This is just the right time of the year for you to review your social marketing strategy and think of ways of improving it. As mobile marketing grows in scope and social networks remain strong traffic hubs, 2015 will require marketers to be adaptable and creative. Whether you’re running a small local shop or an online business, the following Dos and Don’ts can inspire you.
1. Do create a seamless mobile experience by optimizing your website and content for mobile users
Mobile adoption will continue to grow this year. Too many people search the web on the go via smartphones and tablets for you to afford to ignore them. What’s more, mobile optimization is important for SEO, since it’s only reasonable to expect that Google will continue to reward sites that provide a unified desktop and mobile experience.
2. Don’t build content around keywords only
Google can now understand the context in which content is presented on a website. It can spot content that, though keyword-rich, offers little value. A more effective SEO strategy is to create web pages based on topics relevant to your audience. Sprinkle over them some carefully-chosen keywords.
3. Do use Google’s new AdWords ad customizers to create more personalized ads in real-time
Google’s ad customizers allow you to break an ad into separate elements for which you can create variations for specific audiences. While they require a bit more analysis and tweaking than standard ads, ad customizers can make Web advertising more personal and thus more effective.
4. Don’t just set up mobile ads and then forget about them
Mobile advertising is just as sophisticated as contextual advertising. It requires continual analysis, evaluation, and fine-tuning. If market research doesn’t back it up, you may end up buying page views but without improving your sales.
5. Do create fresh, focused content that stands out and that targets a specific audience
In other words, don’t just recycle generic content and then infuse it with links. Ask yourself what your target audience wants and needs. What format do they prefer? Blog post, Facebook update, YouTube video, tweets?
Finally, it’s important to develop a long-term, flexible social marketing strategy that can adapt and evolve to keep up with the latest technologies and Google updates. Get started right now.