Are your relying on social media algorithms to get your content seen (a.k.a. posting and hoping for the best)?

If so, you might be missing new followers and potential customers. Social SEO helps your content be seen by people who are actively searching for companies like yours or the products and services you offer.

Read on to find out what social SEO means, why it matters, and — most importantly — how it can help you grow your business accounts on social media.

What is social SEO?

Social SEO is the art of adding text-based features like captions, alt-text, and closed captions to your posts so that people using the search bars on social platforms can easily find your content.

To understand social SEO, you need to understand the basics of traditional SEO.

In digital marketing, SEO stands for search engine optimization. Social networks are not technically search engines — but they all have search bars. Social platforms are incorporating ever more features of traditional search engines to help match users with the content they want to find.

Search engines like Google or Bing allow you to search for information and then serve up a list of web results that point you to the content you’re looking for. (Or, at least, the content algorithms think you would want to see based on the search phrase you used, your location, previous searches, etc.)

Search engines use a proprietary set of ranking signals. These signals determine which results, out of all the content available on the internet, is most likely to tell you what you want to know.

People originally used social networks to browse content from specific people and brands that they wanted to follow. Now, people actively use social networks to search for specific information. Think product reviews, brand recommendations, and local businesses to visit.

Social SEO is all about getting seen when people are actively searching for content, rather than scrolling their feeds.

Social SEO tips for every network

Here’s what you need to know to get your content found on every social network.

Instagram SEO tips

Optimize your Instagram profile SEO. Use keywords in your name, handle, and bio, and include a location if relevant.
Include relevant keywords and hashtags in the caption. Hiding hashtags in the comments is no longer effective. Keywords in the caption help your content appear on keyword search pages.
Add alt-text. The main purpose of alt-text is to make visual content more accessible. However, it serves the added benefit of helping Instagram understand exactly what your content is so it can serve it in response to relevant searches.
Tag your location. So your content will appear on the new Instagram Maps, which can function as a local business search.

For more in-depth Instagram SEO strategies, check out our full blog post on Instagram SEO.

TikTok SEO tips

Optimize your TikTok profile SEO. Add relevant keywords to your TikTok user profile to improve the SEO of your whole account.
Double-dip your main keyword with the TikTok iself. Say the main keyword for your TikTok out loud in your video clip and include in-text overlay on the screen. Saying your keyword out loud means it’s also included in the automatically generated closed captions, which kind of makes this a triple-dip.
Include relevant keywords and hashtags in the caption. By caption here, we mean the video description, rather than speech captions (although you should include your keywords there too, as noted above). Focus on keywords, rather than hashtags, for improved TikTok SEO.

YouTube SEO tips

Use your primary keyword phrase as the video file name. For example, DIY-bookcase.mov
Incorporate your primary keyword phrase in the title. But use a longer version that people might type into YouTube’s search bar, such as “how to build a DIY bookcase”
Use keywords in the video description. Especially within the first two lines, which are visible without clicking more. Include your primary keyword for sure, and add a secondary one or two later in the description if you can do so without making it sound like keyword stuffing.
Say your keywords in the video and turn on captions. Make sure to speak your keywords out loud at some point in the video. Then, turn on subtitles in YouTube Studio.
Create how-to videos. How-to videos get most of their views from search, whereas other types of videos get most of their views from the home page, suggested videos, or playlists.
Don’t worry about tags. YouTube says tags aren’t a big factor in search. They’re mostly used to address common misspellings, such as DIY vs DYI.

Facebook SEO tips

Optimize your Facebook Page SEO. Use your main keyword in your Page title and vanity URL, About section, and description.
Add your business address to your profile. If it’s relevant, this will allow your page to be included in local search.
Add location pages for different locations. If you have multiple bricks-and-mortar locations, add a location page for each shop or office to increase all of their chances of appearing in local search.
Include relevant keywords in your posts. Using natural-sounding language, make sure to include the most relevant keyword in each post and photo caption.

Twitter SEO tips

Optimize your Twitter profile SEO. Use your main keyword in your Twitter name, handle, and bio.
Include relevant keywords and hashtags in your posts. You don’t have a lot of characters to work with, so use keywords wisely. Incorporate them into the post naturally so your post is still valuable to readers.
Add alt-text. If you include images in a Tweet, add alt-text that includes your keywords (if relevant to the image – remember the main point of alt-text is to make content accessible to the visually impaired). Do so by clicking Add description under the image when creating a Tweet.

Pinterest SEO tips

Optimize your Pinterest profile SEO. Use your main keyword in your username and About section.
Create boards based on your primary keywords. When setting up the structure of your account, use your primary keywords to guide the boards you create and name them accordingly
Use long-tail keywords in your Pin titles. Build Pins around long-tail keywords such as “How to build a DIY bookcase” rather than “DIY Bookcase” or even “Build a DIY Bookcase.”
Include keywords in your description. Write the description to sound informative, rather than being a simple list of keywords. (Remember, you want people to actually click the Pin, which they won’t do if they’re turned off by the description.) But include relevant keywords in a natural way that aligns with the Pin title.
Use high-quality images to benefit from visual search. Pinterest Lens allows users to search with their camera rather than their keyboard. High-quality, relevant images ensure you don’t miss out on these searches.

LinkedIn SEO tips

Optimize your LinkedIn Page SEO. Incorporate your most relevant keyword in your Page’s tagline and About section.
Create long-form content based on relevant keywords. LinkedIn Articles give you the breathing room to create valuable content based around important keyword clusters.
Don’t overdo it. Linked-In sorts content right off the bat as spam, low-quality, or high-quality. If you stuff your post with too many keywords or hashtags, guess where it’s going? Not to the top of the search results. Include keywords in a natural way (rather than stuffing) and only include truly relevant hashtags.

3 ways social SEO can help your business

1. Get your content seen

In the past, getting your social content seen has been all about working the algorithms to get your content into people’s feeds. Now, people are taking a more active approach to finding content they want, rather than just scrolling through the content presented to them.

So, the focus on discoverability isn’t new. Social SEO just requires a shift in thinking about how people discover your content. When people search for information on social platforms, you want them to find your content.

2. Grow your social channels faster

Social SEO is all about connecting with people who don’t (yet) follow you on social platforms. That means it can be a more effective way to grow your social channels than focusing strictly on algorithms. New eyeballs are the key to growth.

3. Reach potential customers that don’t use traditional search engines

This summer, Instagram launched a new searchable map feature to allow people to find popular locations using the app. Instagram is now directly competing with Google Maps to be the best search provider for local business results.

New map, who this?

Now you can now find popular locations around you or filter by categories like cafes or beauty salons. pic.twitter.com/asQR4MfljC

— Instagram (@instagram) July 19, 2022

Teen writer Julia Moon said in a piece for Slate:

“I use Google products regularly. But I use them for only the most straightforward tasks: checking the spelling of something, looking for a quick fact, finding directions. If I’m looking for a place for lunch, or a cool new pop-up, or an activity my friends would enjoy, I’m not going to bother with Google.”

Her local search map of choice is Snap Maps.

And high-school student Ja’Kobi Moore told The New York Times that she used a TikTok search to learn how to request a teacher’s letter of recommendation when applying to public school.

No matter what product or service your business sells, there’s a potential customer base that will never find you through traditional search engines. Social SEO is your key to connecting with that audience.

FAQs about social SEO

How is SEO used in social media?

Social SEO is the practice of including relevant information and keywords in your posts (in captions, alt-text, subtitles, and closed captions) to increase the chances of having your content surfaced to users browsing social media.

SEO in social media works a lot like SEO in traditional search engines. It all starts with keyword research. We’ve talked a lot about using keywords so far. But how do you go about finding the right keywords to use?

Rather than brainstorming your own keywords based on how you think people will search for your content, you need to understand how people actually search for content like yours.

Source: Word cloud in Hootsuite Insights powered by Brandwatch

Some good tools to get you started are:

Google Analytics: This tool can show you which keywords are already driving traffic to your website. While you can’t assume the exact same keywords will work for your social content, they’re a good place to start.
Hootsuite Insights powered by Brandwatch: In this tool, you can use the word cloud feature to find which words are commonly used in relation to your brand or industry. Again, these are a good starting point for you to test.
SEM Rush Keyword Magic Tool: Enter a keyword related to your content and this tool will generate a list of additional keyword and key phrase suggestions.
Google Trends: Enter a search term and you’ll get a graph of interest over time and by region, as well as suggestions for related topics and related queries. For YouTube data specifically, change the dropdown menu from Web Search to YouTube Search.
Hootsuite: Set up social listening streams within Hootsuite and keep an eye out for common language used in discussions of your product, brand, industry, or specific niche.
Each social network’s search bar: Within each social network, start typing a keyword phrase and see what the suggested autocompletions are.

Source: Looking for keyword inspiration using TikTok search

Which social media platform is best for SEO?

All of the social platforms offer slightly different opportunities to incorporate SEO techniques. So which is the best?

It’s a tough question to answer because the network where it’s most important to focus your SEO efforts is the one where your audience is most likely to spend their time or conduct their research. To answer that, you need to do some basic audience research.

But in terms of straight-up SEO functionality, YouTube is definitely the social platform that functions most like a search engine. This is no surprise, since YouTube is a Google product.

Looking at social SEO another way, if you’re hoping for your social content to show up in Google search results, YouTube wins again.

Beyond that, it depends. Twitter and Google have a partnership that allows Tweets to feature prominently in search results. Pinterest ranks well for highly visual content. LinkedIn Pages often appear in business searches, and Facebook Pages rank especially well for local businesses. Google is currently working on improving its ability to index and serve TikTok and Instagram video results, too.

Source: YouTube videos in Google search results

How is SEO different from social algorithms?

Social algorithms are all about serving content to people who are passively browsing or scrolling through a social feed, like the TikTok For You page. SEO, on the other hand, is focused on making sure your content is seen when people actively search.

Save time managing your social media and get your content seen using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish content, engage your audience, and measure the performance of all your accounts, across networks. Try it free today.

Get started

The post Social SEO: How to Help People Find You on Social Media appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.

Originally posted on October 26, 2022 @ 5:40 pm

At this point, just about any smartphone app is likely to include bite-sized “stories.” (Sometimes, we’re surprised we don’t see updates about our friends’ night on the town when we open the calculator app.) So it should come as no surprise that we’re now living in the era of TikTok Stories.

Following suit from the likes of Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and the rest, TikTok is the latest app to hop on the trend. And business is both good and good for your business. Before I confuse myself further, let’s dig in.

What are TikTok Stories and how do they work?

TikTok Stories are short video clips that expire after 24 hours. They’re similar to Instagram Stories, although slightly shorter, with a cap of 15 seconds max (Instagram’s long-running 16-second limit was recently updated to 60 seconds).

Each 15-second Story you publish will appear in sequence, so you can string together a series of short clips if you need more time to get your message across.

@keenyakelly

MAJOR TIKTOK STORIES UPDATE

? Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

Despite their resemblance to Stories on other platforms, some features set TikTok Stories apart from the pack.

When you post a Story on TikTok, it appears on your main feed tagged with a blue Story icon that takes viewers to that specific Story. That means your relevant content all lives in one place, even if you had to post multiple segments because you went over the 15-second time limit.

Better yet (well, unless you’ve got a troll problem), TikTok Stories include the comment section embedded in the post. While Instagram Stories only allow viewers to reply to a story privately, TikTok offers another place to keep conversations going publicly.

@tabithaswatosh

TikTok stories????

? Elevator Music – Bohoman

 

TikTok Stories have been rolling out for just over a year, but the feature still hasn’t been officially introduced to all users. So if you don’t have them yet, don’t worry — they’re coming.

How to make a Story on TikTok

If you are lucky enough to have TikTok Stories, posting them is incredibly simple. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: Start making a regular TikTok.

Tap the plus icon in the bottom menu bar, then start creating your content. You can record video, take a photo, or upload existing content from your camera roll.

Step 2: Customize your content.

Use TikTok’s robust library of tools, including sounds, effects, stickers, filters and everything else.

Step 3: Push your post.

Once you’re happy with your content and ready to post, you’ll be faced with two options: Next, which will create a regular TikTok post, or Post to Story, which will, well, post to your story.

If that’s not straightforward enough, there’s an even easier way. Go to your TikTok profile and click the blue plus sign beside your profile picture.

Boom — you’re instantly in the Create Story section.

Once the story is live, it will appear on the For You and Following pages. When you’ve posted a story, a blue circle will also appear around your profile picture. Curious followers can tap the ring to view your story.

Now you know how to add a Story on TikTok, let’s get into why.

Why you should use TikTok Stories

There are two major reasons why using TikTok Stories will get you more TikTok views:

Adopting any new feature on this incredibly popular app is likely to make an impact for you and your brand, and
Stories have proven to be a success on almost every other app.

But there are many more specific reasons that TikTok Stories will be good for your brand. Here are some of them:

@managedbyskye

have you used it yet? #tiktokstories #newtiktokfeature #tiktokfeatures #newtiktokupdate

? original sound – skye | social media coach

 

Stay ahead of the curve

Though they’ve been around in some form for over a year, TikTok Stories are just getting started. They may not be the most popular feature on the platform (yet) — but that makes them a perfect sandbox for you and your brand. Social platforms want you to use their new features and will often reward users that do with more reach.

Plus, if you’re the first in your space to master TikTok Stories, you’ve got a distinct advantage over the competition.

Test what works

Social media experts often use sponsored posts to A/B test content before they decide on a permanent post or campaign. Rather than spend money to pit two posts against each other, you can use Stories as your testing ground.

Try one campaign, then try the other on a different day at a similar time. TikTok’s metrics will allow you to measure which story had more reach.

@chooseyoursocial

#tiktokstories #tiktokgrowthtips #tiktoknewfeature

? Just a Cloud Away – Pharrell Williams

 

Find new ways to influence

TikTok Stories also present new opportunities for both influencers and brands. After all, there are plenty of ways to monetize this new feature.

A brand could hire an influencer to take over their Stories for the day, or an influencer could charge a brand a lower fee to promote their product on Stories if they didn’t want to pay the big bucks for a main feed post.

You can keep it short

You don’t need to be an industry analyst to know that audiences want shorter bursts of content in larger quantities, and Stories are the perfect place to do these. There’s no need to obsess over timing, and you don’t really need to drone on, either. Stories are the perfect place to give your audience a quick hit of content that keeps them wanting more.

@baderalsafar

My first TikTok story #baderalsafar #stories #tiktokstories #foryou #fyp #foryoupage

? original sound – Bader Al Safar

Lower stakes/higher return

TikTok is for everyone, but the explosive popularity of the app has meant a gradual increase in slick production for branded posts. That’s obviously a good thing, but it can also mean more time invested for brands.

Generally speaking, the expectation for stories on any social platform is that it’s lower effort content — and content that will expire. With that in mind, you can post more content, more often on TikTok Stories and not worry that it will hurt your algorithm.

TikTok Stories FAQ

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about TikTok Stories.

How long can TikTok Stories be?

TikTok Stories max out at 15 seconds, but you can post multiple stories at a time. It’s important to find a sweet spot that works for your audience. If you’re just getting started, we suggest testing a maximum of four stories (or 60 seconds of content).

Can you see who viewed your TikTok Stories?

Good news for lurkers: Unlike Instagram, TikTok Stories do not offer a full list of viewers. That said, TikTok Stories include a public comment section as well as the ability to like, stitch or duet with stories, so there are plenty of ways to interact.

How long do TikTok Stories stay up?

TikTok Stories expire after 24 hours and will no longer be visible on your public-facing feed. Fortunately, you’ll still have access to an archive, where you can view all of your old stories and dig into their stats.

@brookeyoursocialbestie

TikTok stories expire after 24 hours but the story archive lives on Here’s how to see your story archive + final view counts on those clips #tiktoktips #TikTokstories #tiktoktrends #tiktokgrowthtips #tiktokcontentcreator @brookeyoursocialbestie @brookeyoursocialbestie

? Roxanne – Instrumental – Califa Azul

Can you delete TikTok Stories?

Yes, it’s easy to delete your TikTok Story. If you decide you can’t wait 24 hours for it to disappear, just view your Story and tap the three dots at the bottom right of the screen. From here, just tap the Delete option to remove your Story.

Why doesn’t my TikTok have Stories?

The rollout for TikTok Stories has been long and slow, so you might not have TikTok Stories just yet. But the feature is also pretty hidden, so there’s just as good a chance that you do have it and haven’t noticed. Make sure your TikTok app is up to date, then go to your profile and look for a blue plus sign by your profile picture. If it’s there, you’ve got Stories.

Who sees my TikTok Stories?

Anyone who follows you will see your TikTok Stories appear on the For You Page as well as on your standard feed. Stories are differentiated with a blue story icon. Further, if you have an active TikTok Story that is currently live, your profile picture will have a blue clickable ring around it.

Need help managing your TikTok? Grow your TikTok presence alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish posts for the best times, engage your audience, and measure performance. Try it free today.

Get Started

The post TikTok Stories: How To Take Advantage of Super-Short Videos appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.

Originally posted on October 27, 2022 @ 2:41 pm

When choosing a real estate company name, it is ideal to consider your company’s customer demographic and the types of homes bought and sold by your company. This article has many great real estate company names to choose from to meet your needs. Luxury Real Estate Company Names Luxury real estate is a great industry […]

Originally posted on October 26, 2022 @ 7:41 am

When you’re constantly writing emails it can be difficult to come up with exciting subject lines. Here are some catchy email subject lines to take care of that for you! Cold Email Subject Lines Trying to catch someone’s attention with a cold email? Here are some examples of the best cold email subject lines to […]

Originally posted on October 26, 2022 @ 6:40 am