It is pretty much common knowledge now that all businesses need to be online. The trick is though, how to do it properly. It is all well and good having an account on every social media platform, dedicating hours everyday to keep it up to date. But, if you aren’t channelling your efforts in the right way, you might as well not bother. That is what this blog post is all about – how to use your time efficiently and up your social media game.
1. Interact and Engage
I think one thing a lot of small businesses forget about social media is the word social. It is made for interaction and to connect with people, (not just individuals but brands too!) If you want your social media efforts to be worth it, then you need to be engaging with relevant communities and customers. This could include:
- Replying to comments and messages.
- Joining twitter chats.
- Comment on posts when you are mentioned.
- Liking and sharing other people’s content.
It is undeniable that when a brand interacts with its customers and communities, their social media efforts will reap much better rewards. It is an essential step no matter what your goals are – to gain more customers, to improve brand awareness or just to keep stakeholders informed. The more you engage with people, the more positively your content will be received.
2. Keep It Professional – Not Boring
The next piece of advice I would have to give is to keep it professional but not boring. Unless you are portraying your personal brand, you need to make it clear that you are a professional business. Your latest selfie on the beach or what you have for dinner is best reserved for your personal account.
With that in mind however comes the need to not be boring. You should absolutely be showing your brand’s personality on social media. It is how your customers will get to know your brand. If you come across as a boring, corporate company when you are in fact a quirky stationary store, your not going to be selling yourself. So by all means, add some personality to the mix but just keep it relevant.
3. Video Works
I think something that is quite understated is how well video works. If you can present any of your information visually, in video format then you absolutely should. It has been proven time and time again that video content is far more likely to get shares and engagements.
Linking back to the previous point however, make sure your videos are relevant, not some cat jumping off the bed when you are an electrician. Instead you can present information visually, even through a simple slide show video. One software you can look into is Adobe Spark which has a very easy to use video editor tool – perfect for social media.
4. Use Your Analytics
The last but by no means least tip that I have for you is to use your analytics. Make sure you are regularly checking it because it can tell you a lot of useful information. This will include what time of day you get the most impressions, what posts have received the most interactions and if your social media efforts are leading to more followers, profile visits etc…
If you aren’t particularly familiar with analytics, I would recommend checking out Google Digital Garage who have a really useful module on measuring and understanding analytics.
Hopefully you have found this post useful and I really hope you go ahead and implement these top tips straight away. They really will help you to up your social media game. Let me know what you think in the comments below and don’t forget to share, it really helps me out. Have a great day!
