There are a lot of do’s and do not’s on social media. Experts are constantly throwing more at you, and it can get really overwhelming. I wanted to take it back to the basics and give you these tips on what your business should be doing on social media.
Let me start by giving you the cliff notes, then I’ll get down into each one below.
7 things your business should be doing on social media:
- Make sure your content is branded and looks cohesive.
- Infuse your personal brand.
- Make it about THEM – your ideal customer.
- Focus on your marketing MIX.
- Schedule your content.
- Engage!!!
- Track your analytics.
Let’s break it down now…
Make sure your content is branded and looks cohesive. I read an article recently that stated brands that do not use their logo have better success with engagement. And while that is one person’s opinion, it may be an experiment worth trying. Make sure your “look” and colors all match so it is obvious on the brand, logo or not. I personally go back-and-forth and try it all: logo, @lisaalfarocreative text only and no branding. But my colors and look always stay cohesive.
Make sure you are infusing your personal brand. Share your story, why you started your business, what keeps you going on the daily, behind-the-scenes, etc. Keep your ideal customer in mind when you get vulnerable! People love doing business with people they know, like and trust. This is so important for small businesses to tap into!
Speaking of your ideal customers – make sure you are communicating with them in everything you share. Always make your content about them and tie-it back to your ideal customers anytime you can. The key when creating personal branding is to make even your own storytelling about how it benefits them, or how your products directly benefit them.
Focus on your marketing mix. What does that mean? Mix up your content! Be sure to create content with photos, graphics, videos and even text-only depending on the platform. If you rely heavily on video, change it up and try sharing some real life photos. If you just make pretty graphics, show a behind-the-scenes video. Your mix is so important, but tracking it will let you know what your fans want more of (more on that later!).
Related: 20 marketing tips for your small business
Schedule your content. I can’t emphasize this enough!! When I’ve managed many brands/pages to now just my own, this is the holy grail of productivity and consistency. Your goal should be to have content scheduled at least 2 weeks out, but a month should be your end goal. By carving out dedicated time to work on this, you will begin to go from overwhelmed to feeling super accomplished.
Now, I’m throwing you a curve ball. When people ask me if I schedule my content, my answer is actually no. Here’s why: I create everything on Trello, then schedule it on Trello to ping me to post. I post natively in each individual platform and always engage before and after posting. This helps with reach and engagement on our own posts.
Starting this year, because Meta Business Suite is so awesome to use, I will be scheduling my content a week at a time BUT I will also be scheduling engagement time before and after that post gets published. I love trying something new and experimenting with social media often!
One of the most important things you can do on social media is to engage! Engage your followers, engage in your comments and engage new accounts. It can be really time-consuming, but it should 100% be part of your brand strategy if growth is part of your goals. If you don’t care about growth, then engaging with your current audience is enough to be rewarded on any social media platform.
Last, but not least: Track your analytics! None of the above will matter if you don’t know what is and isn’t working. You wouldn’t let customer feedback cards get overlooked, right? Don’t let your analytics go without checking! And when you know what works, do more of that.
Related: 5 social media tools you need
There you have it, my seven things your business should be doing on social media. Is there anything you’d add to this list? Let me know in the comments!
When you’re ready, here are the three ways I can help your business:
- One-on-one business coaching to focus on connecting with your audience through social media strategy, personal branding and offline marketing.
- Schedule a Social Media Edit where we can discuss what’s working, and what isn’t, on your social media platforms.
- Contact me for any Content Creation or UGC work.
