Social media is the collective of online communication channels dedicated to community based input, interaction, content sharing and collaboration.

The most notable and highly engaged social media and social networking platforms include; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, SnapChat etc.

These platforms possess more power than we could ever imagine, but it is rather unfortunate that most users haven’t realized that yet.

After so many years of being involved in social media and it related activities, I have realized there are some key things which when taken into consideration can help any normal social media user to influence in a positive way and effect positive change all through the use of these social media platforms. These includes:

1. Social Media Profile.

Social media profile is a description of individuals’ social characteristics that identify them on the various social media platforms they sign up to. These includes your name, profile picture, your bio, your interest, your background and so many others.

To be able to unlock this power I am talking about, you always have to make sure you use your real name when signing up to social media platforms. This makes it very easy for people to find you, and for users to take you serious as well.

Imagine signing up to a social media platform a friend introduces you to and after signing up, you search for them by their real name,but you don’t find them, or better still signing up to a new platform and in the list of some people the platform suggests for you to follow you see a name like “Crazy Kid”, I bet you will skip the fellow right?

Profile pictures always play an important role in unlocking the power social media possess. If possible, use one picture as your profile picture across all social media platforms, this makes it very easy for people to recognize you and actually authenticate the account. Also, make sure the picture you use is appealing and commanding.

Normally, your social profile’s bio is usually just a sentence or two about yourself or your business. Think of it as a perfect place to put your elevator pitch and include your main keywords, exactly what you will tell anyone if they were to ask you to tell them briefly what you or your business is about.

Be sure to fill out your bio to its full potential. While some of these social media platforms allow you to only have a limited amount of characters, others encourage more robust and lengthy bios. Take advantage of this to share only the best about yourself and your brand. It will amaze you to know that, some individuals will like to get involved with you on these social media platforms just because of your bio.

As for background, try as much as you can not to mislead others. Always remember to keep it real. Indicate where you live, the schools you attended and where you are from.

This in most cases helps you to connect with people you probably went to the same school with, or those you hail from the same place with. I come across some people’s background information and I feel very sorry for them because it is misleading and highly likely to drive people away.

For instance, you indicate you live in Ghana, yet you claim to work in Italy, while in actual fact some of these people are jobless. When using social media, always bear in mind your employer or next employer might probably be on your Time Line (TL).

2. Content

Relevant and high-quality content is always crucial to unlocking the influencing power of social media. Audiences have wised up, and are mostly interested in high-quality content that they can really engage with. When developing contents for your social media platforms, try as much as you can to be creative.

Always bear in mind that, the right content helps you to grow the right audience, and this gets to have a positive effect on your social media metrics. Always try as much as you can not to stick to creating a particular type of content, but instead try to be versatile in blending the type of contents you feed your audience.

3. Consistency

This has to do with showing what you know and sharing what your audience will find relevant and authentic and taking into consideration the time and intervals between your posts. The idea is to always stay relevant and authentic. My advice on this will be to try as much as you can to post something relevant everyday.

The consistency aspect of social media is very crucial because it helps keep your audience interactive and always ready to be fed content by you. This in the long term will lead to more social engagement and reach.

4. Responsiveness

This has to do with you responding to the engagements of your audience in a positive and well-timed manner. Responsiveness makes your audience attached to you or better still, it triggers a feeling of loyalty in them. They begin to cultivate the thought or idea that they are equally important to you as you are also important to them.

If indeed you are looking forward to unlocking the influencing power of social media, then you should take into consideration all the above-noted points and I bet you are gradually going to possess the influencing power of social media.

Source: Francis Yaw Gidiga Alfafa
Twitter: @alfafa_GH
Instagram: @alfafagh