20 Essential Daily Social Media Tasks
Building a strong social media following is an important part of any marketing campaign. When I was first starting out, everything seemed overwhelming. There are so many different networks, with so many tasks. Tasks that need completion every day. But I have since taken the 80/20 rule into consideration. Now, I’ve narrowed down my daily tasks to the ones that are the most important.
Most of the time, it’s a good idea to focus on just one or two social networks at a time. Which network you pick can depend on a number of factors, so it’s a good idea to spend some time finding the best social network for your needs.
I’ve organized my daily social media tasks into a handy list that I hope will be helpful to you.
Right now, Twitter is my main focus as most of my target audience is there. Twitter is also quick and easy, and in my opinion, fun to use. Following these daily tasks, you can quickly build a following from nothing.
1. Schedule Posts With Buffer / Hootsuite
To schedule posts, I prefer Buffer. It is the simpler choice compared to Hootsuite. It also has more scheduling features out of the box, and I just love the clean design style.
2. Add @Mentions Of Post Authors To Tweets
When I tweet a link to an article that someone else wrote, I include their @Username. Sometimes this takes a little digging around the website where the article was posted.
This step does take some extra work. But by using this method I’ve received many follows, retweets, and favorites. This is because the authors appreciate a mention for their hard work. This is a simple addition that has a large return on investment.
3. Add Relevant Hashtags To Tweets
This is a simple step, and can increase your potential tweet reach. Use a tool like RiteTag to find hashtags that will drive the most views to your tweet.
4. Add Imagery To Tweets
If the article you are linking to includes an image (like this one), use it. Most article authors these days include well designed images, so take advantage of it. Photos boost clickthroughs by 18%, favorites by 89%, and retweets by an astounding 150%, so use them.
5. Follow Key Influencers And Put Them In A List
In general, I recommend following anyone in your niche who could follow you back. But, there are key influencers in each niche that have more pull than the typical user. In this case, I recommend following them even if you don’t get a follow back.
Put these influencers in a list, and we’ll use them in the following steps.
6. @Reply To 3 Influencer’s Tweets
Try to engage with influencers on a daily basis. Yet, make sure not to overwhelm them with constant communication. This is why it is important to build a good sized influencer list. That way you can communicate with different people on different days.
Just because an influencer has recently tweeted, doesn’t mean that they are on Twitter, or that they will reply back to you. Most influencers use tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule their tweets.
7. Respond To All Tweets / DMs
Put the “social” in social media. This step is especially important if you are a public brand. Your customers may have frequent support questions. Many users are turning to social media to engage with brands. The more available and responsive you are, the better your reputation will become.
8. Follow Users With Good Follow Ratios On Tweepi
This step might be debatable, but is one that I have used with good success. Tweepi has a free service that allows you to follow new users.
In Tweepi, you can sort users by their following ratios. Try to find users who have a lower amount of followers than they are following. These users are likely to follow you back.
Other stats to check are their bio and their last tweet date. By checking these you can make sure they are relevant and active on Twitter.
9. Retweet Relevant Tweets
Retweeting is a great way to build connections with new people. Retweeting means that you agree with that person’s tweet. And you agree enough to send it to your own followers. Most users like this extra publicity. Some may take interest in your profile and give you a follow.
In some cases, it may also be helpful to retweet some tweets from your newest followers. Then try to engage with them a bit and start a conversation.
10. Retweet Between 5 & 10 times Per Day From Different Influencers
Make sure not to retweet any one person too many times per day. Instead, spread out retweets across the different influencers that you listed in step 5. Try to retweet several times throughout the day, and not all at once. This will help you gain visibility when different people are online throughout the day.
11. Leave Some Valuable Feedback In The Retweets (Change To Quotes)
This is a technique that has gained me follows from prestigious Twitter users. Some are even listed in the Forbes Top 10 Social Media Influencers. This step does need some extra work, but people seem to appreciate it, and the potential payoff is worth it.
Don’t just hit that retweet button. Instead, take the time to change the retweet into a quote. You can do this with a few clicks if you are using a tool like Buffer. Or you can copy and paste the original tweet by hand. Then add something like “Great analysis! — RT @Username” before the tweet. You may need to do some editing depending on the length of the original tweet. Edits may include removing hashtags or abbreviating some words.
Most users appreciate the extra feedback. You’ll also gain some visibility with those users’ followers as well. While a bit time consuming, this method has been rewarding for me.
Update: Twitter has updated their quote feature, allowing for more lengthy comments. So now you can really start a conversation!
12. Add Hashtags To Retweets To Fit Your Target Audience
If you have the character count available for it, add some relevant hashtags. Sometimes the original author didn’t add any, or is targeting a different audience. Because you are quoting, it is generally acceptable to change the hashtags a bit. Make sure to limit to 2–3 hashtags, to not annoy users.
13. Only Retweet Information That You Are Agreeable To
This is a big one that I’ve seen many people have trouble with. Sometimes I’ll see a user’s bio that includes something like “Retweets are not endorsements”. This may keep a user in the clear from a legal perspective. But in reality, most people aren’t going to check your bio before they look at your tweets.
If you have retweeted something, it doesn’t matter what your intentions or disclaimers were. That retweet means that you endorse the original tweeter.
So I recommend a thorough review of any possible retweets. This review should include where they may link to, and any possible hashtag complications.
Google+
Google+ isn’t popular in most industries right now. But, depending on your niche, you may be able to find an active community. I’ve found that on Google+, most people are friendly and will follow you back. It helps if you are somewhat related to their interests (make sure your bio is up to date). Even if you can’t find a community, being active on Google+ is a great way to build your SEO. Following several proactive daily tasks will help you build a following.
14. Follow Relevant Users In Communities
Communities are central to how Google+ works. Communities are built of like minded people, and are a great place to find friends. I recommend subscribing to several communities, and then monitoring them for active users.
Watch the communities for a few days. After some time you should be able to tell the active users from the auto-posters. Auto-posters are users who auto post their articles from an automated tool like Buffer. These users rarely engage on Google+ itself. Comment activity is a dead giveaway, since you must be on the Google+ website/app to do so.
After you find relevant users, add them into circles. These circles should be descriptive of their niche. For example, I have categories for SEM, SEO, social media, content marketing, and more.
15. +1 Five Influencer’s Posts
+1’ing is a lot like favoriting on Twitter. It is a simple endorsement to say that you liked the post. Your +1s are public on your profile/page, so make sure to +1 with caution.
Additionally, a +1 has a large influence on organic Google search rankings. Therefore, for publishers who are concerned about their SEO, it can be valuable.
Users will get a notice that they were added to your circle, and that they’ve been +1’d. Then users are likely to give you a follow back.
16. Comment On Two Influencer’s Posts
Commenting is a great way to show that you are active on Google+. Most users are friendly, and may comment back, so be ready to engage in a conversation.
On Google+, you can comment as much as you want. I find that a couple comments per session is all I have time for. Especially if there is an ongoing back-and-forth.
17. Share Two Influencer’s Posts
Like retweeting on Twitter, when you share a user’s posts, the post shows up on your page. So be careful with what you share, and make sure that it is relevant to your brand.
Sharing can be a great way to show your support of a good post. It is typically very appreciated by the original author.
Pinterest is great for visual social media. If you use imagery on your website/blog, then you should also post it to Pinterest. If you’re not using imagery, you should start. When sharing images, note that a majority of Pinterest users are women. Also, the most popular repins are orange/red in color. So try to work these color schemes in to your images when possible.
18. Repin Ten Influencer’s Images To Boards
Find at least ten great pins and repin them to relevant boards on your profile. However, remember not to repin too frequently. By repinning a lot, you could blow up your followers’ feeds and notifications. It’s important to take things slower on Pinterest than Twitter.
So, you should spread out your original pins and repins throughout the day. This will also help to reach different people who are online at different times.
19. Follow Five Other Relevant Users
Like Twitter and Google+, users on Pinterest have some of the same following trends. Users tend to follow people who are following them. In some cases, users will follow you if you have repinned some of their content.
Make sure to follow users who are relevant to your niche. You can discover this by reading their bio, and reviewing the boards that they pin to. The more related a user is to your niche, the more likely they are to follow you back. And if you’re lucky, they might do business with you in the future.
20. Comment Up To Three Times On Pins In The “Popular” Section
Take some time to scroll through the “Popular” section each day. Try to find pins that are at least somewhat relevant to your niche. The more relevant they are, the better. Once you find a good pin, take some time to craft a good comment. Don’t just leave something like “Great pin”. This provides almost no value to the original contributor.
On Twitter and Google+ you can post and reply almost infinitely. But on Pinterest there is a limit of about 3 comments per user per day. This rule was implemented to fight spam. So it is important to use your allotment of comments wisely.
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Visit SmartWebsiteMarketing.com to download the free Daily Social Media Checklist. It includes 38 tasks to help you succeed on the four major social media networks: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, & Google+.
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Originally published at smartwebsitemarketing.com on January 16, 2015.
