A company’s social media presence is either a successful marketing strategy or a waste of time. An effective social media presence will engage customers, bring traffic to your website, and positively impact your company’s bottom line. When your social media strategy is not working, you hear..well…crickets. If your company’s social media presence is not achieving the results that you expected, here are some tips that might help:

Harness the power of images.

We have all heard the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it certainly holds true in social media. Images are able to illustrate concepts and evoke emotion more effectively than language ever can. People are more likely to view and share images than they are any other type of content. Also, if you are trying to sell a product, customers tend to be more willing to buy when you show them photos.

Capture imagination with videos.

The online market is crowded and since we are all overwhelmed with content on social media, you need to get your customer’s attention and fast. Videos are engaging and stand out over text. According to their own statistics, YouTube has over one billion users and the number of hours people are watching on YouTube each month is up 50% year over year. If you create videos that are interesting, relevant, and short, you can leverage that audience and people will hear your message.

Focus on building relationships.

When it comes to social media, reciprocity is key; you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Don’t be an island. Make an effort to connect with others. You can comment on their posts, share their content, and respond when they reach out to you. If you demonstrate that you are a good social media citizen, you will notice that people are a lot more likely to share your posts.

Think quality instead of quantity.

There is so much noise online that quality posts do stand out. There is a lot of content online, but not a lot of good content. If everything that you post on social media is both interesting and relevant to your target audience, they will pay attention to you. Be a reliable source of content that either entertains or informs and your traffic will grow.

Be unique.

What is your brand and how are you communicating it through social media? With so many competing voices, you need to find a way to distinguish yourself. Whenever you are posting on social media, keep your brand at the top of your mind and create posts that are a strong reflection of your company’s values.