Not only can creating a successful social media marketing plan can be hard, but figuring out which platform to start on can be a tough decision in itself. You need a strategy that builds online visibility, increases trust in you/your brand/your product, and also starts meaningful conversations. Authentic and genuine online engagement is critical for business success and long-term growth. In fact, over 30% of the time people spend online is on social media (at OVER 2 hours a day too, which has also increased significantly since COVID-19) so maintaining that active presence is important. And to think that you have to do all of this while running errands, walking the dog, figuring out dinner, taking the kids to school/practice/a friend’s house, and just living your life.
Have no fear though, you CAN find that time for social media for your business! All it takes is a little bit of planning and the 5 tips below to help you build your social media presence:
1. Prioritize your pages: First of all, stop questioning whether or not your business even needs to be on social media- BECAUSE IT DOES! Focus on your one main channel- you want to “nail it before you scale it!” Start with looking at which platforms are best to utilize for your business or the product you are offering. Content should be slightly different for each social media site, so juggling five different social media channels will make managing your content difficult. Figuring out which one you think is the most important is the first step. You don’t have to be all over the social media hemisphere- you just need to be in the RIGHT ONE. For example, the “OG” social media site Facebook has 2.5 BILLION users (crazy right?!) so that’s potentially A LOT of eyes on your business. That being said, if you want to highlight the incredible artwork that you sell, maybe prioritizing your Instagram page where photos reign supreme is the best place to start.
2. Batching/Scheduling: How do you manage your busy life? You SCHEDULE it right? The same rule applies to social media– SCHEDULE your content! Build a batch of content out for the month that will keep your social media active. There are a variety of services across the internet that can help you plan, schedule and automate your posts and content across your preferred social network(s) (Of course- it’s always a best practice to go into each platform individually and check that the content is being released correctly- technological glitches happen all the time!). Some scheduling programs are free and some require a subscription, but some of the more popular schedulers are HootSuite, Buffer, and SproutSocial. (Also check out “15 of the Best Social Media Posting and Scheduling Tools.”) And remember- when choosing a social media scheduler you definitely need to keep in mind which social media channel you are focusing on, as some are “better” than others for certain platforms. Also, Google Calendar is also a GREAT tool to consider using at first if you are feeling overwhelmed with all of the content scheduling options.
3. Check your notifications: Set aside 10-15 minutes each day to check the notifications on your social media account(s). There is nothing worse than going on a business Facebook or Instagram page and seeing no interaction! If you stay engaged regularly, customers will know that you are indeed an active business, even if you aren’t regularly posting content as often as you’d like (BUT- since you’ll already have your content scheduled you WILL be posting regularly, right?!). If there is one particular person, or people, that interact with a lot of your posts, use that as an opportunity to reach out and establish a relationship with them.
4. Content: There are a couple of different ways you can go about your content for social media. You can create one big, overarching piece of content each week then distribute it in batches each day. You can also combine original and creative content- no one expects you to always come up with original content every day! Part of being effective on social media is to share content with your followers that you find from other sources that you think your audience will like- this helps increase engagement on your page. When you are first setting up your social media page, and also at periodic intervals like once a month, take a minute to follow relevant industry-appropriate companies, news sites, thought leaders in your industry, or anything else that you think your followers might be interested in. When you log in for your 10-15 minutes a day, your feed will be full of content that you can save and reuse for your own page!
When you are writing and creating your own content, you definitely want to keep it varied, no one wants to see promotional posts asking them to buy things over and over. A good rule of thumb to follow is an 80:20 content ratio: 80% relevant, interesting and non-sales related content, 20% information about you, your company, your staff, or products and services that you offer. Posts as simple as “behind the scenes” photos are a great example- show your personality but remember to be sure it’s also fitting in with the image you want to create for your brand! If you are constantly posting content about your business and why someone should buy something, your followers will jump ship. Remember, it’s all about building that relationship with your prospective customers!
5. DIYSocial: Let SocialKNX do the content creation for you! DIYSocial, our monthly subscription service, gives you clever and creative social media content to post every.single.day. It’s up to you which ones you use, which platforms to post to, and when you want them to go out, but you aren’t starting your day off by scratching your head and asking “what should I post today?” We also send you images to use with the content, marketing tips, tools we discover, and mini-video training to help explain things so you can crush your social media marketing goals on your own.
You’ll also be able to join the DIY community to be able to connect with other businesses and people also embarking on their social media marketing journey.
Everyone is busy and everyone’s time is precious, but social media is not something to be overlooked! A little effort can go a long way, and these 5 tips are a great place to begin.
Of course, our rockstar marketing gurus here at SocialKNX can also create and manage your social media content, grow your community, and manage your business reputation. Schedule a call with us today to see how we can help YOU!