikToker that blew up this year is Frances Bourgeois, who uses his TikTok videos to show his interest in trains. He’s created videos with celebrities such as Joe Jonas and works alongside brands such as Gucci and North Face, showing how powerful this platform can be. The audience fell in love with his enthusiasm, and he now has over 2.4 million followers.

Why has TikTok grown so quickly?

There are many reasons why we think TikTok has grown so quickly, but here is our list of the top three reasons why we think the platform is one of the best.

1 – Offers variety and lots of possibilities

The range of videos that Tiktok now offers is more than any other platform. It allows users to watch vlogs, brands, celebrities, business coaches, podcast snippets, and many more forms of content.

As a platform user, you can save your favourite videos into your chosen folders, making them easy to find and watch again. All ages can use the app, and the content is tailored to what you have been watching and liking. The more you watch, the more relatable the videos are for you due to how the algorithm works.

2 – Easy video editing

Using the app to upload videos couldn’t be any easier. Unlike Youtube, where you need thumbnails, a complete edit of the video clips done yourself, long descriptions, and the worry of copywritten music, TikTok does all that for you. Whilst watching videos, you can favourite the sounds you want to use and add them to your video in one click without the worry of Copywrite. If you place your clips on the platform, you can ask TikTok to make the video for you and fit it to the sound. Video editing has become simple for everyday people.

3 – Relatable content

We’re in a world where we want to see body positivity and people’s flaws not being hidden, and this is showcased on TikTok more than any other app. Content creators on the app are more likely to be everyday people than celebrities, making the content much more relatable. Take Mikayla Nogeuira, for example. She has grown her fame by showing how to wear makeup with acne. As consumers, we want to see content we can relate to, so she now has 11.5 followers and is working with brands such as Glamlite and releasing her collection of makeup products.

The duet feature of the app allows you to comment on a video by clicking a button. Celebrities use this feature to engage with their fans, having a more personable experience.

The big question is, how is TikTok changing social media?

TikTok has shown that we, the audience, want relatable, everyday content. We’re over the photoshop and fakeness of other platforms, and we want to see the variety that people are offering on TikTok. If you’re going to become a creator, TikTok lets you create your content and keep control of it, and you can choose exactly how you want to market yourself and upload a short video when an idea comes to your mind.

It is now easier than ever to go viral, making new influencers who don’t need the professional equipment, just their phone for the video taking, editing, and uploading the content.

Brands take the app as an opportunity not to take themselves seriously. They show another side and engage with the audience more casually. Take Duolingo, their TikTok videos have stacked up 70 million likes, and they have become a well-known language app from the exposure of the videos they have posted.

TikTok is the most accessible platform to navigate as you can stay on the for you page and scroll for hours. They have made their platform scrollable and flickable for the younger generation target market, who like dynamic, easily seen posts.

TikTok has shown that we like to see localised, relatable content, something other social media platforms should note. As users, we want to see videos that are easy to follow, light-hearted and fun. The platform doesn’t show any signs of slowing down and is now a career for some of the creators on the app with the introduction of the creator fund and paid partnerships.

If you’d like to discuss how to leverage your business on TikTok, reach out to the 10x marketing team.

The post How Is TikTok Changing Social Media? first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post How Is TikTok Changing Social Media? appeared first on 10X Marketing.

Are you struggling with your social media marketing? Don’t panic! You may be making some basic mistakes that are hurting your engagement.

We know you’re feeling frustrated — we are too. The trouble is, content is everywhere, and it’s hard to tell with social media whether it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing.

If your engagement is low, check out our list of the most common pitfalls that are making you feel down. We’re here to help get your posts back on track!

There are a lot of things to think about when it comes to social media marketing. With different networks and different engagement tactics, it can be hard to keep track of everything. You may be making some mistakes that are making you feel defeated, but we can change this. Let’s get started and look at some of the most common social media mistakes… 

Mistake 1: Using links on your Instagram post

We all know by this point that Instagram is one of the best platforms to showcase your business, but did you know that you can’t include a link in the captions of your Instagram posts? 

Unlike its partner, Facebook, when wanting to direct someone to your webpage, you cannot do this directly from a single post. So, what steps should you take to ensure you’re driving traffic to your website? 

Firstly, on your profile, you should have your website link or a Linktree link (which shares multiple links or resources) in your bio. 

If you’re unsure how to set up a Linktree account, follow the steps listed in this informative blog post.

When putting a post out on Instagram, you should ask people to click the link in your bio and add more detail about the next steps if the post is for a specific purpose (such as to visit your blog page).

Mistake 2: Not using hashtags on all social media platforms.

Instagram is known for its wide use of hashtags and how it helps a business’s engagement rate, but did you know that you need to be using these on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter?

When adding hashtags to Facebook and LinkedIn, results have shown that it is best to use between 3-5 to get a better result. However, on Instagram, you should be utilising all 30 hashtags. It is best to check how many followers hashtags have on LinkedIn as the popular tags for one social media platform may not be used so much on another.

On Twitter, you should use hashtags either throughout your tweet (to efficiently make use of the character count), or at the bottom after you have written your post when you have some characters remaining. 

Another point is not to use hashtags that are too popular. What do we mean by this?

Let’s take Instagram for example. If you use the hashtag #Funny you will see that this has been used 78 million times. Do you think your post stands a chance of cutting through this noise? It is better to stick to hashtags that are more targeted to your business for a better chance of your post being seen. 

For more information on the use of hashtags, you can read through marketing connoisseur Neil Patel’s top tips on how to use them.

Mistake 3: You’re choosing quantity over quality

Did you know that posting more than once a day on Instagram isn’t that great for your engagement?

We’re not talking about people seeing your posts too often and becoming annoyed because it might not even get to that stage. Instagram’s algorithm will only put your content high up in your followers’ feeds if it deems it relevant and engaging. By posting twice in one day, you risk Instagram perceiving the posts as spam. Therefore, it will push both posts further down in your followers’ feed, making them less likely to be seen.  

Mistake 4 – Not replying to comments on social media 

If someone has taken the time to reach out to your post, you should be replying to them within the first few hours. Why is this?

If a person can see that they can trust you and feels like they are personally connected with your brand, they are more likely to keep engaging with you. And therefore, will be more inclined to share their great experience! It would help if you also went back to that comment the following day and liked it; this helps push the post back to the top of the algorithm.

Mistake 5 – You’re not posting enough images

With the rising use of short video platforms such as TikTok, research has shown that our attention span isn’t what it used to be. People are more likely to engage with a post that is a picture as they can briefly take in the visuals instead of reading through the text.

Here are our top tips for staying relevant on social media:

• Engage. This gets your name seen, and your posts are more likely to be engaged with. Make sure you reply to comments, follow new accounts, and like other accounts’ posts. 
• Add a link to your bio. Don’t leave your bio blank; make sure you add that link and check that it is in working order.
• Don’t forget those hashtags. Add relevant hashtags to each social media platform that you are on to better expand your reach.
• Keywords. Like with hashtags, make sure you add keywords to your posts to help with SEO.

For further advice on keeping the algorithm on your side, speak to a member of the 10X team today. We’d be happy to help!

The post Common Mistakes in Social Media Marketing first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Common Mistakes in Social Media Marketing appeared first on 10X Marketing.

When you first launched your business, you may have been told that in order to see real results with your social media marketing, you must have a presence on every single platform.

Whilst this can certainly help to maximise reach, for many busy business owners, maintaining a quality presence on multiple platforms just isn’t feasible. What’s more, struggling to create, post, and manage content on 6+ channels may actually be harming your results.

So, what can you do?

As is the case with any aspect of digital marketing, the most important thing is to focus on targeting the right people, not the most people, with your social content.

And in order to target the right people, you must post to the platform (or platforms) where your target audience most often ‘hangs out’ online.

To help you work this out, let’s break down the 4 main platforms used by businesses…

Facebook –

With 2.85 billion monthly active users worldwide as of September 2021, Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform. According to Pew Research Center, 69% of US adults use Facebook, which is significantly higher than the next most popular platform, Instagram, on 40%.

Facebook is one of the most comprehensive online advertising platforms thanks to its high number of active users and vast range of features. This includes (but certainly isn’t limited to):

• Sharing plain text, photo, and video content
• Creating and joining relevant groups
• Buying and selling products (both through ‘shops’ and marketplace)
• Setting up events and fundraisers
• Posting jobs

Being a multifaceted platform makes Facebook one of the best places for businesses looking to generate leads, build relationships, and ultimately gain new customers.

Bear in mind though when mapping out future social media marketing strategies, Facebook’s engagement is experiencing a gradual decline, with people spending less and less time on the platform than they use to.

In a nutshell: Best described as an ‘all-rounder’, Facebook is a must-have for your small business regardless of your target demographic (though we wouldn’t spend too much time creating content specifically for this platform).

Think of your Facebook business page as an online brochure, where your target audience can discover more about your business and can easily find relevant contact information.

Instagram –

Instagram is a strong visual marketing channel for brands and boasts an impressive 1.39 billion monthly active users.

Once described simply as a ‘square photo-sharing app with filters’, it’s become so much more than this in recent years, with the platform leaning into shopping, entertainment, and video.

Instagram’s ability to allow users to ‘follow’ hashtags makes it easy to put your brand in front of people outside of your own following, and the likes of influencer marketing have made the platform a serious means of advertising for businesses.

Despite the total number of US adults with an Instagram account being significantly lower than Facebook, this isn’t the case when looking specifically at the 18-29 category. Within this demographic, 70% of adults use Facebook, but 71% use Instagram.

This is hardly surprising given that young people, often described as ‘digital natives’, prefer visual content (which can be processed 60,000 times faster than text).

In a nutshell: Whilst Instagram is often considered to be best suited to businesses selling a product directly to a young target demographic, its position as a strong visual platform means it can also work well if your target audience falls outside of this category.

If you have the capacity to take or create strong images or graphics as part of your business, Instagram can work for you (e.g. graphic designers).

LinkedIn –

Despite only 28% of US adults using LinkedIn, this figure jumps to 50% when looking at people with a salary of $75,000+, and up again to 51% when looking at college graduates. This indicates that, as it is marketed, LinkedIn is designed for business and professional thoughts.

Launched in 2003 (one year before Facebook and seven years before Instagram), the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, with user profiles resembling a CV.

According to the platform’s own marketing material, members from every Fortune 500 company have profiles, making LinkedIn best suited to companies looking to establish themselves as trusted leaders in their field.

In a nutshell: LinkedIn is a must-have for B2B marketing. It can also be useful for B2C companies too though, especially for recruitment, business development, and networking purposes.

Twitter –

Set up as a microblogging social media site (hence the 280-character limit per tweet), Twitter is a much more fast-paced and concise way to connect compared with some of the other platforms.

This could explain why so many more people aged 18-29 use the site (42%) compared with those 50+ (25%).

Whilst a post on LinkedIn could see engagement 3 weeks after posting, you’re unlikely to get much engagement on a Tweet after about 3 hours. For this reason, the platform is favoured by journalists and publishers who tweet ‘breaking news’ and their opinions on current affairs.

Twitter can be utilised by other professions and industries too, however, with many companies using it as their designated customer service platform.

In a nutshell: Twitter demands quick reactions from users, so content for this platform should be created with this in mind.

Despite being most popular with a younger demographic, this shouldn’t be the main reason you choose to post to Twitter. Instead, think about whether your target audience likes to be the first in the know. If so, Twitter’s for you.

Choosing your social media platform

Choosing what social media platform you use for your business is no easy task, especially when there are so many to choose from (we haven’t even touched on Youtube or TikTok).

However, the key to choosing lies in fully understanding your target audience. If you need help with this, why not download our free persona profile template? This 3-page document works to simplify the identification of your client persona by encouraging you to think about key demographics and buyer behaviours.

And if you’re still struggling after that, reach out to the 10X Marketing team who will be happy to give you further advice.

The post Which social media platform is best for my small business? first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Which social media platform is best for my small business? appeared first on 10X Marketing.

Many businesses are barely scratching the surface of content marketing’s capabilities. To remain ahead of your competition, you can no longer rely on social media alone for your direct sales attempts.

Instead, you need to provide relevant, targeted content across various platforms and outputs that help to solve the biggest problems facing your customers and prospects.

The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “a strategic approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.”

If your goal is to broaden your horizons beyond social media, this blog lays out the types of content marketing available to you which will help attract, engage, and retain your audience. We’ll also share how to use specific types of content marketing to solve some of your biggest marketing problems.

Types of content marketing

Content marketing is made up of many different elements, and every business will have a different strategy depending on what they sell (their product or service), who they sell it to (their target audience), and what problems they are solving.

To give you a better understanding of what is included under the content marketing ‘umbrella’, we’ve compiled the following list:

Should I be utilising content marketing?

If you want your customers to be aware of your company and consider buying your products or services, in short, the answer is yes.

In fact, a staggering 80% of business owners and executives prefer to learn about brands through articles as opposed to ads, and 41% of B2B buyers consume three to five pieces of content before talking to sales.

And it’s not just B2B that benefits from content marketing. If your company sells directly to consumers, you shouldn’t disregard the power of this channel. Design high quality, consistent pieces, and you too can build awareness about your product.

As blogs, social media posts, and podcasts are released into the public domain for anyone to access, your target audience could come across your blog whilst looking for an answer to a question. Similarly, your social media post could make its way into their feed.

By having information about your brand and product/service readily available, you can increase brand awareness and increase your chances of attracting prospects.

And this content is helpful to have for all your customers at every stage of their journey. Buyers now view 3 to 5 pieces of content before making a purchase. So, to meet the demands of your customers and help nurture them towards a sale, you must have different types of content in multiple formats readily available for them.

Knowing what type of content to create can be difficult. It can depend on your audience, their demographics, and the challenges they face. But to help, we’ve compiled some of the most common marketing headaches and will show how content marketing can help solve them…

Common marketing questions and how content marketing can help

Question 1: How do I increase the volume of organic searches?

Up to 93% of buying cycles start from a search engine, so you’re right to try and create content that will boost website traffic from the likes of Google and Bing.

Aim to create content that answers your target audience’s common questions. For example – if your business sells air conditioning units, writing a blog post entitled ‘Ways to Stay Cool This Summer’ will solve one of your customer’s problems.

When they search ‘ways to stay cool’, your relevant blog post will rank in search results, which will increase the volume of traffic gained through organic searches.

Question 2: My content marketing plan doesn’t engage my customers… What should I do?

The first step to engaging your customers is to understand them. Our customer persona profile template lets you understand more about your customers, including their biggest pain points.

Certain websites such as Answer the Public are also a great way to see exactly what your target audience want to know more about. Simply type a keyword into the search bar, and you’ll be given a list of relevant questions.

Once you know what concerns your target audience, you can start creating content that provides a solution. This is likely to be much more attractive to them than irrelevant content.

Question 3: How can I present myself as a voice of authority on a topic?

If you are the face of your business, presenting yourself as a thought-leader will reassure your audience that you are an expert on your subject. They will turn to you for advice, and this trust will mean they come to you for recommendations (or even to make a purchase).

To establish yourself as a thought-leader, you need to create content that provides in-depth industry insight and opinions. We would suggest monitoring news articles and product developments within your sector. Share knowledgeable commentary on these subjects (via social media, email newsletters, blogs etc.) and you will show your audience that you are in touch with your industry. This will help you to build credibility.

Need help with your marketing?

And there you have it – answers to some of the most common content marketing problems that we get here at 10X Marketing. If you found it beneficial, why not share it with a fellow business owner to help them solve their marketing headaches?

If you’re ready to go beyond uploading to social media to get ahead, we create content that educates, emotes, or entertains audiences. This strategy helps build a relationship that will encourage a better return on investment in the long run.

Whether you’re simply looking for advice or would like a content marketing team to take the reins of your marketing output, get in contact. We’d be happy to help!

The post What is content marketing (and how can it solve my marketing problems)? first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post What is content marketing (and how can it solve my marketing problems)? appeared first on 10X Marketing.

Have you spent time creating high-quality content, only to be left disappointed when your follower count and various engagement metrics haven’t changed?

First things first – don’t feel disheartened.

As content creation specialists with years of experience in the digital marketing space, we see common occurrences where content marketing campaigns and posting strategies repeatedly fail to see the social growth (or lead generation) expected.

And it’s hardly surprising, given the ‘dos and don’ts’ of social media are constantly changing.

If you’ve been grinding away at the keyboard, coming up with delightful graphics and supporting captions, then you’re ready to move across the line from ‘almost there’ to ‘SUCCESS!’

Here are our 3 common ‘trouble’ areas to turn your time and effort into social media domination.

Social Growth Mistake 1: You aren’t solving your target audience’s pain points

The average adult sees 6,000-10,000 content pieces per day. That’s a lot to take in. From newspaper articles, blog posts, TV ad breaks, signage, and the thousands of social media posts on their feed, it’s no exaggeration when we say – your audience is being bombarded.

To cut through this noise, you need to stand out, and to stand out you need to be creating content that ticks two very important boxes: specificity and usefulness.

For example – If you’ve recently posted a meme to your company’s social media page, did you post it because you found it funny or because it touched on something that your audience would find funny?

Creating content is an essential part of social media marketing, but if that content is too generic and isn’t created with your target audience in mind, it will fail to generate the interest and engagement you’re looking for.

As digital marketing genius Neil Patel says, “If your content is not helping people to solve a problem, readers have little reason to believe that you’re going to be of value to them.”

If you aren’t adding value to your content: why should someone read it?

Your social media engagement can easily be improved through nailing your audience’s pain points, solving problems, providing them with useful information and still “playing around with their empathy or ego”.

So, before you jump back into social content creation, take time to ensure you fully understand your followers and prospects.

Not sure where to start? We’ve built a free persona profile template that will enable you to really understand who you’re targeting and what content is likely to have the biggest impact on them.

Social Growth Mistake 2: You’re forgetting to use call-to-actions (or they’re too forced)

Call-to-actions were designed to boost engagement and generate leads, and yet they are often missed at the end of great content pieces.

Once you’ve finished writing your latest batch of social media captions (and yes, we highly recommend creating in batches) your call-to-actions should do exactly that – tell the reader what action you want them to take next.

If you’re wanting to get new accounts to view your post, you may encourage your followers to ‘tag your fave business owner in the comments below’ or ‘share these top tips with your network’.

Alternatively, you may just want to generate some open conversation in the comment section to help build relationships with your followers. If your post is about banana bread for example (hello lockdown 1), throw in a ‘Have you ever made banana bread? Let us know about your wins and disasters below!’.

Across most social media platforms, comments help boost your reach and guide algorithms to show your posts to more people, including non-followers. This gives you the perfect opportunity to increase your brand awareness and improve your social growth.

But remember, always think carefully about your call-to-actions and try to avoid anything that may come across as too pushy or forceful. You may just lose followers this way.

TOP TIP – On Facebook, in-post links can sometimes be flagged as promotions and can reduce your ‘reach’ per post. To avoid this, try popping the link in the comments section or ending with ‘Check the sale out now by clicking the link on our page!’

Social Growth Mistake 3: You aren’t interacting with your network 

Creating engaging content isn’t the be-all and end-all of social media marketing. In fact, it’s only the very tip of the iceberg.

If you’re looking for real social media growth, you must interact with other social media profiles. After all, how will anyone know that your page exists and that you’re posting valuable content unless you put yourself out there?

When it comes to social media engagement, there are various ways you can do this…

• You can respond to comments on your own posts
• You can comment on other people’s posts on your timeline
• You can start following relevant hashtags and engage with these posts (Instagram and LinkedIn only)
• You can regularly check out the ‘Explore’ page and engage with these posts (Instagram only)
• You can react to other people’s stories (or fleets as they’re called on Twitter)

Every time you comment on someone else’s social media post, you’re increasing the visibility of your own profile. To really maximise your reach, try targeting profiles that have lots of followers from your own target audience (For example, if you sell vegetarian cookbooks, interact with healthy eating pages and veggie influencers).

How 10X Marketing can support you

If consistent content creation and social engagement seem a little overwhelming, why not reach out to the team here at 10X Marketing?

As organic content marketing specialists, we know exactly what it takes to stand out online and can help you to achieve real growth through various social media support packages.

To find out more about these packages, click here.

The post Struggling with social growth? Avoid these 3 common mistakes first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Struggling with social growth? Avoid these 3 common mistakes appeared first on 10X Marketing.

Did you know that images on LinkedIn receive, on average, 98% higher engagement rates than posts without images?

In today’s image-centric world, it’s no longer enough to rely on powerful copy alone to capture the attention of your target audience on social media. If you want to stand out, you HAVE to create something eye-catching. Something bold. Something that will force people to stop the infinite scroll.

And that’s where social media graphics come in. 

By having a clean, consistent, and aesthetically pleasing social media feed, you are more likely to appeal to the people of today – which means more attention, increased brand interest and, ultimately, more sales.

As a business owner, you’ve already got a hungry target audience out there. The trick is to reach them, and eye-catching graphics and strong call-to-actions can help you do just that.

So, if you’re ready to look good online, here are our 4 top tips for creating effective social media graphics.

Tip 1: Create, and stick to, your brand guidelines

Using visuals on your social media channels not only increases engagement but, when designed to a certain specification or ‘theme’, can improve brand awareness and recognition too.

Consider how much content your target audience will come across every single day. By maintaining a consistent look with your social media graphics (think colour palette and fonts in particular), you’re more likely to be recognised by your target audience.

As an example, here’s a screenshot from our own Instagram feed.

Can you see the way we always use the blues and yellows that are present in our logo? We certainly aren’t creating the same graphic over and over again, but we are creating a unified feel across each and every post.

Aesthetics aside, consistent and branded social graphics also show a certain professionalism.

If a business can put lots of care and attention into their social media feed, wouldn’t the same be said of their products and services too?

People are automatically attracted to feeds that flow. By using social media graphics that complement each other and your brand styling, you can start building a recognisable brand – and reap the benefits that follow.

Tip 2: Communicate your message with strong call-to-actions

The most effective social media graphics are the ones that support and enhance the message of the caption.

Whether the goal is to educate, entertain, or create a certain emotion within your target audience, it’s essential that any text used has a clear goal or call-to-action. Keep it short and keep it to the point.

As you’ll have seen in the image above, our graphics frequently feature a simple message…

• In our ‘new blog now live’ graphic, the goal is clearly to inform people that our latest blog is now available to read on the 10X website
• Other graphics, such those that begin with ‘Did you know?’, are there to intrigue the audience into clicking the caption for further educational information

They are short but effective messages that work to pull in our target audience. Average attention spans are slipping, after all. 

Tip 3: Use images of yourself to build trust

If your business is new to social media, you’ll have to work extra hard to build credibility and trust amongst your target audience.

An easy way to fast track this process is to include professional images of yourself within your social media graphics. Showing the person behind the business is a great way to build authenticity and, unlike stock images, real photos portray a more accurate representation of who you are and what you do.

If we once again look at the image above, you’ll see that we regularly break up text-only graphics and stock image graphics with ones that show members of the 10X team.

Creating personalised graphics truly is one of the best ways to turn someone from a scroller into a follower.

Tip 4: Consider logistics and dimensions 

It can be frustrating to create the perfect graphic, only to realise it doesn’t fit the dimensions of your chosen social media platform.

Whilst each platform has its own optimised image dimensions, we’d suggest creating all graphics in a 1:1 ratio to avoid any confusion. This makes them perfect for use across Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, without all the extra editing work.

In addition to overall dimensions, it’s important to also consider font size. When creating graphics on your desktop, it can be easy to forget that the majority of social media users will be scrolling on their phones.

Your graphics need to be easy to read and easy to understand in order to properly target your audience.

How can 10X support you?

If consistent content creation seems a little overwhelming, now’s the perfect time for us to take our own advice and add our own call-to-action.

As organic content marketing specialists, we know exactly what it takes to stand out on social media. If you’d like us to take care of your social media content creation and management, which includes caption writing and the creation of high-quality graphics, reach out to our team today.

Together, we can help you to increase brand awareness and generate interest in your product or service.

The post Social media graphics: How to look good online first appeared on 10X Marketing.

The post Social media graphics: How to look good online appeared first on 10X Marketing.