Just recently, mobile search has overtaken desktop. This takeover was predicted in the industry for some time. Google very recently confirmed mobile as the leading search device in 10 countries.
With as much as mobile search has grown, social media marketing has also taken off as a way to reach more consumers than ever before. While your organic traffic may suffer during the summer, it doesn’t mean you social media referrals have to.
There is no better time than the summer to kick off a really great social media marketing campaign.
With the summer holidays like Memorial Day and Fourth of July, and people’s taking long vacations, users simply don’t spend as much time on conventional desktop computers. No matter how busy your customers are or where they’re vacationing, they probably have at least one mobile device packed. Really committing to a summer of social market help you be where your customers are – on those phones and tablets. Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to keep your customers engaged with your social profiles during those balmy days and long summer nights.
Get Competitive
People love social media contests. Contests tap into their desire to win and show their friends they’re participating in something. When your traffic is sluggish in the summer, contests can create a boom in visits to your profiles and your site.
Here are just a few awesome contest ideas:
- Run an Instagram image contest – have your users post pictures using or wearing your products on Instagram. Here, you can create a unique hashtag for customers to use when they post. Go a step further and make it more than just posting a picture. For example, the funniest or most artistic image wins! Then, you can pull images with that tag on to a page on your site for user generated content. These images can end up acting as a lifestyle or review section of your site.
- Do a blog header challenge – challenge your users to create a header image for your blog. You can collect submissions, then let users vote on their favorite with a Facebook poll. Take this a step further by doing this regularly, so you have new a new header every season.
- Create a give back contest – challenge your users to post pictures of themselves doing non-profit work and ask them why that charity matters to them. You can then pick the winning image and make a donation to the charity of their choice. People love companies that are willing to give back. Making this a contest is that much better!
Make A Series
One of the best ways to keep users coming back is to post a series of blogs or other content on your social profiles. When you advertise a series, people will naturally be curious to see what comes next. If you set a time and date for each release, you’ll have users waiting to see what’s next.
Here are a few unique series ideas:
- Create a series of how-to’s – these instructional posts could be blogs or videos that all tie together for a big picture idea. Do something here that your customers really care about. For example, if you sell camping goods, do a how-to focused on beach camping or long-distance hiking.
- Do a “product of the day” review – if you sell products that are part of a collection (like an outfit or set of cooking tools), this is a great promo to run. Post a detailed review of how each product works, looks, etc. Ask for users’ reviews on these products too and work up to a final grouping of products. Take this a step further and make it a contest. The winner gets the entire group of products!
- Write a really compelling blog series – to really grab your users’ attention, think of a blog series your audience would be really interested in. Maybe it’s interviewing thought leaders or bloggers they follow, or telling a story with your products. You can post a new segment of the whole story once a week to keep your customers coming back. Give your customers something really interesting to read while they’re sunning on the beach!
Anything you do on social media has to be new, fun, and engaging – especially in the summer. As the social networks work to create better user experience, brand pages get pushed further down timelines and new feeds. That’s why your social media advertising needs to be exceptional.
The ideas we gave you in this post are just a fraction of the ways you can keep your customers engaged all summer long and take advantage of a steady rise in mobile search. Social referrals are such a valuable marketing channel for your overall marketing plan. Why not use this summer to focus on social media?
With social media, you can really give your brand a personality. It’s summer! So have fun, be silly, and grab your followers’ attention while they’re sitting poolside.