Successful social media for a business
Most forward looking businesses know they must do social media to keep their reputation live, encourage sales and ensure people ‘see’ them online regularly. Love it or hate you cannot argue about the power of social media today and that power cannot be ignored. But it’s often worth taking a long hard look at how you do your social media. Many companies think the best way is to hire someone who is active on their own personal social media, perhaps a recent college graduate or someone who enjoys posting regularly about their own lives. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes these people can be perfect for certain businesses but social media for businesses and personal social media are two different talents. Social media for business must be strategic, have a plan and target audience, and a clear objective so that you ensure you’re reaching the audience you wish to talk to. This may only be a few hundred people or tens of thousands, but there’s no use in chattering on social media but your target audience can’t see or hear you. So we would recommend hiring someone with a track record and understanding of social media for businesses.
To help you here are a few social media for business tips:
1. Select the social media platforms that your target market look at – usually this will be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You tube.
2. Create a plan so you can schedule posts, and know that you’re posting different content at different times.
3. Create a library of good, relevant photography.
4. Brief your social media team to ensure they are giving informed messages in the company style.
5. Make sure your posts are varied, interesting and will engage clients.
6. Do not post the same information and pictures across all social media platforms at the same time – it’s likely your followers may follow you across all social media platforms and the biggest turnoff is seeing the same content all the time.
7. Try and create a call to action so that people engage in posts.
8. Use video – this often has better results than static images.
There’s many more tips that I may share with you in the future but it’s worth bearing this all in mind. And be brave – it can be fun and rewarding!