Tag Archives: local splash

In How to Create Posts Specifically for Facebook and Twitter Part 1, we discussed how often you should post on both Facebook and Twitter as well as how to engage each network’s individual audience. It’s important to understand that although you can post about the same topics and use the same content for both Facebook and Twitter, you must word it a different way for each in order for it to be effective. Here are more ways you can customize your posts for Facebook and Twitter.

How long should a post be?

Facebook: Keep your post about 2-3 lines long. Although there isn’t a character limit on Facebook posts, people don’t want to read a paragraph-long status update. For this reason, you should limit your posts to be about 2-3 lines long and include a link or photo to catch your audience’s eye. That will help it stand out in their Newsfeed.

Twitter: Twitter has a length limit of 140 characters or less. However it is recommended that you keep your tweets at 120-130 characters (including a shortened URL) in order to make it easy for people to retweet. If you use all 140 characters, people who want to retweet your message won’t be able to without altering your message in some way, which is discouraging.

What kind of content should you share?

Facebook: On Facebook, it’s important to post a lot of photos or links with your content to catch peoples’ eyes. If you’re posting a link or a photo, ask a question to encourage participation or make a comment about the photo or link. The more people that comment on your posts the more exposure your company will receive in the future. Share information like your latest videos, news, blog posts, promotions, etc. People love deals, so giving your fans an exclusive deal will help ensure they’ll keep paying attention to your brand on Facebook. It’s also fun to engage your fans with contests that are exclusively for them.

Twitter: It’s important to keep Twitter posts short and to-the-point. There should be a shortened URL and the content with it should entice your audience to click it and retweet it. The shorter and more interesting the tweet, the more likely people are to click on your link and share it with their followers, gaining you more exposure. You can post the same kind of content that you would on Facebook; company announcements, promotions, news, blogs, videos, etc., just post them in short snippets.

Following these tips will help you to better customize your content for Facebook and Twitter. Remember when choosing content to post, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What would they be interested in hearing about? Posting truly engaging content rather than sales-y messages will help make your followers into advocates for your brand.

localsearchLocal search is rapidly growing. In fact, it has been estimated that by 2015, 30% of all searches will have local intent, when compared with 12% in 2009 that’s a significant jump. Eighty percent of all searches conducted via mobile phone are for local services and products, which means if you aren’t thinking about local SEO for your business, you may soon be left trailing behind your competitors. Follow these 5 local SEO do’s to make sure your business climbs to the top pages of the search engine rankings.

1. Do optimize for localized keywords. This means including the location you want to target in your keyword phrase. Example: “Hair Salon Newport Beach, CA.”

2. Do create listings in local directories. When your business is listed in a variety of directories across the Internet, it increases your web presence and boosts your rankings. If your business isn’t already listed, add it to local directories like Google Places, Yahoo! Local, Yelp, Merchant Circle, SuperPages, etc. The more places you’re listed, the more likely your potential customers are to find you.

3. Do use photos and videos. Uploading optimized photos and videos to your website as well as submitting them to social media websites like Pinterest and YouTube increase your online presence, build your backlinks and keep your brand in front of your customers’ eyes. People love photos and videos which means they’ll be more likely to share them with friends via social networking.

4. Do keep your content fresh. Make sure once your local directory listings are live, that you keep going back to update the content. Keep your website content fresh as well in order to encourage search engines to keep stopping back to index your site. Search engines are looking for relevancy, so if your content is fresh and interesting and people are sharing it with others, it appears relevant and you are rewarded with higher rankings.

5. Do ask your customers for reviews. Depending on what type of business you have, determine one or two review websites to concentrate your efforts on. Then ask your happy customers to share their experiences with others. Tell them exactly where they will be able to find your business on those websites so it’s quick and easy for them. More reviews equal higher rankings as well as help convince potential customers to use your products rather than your competitors.

localseomapAccording to Brafton news, a recent report from xAD stated that over half of local mobile search clicks result in calls directly to the business. The study’s results showed that people searching for businesses in their local area are very likely to purchase and a solid local presence online will allow them to find a business’s information easily and quickly.

Local search has a 7% click-through rate compared to display ads that have a .6% click-through rate. According to the study over 37% of people who click the links end up calling the business, requesting more information about the business, searching for directions or taking another action.

A local SEO campaign can help your local business make a prominent presence in the local listings so your customers will be able to find you. More online exposure means more phone calls to your business, so check out Local Splash’s local SEO services today.