Most marketers understand the importance of incorporating keywords in blog posts. However, not as many understand just how important it is to use keywords in social media.
Targeting the right keywords in your social media posts will help you get more exposure, including more post likes and followers. In addition, it can even help your social media posts rank on Google in the organic search results.
Here are seven ways to incorporate keywords in your social media marketing campaigns.
1. Identify the Keywords
Step one is identifying the keywords you need to use. There are a few tools you can use to assist you in your search.
Regular keyword tools work here too. For example, you can use a free keyword tool like Wordstream to find popular keyword suggestions for your niche. Wordstream will tell you how many monthly searches each keyword gets on Google, which is an indicator of how popular it is.
If a keyword is popular on Google, people are likely to use it while searching for posts on Twitter and other social networks as well. Besides, remember that using keywords on social media can get your posts ranked in the organic Google search results too.
Another keyword tool you can use is KeywordTool.io. One of the unique things about this tool is that it has separate tools for Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube keyword research.
In addition to those tools, also use a hashtag research tool like Hashtagify or RiteTag. Hashtags on Twitter are like keywords; they are popular search terms that will help you be found even if you use them without the hashtag symbol.
Finally, one last place to look is the trending section on Twitter. Look at trending search terms and topics and add them to your list of social media keywords.
2. Add the Keywords in Profile Descriptions and Abouts
Once you’ve compiled your list of keywords, it’s time to figure out how to use them. Start by adding your most important target keywords to your profile descriptions.
Social media sites like Twitter and Instagram allow you to add short bios to your profiles. These bios help people learn about you or your business. By incorporating a few keywords into your profile description, you can rank higher when people search for specific topics. Your profile can even rank in the Google search results, though that’s a bit harder of a feat.
At the end of your bio on Twitter and Instagram, consider adding 1-3 hashtags, if appropriate, based on your hashtag research. Note that you have limited space for your bio, so choose your words carefully.
Facebook also allows you to add a short About section to your page. So does LinkedIn.
3. Add the Keywords in Titles, Headings, and Subheadings
This section mainly applies to social media platforms that allow you to post long posts, as opposed to “microblogging” platforms like Twitter.
On Facebook, for example, you can publish entire blog posts on your feed, complete with titles and headings. Not every post has to be long, but adding a short headline to each post can help it rank and help people understand what it’s about. Even adding a snappy headline to Twitter posts can help you catch people’s attention.
Use your keywords strategically in your post headline and in any headings or subheadings you add. LinkedIn is even better for Facebook in this regard, as it allows you to publish posts, and many people also use it as a blogging platform.
4. Add the Keywords in Post Bodies
The next step is adding the keywords in your post body, which you can do on almost any social media platform.
It’s critical not to stuff your posts with keywords. Keyword stuffing will make it look like you’re trying too hard, and your posts will also be unnatural and attract less engagement.
Choose 1-5 keywords to strategically add to your post body, depending on the size of the post. For a Twitter post, for example, 1-2 keywords are usually enough, though you should add another 2-5 hashtags at the end of your post, depending on how much space you have left.
On Instagram, it’s okay to be hashtag-heavy in your posts. Some businesses post long articles in the description section of Instagram posts, but Instagram is primarily a visual platform. A short Instagram description with 1-2 keywords is enough, but you can add 15-30 hashtags at the end of the description – just stay relevant.
On LinkedIn, you can add as many keywords as you want, as long as it sounds natural. On Facebook, stick to 1-5 keywords, with perhaps 1-3 hashtags at the end of the post. Hashtags are not nearly as important on Facebook as they are on Twitter and Instagram.
5. Add the Keywords in Meta Descriptions
You should also take advantage of meta descriptions and tags to help rank your social media posts. YouTube, for example, allows you to add tags to your videos – put some keywords there. You should also add keywords to your YouTube video descriptions.
Social media sites also use your site’s metadata to display content, such as your headline, blog post description, and image, when you share a link from your blog on social media. Facebook uses Open Graph markup, while Twitter uses Twitter Cards markup.
Pinterest, on the other hand, allows businesses to apply for Rich Pins. Rich Pins display markup schema from your website.
By adding the right cards and markup to the code of your website, you can display more accurate data when sharing blog posts on social media, driving more engagement and exposure.
6. Add the Keywords in Media Captions
There are a few ways to add keywords to media captions on social media. A media caption is a text that accompanies a media file and helps describe it to the reader.
For example, if you share an image on Instagram, you can add a short caption explaining what the image is about. If you are tagging a business on Twitter, you can add a tag (@username). Captions can consist of hashtags as well.
Whenever you add an image, GIF, or video to social media, always add a short caption with 1-3 keywords and/or hashtags. Social media networks can’t always figure out what an image is about. However, by adding a few keywords to the media caption, they can make the proper associations and rank your image when people search for the specific keyword you’ve targeted.
Another way to add keywords to an image is to edit the file name before uploading it to the social site. Change the file name to your primary target keyword, like this: keyword.png. Finally, you can add some text to the image itself, but that only works when uploading memes or promotional banners.
7. Use the Keywords When Linking to Pages
Finally, use the keywords when linking to pages. I already touched upon using Open Graph, Twitter Cards, or Rich Pins markup to control how your links show up on different social media sites. However, if you are using WordPress, there is a much easier way to control the way your content appears on social media.
I recommend downloading and installing the All In One SEO plugin from the WordPress plugin library. It will add a section to each blog post that allows you to control how your post shows up on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites.
You will be able to customize the title, description, and image for your post.
You may notice that even if you've optimized your blog post title for SEO, it gets cut off when you share it on social media. All In One SEO, or AIOSEO, allows you to edit your title according to the character limits of each social media site. Not only that, but you can add keywords to the title and description sections.
However, you shouldn’t just share your post on social media and leave it at that. I also recommend adding a short description alongside the link.
Since you’ve already set up your post description using All In One SEO, this text should be different. It shouldn’t repeat anything you already added to the post description section in All In One SEO.
For example, if your post description in All In One SEO was a summary of your blog post article, don’t summarize your blog article again in your social media text. Instead, create a short text that creates intrigue, suspense, and mystery and makes people want to click on the link to find out more. In that short text, add 1-3 target keywords.
Final Thoughts
You now know how to incorporate keywords into your social media marketing campaign. By doing that, you will be one step ahead of your competition and increase your exposure and engagement.
Sharing articles on social media is one way to increase backlinks to your site, but it only makes up part of a comprehensive link-building campaign. Check out our local link-building guide for help with creating a plan to build strategic backlinks to boost your SEO rankings.
