Better Social Media Management for Businesses
In today’s tech-savvy society, social media has developed into the ultimate marketing and advertising tool for business growth. Once upon a time businesses relied upon word of mouth, print advertising in the local paper, or even having a faithful employee get in a costume and swing signs on the street corner to drum up some business. With social media available to businesses of every size, marketing and advertising are within every company’s budget.
Is essence, social media has far expanded the reach of nearly every business. Today, the only thing a person needs to do is check Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to see what kind of services a business offers and what the public thinks about their brand. Because of this, it is important to constantly groom, manage, and curate your social media profiles to have engaging posts and content. An exciting social media presence can not only attract new business, it can help maintain old customers and convert them from simply transactions into longterm brand advocates. A number of small steps can be taken to generate some buzz and interest in your business’s social media presence.
1. Scheduling Posts
Scheduling posts on Facebook, tweets on Twitter, or even that gnarly food shot on Instagram at certain times is important. At certain times of day, these sites have significantly heavier traffic and dozens of manhours of research from experts in every industry have been poured into figuring out when these are. Posting during these times boosts your post’s reach, having a positive effect on clickthrough rates and ideally, conversion rates as well. For example, 11AM has heavier traffic than 11PM- so save that branded meme for tomorrow morning if you really want it to shine.
2. Pictures = 10,000 Words
We’re not being dramatic. Research indicates that using pictures, personalized graphics, and GIFs in your posts have a gigantic impact on engagement. Newsfeeds are structured to highlight eyecatching images, which stand out among status after status of text posted prose, so utilizing an image encourages that a user will share your post. More shared posts = more engagement, comments, likes, favorites, and ultimately, business. Don’t even get us started on what video can do for your business
3. Let the Sunshine In
Nobody, and we mean nobody likes a Debbie Downer on social media. Yes, in instances of tragedy, both local and global, a heartfelt message can go a long, long way in developing a sense of solidarity with your customers, but try to keep your head up as often as possible. Have fun, make jokes, and don’t take your business too seriously (unless you are lawyers, then… do lawyer-y things). Keep people interested and excited and they’re more likely to share your page with their friends.
4. Mobile-First, Everytime
Mobile is everything. In few cases (we’re looking at you, office space Facebook sneakers) do people use their desktop computer for social media browsing. The majority of endless scroll is now committed by thumbs, as 80-85% of users are browsing on their phones or tablets as opposed to their laptops- and this matters for the content you post. Making sure your cover images, profile pictures, and shareable content are mobile-friendly first is critical. Mobile has different crop widths and heights than their larger counterparts, so making sure your content is viewed as intended is important in helping it, and your business, go viral.
5. Get Engaged
While we’re not talking about marriage, we are certainly talking about a commitment to your clients. The key word in social media isn’t media, it’s social. Social media requires you to have social interactions with consumers, and since social media is a public stage, it requires positive interactions. Respond to comments, answer questions thoroughly, and rebuttle or amend every negative review that comes your way. A failure to engage, especially in a public sense, every quip that comes your way looks like disinterest in being a better business- and that is something you certainly don’t want to be true.
6. Stay Trendy
The largest hurdle with anything even tangentially related to digital marketing is that it is always changing. Profile requirements and formats change frequently, newsfeed algorithms seemingly update every other day, and sometimes apps and platforms simply fall off the Internet entirely (R.I.P. Vine, you were fun while you lasted). Stay on top of the latest features, expansions, and even memes and Internet slang (be relevant bb, ur current ~af~) and watch your engagement rates soar.
Overall, we can get lost in clickthroughs and virality, but the most important thing to do with your business on social media is take the time to build strong, positive relationships with consumers: potential, new, and longstanding. Managing social media can be daunting, difficult, and at times, downright stressful- but doing it well can help any business grow their brand. If you’re unable to invest the personal time required to attend to your business’s online needs, it is certainly worth hiring a branding agency with a dedicated and educated social media team (hint, hint), to help manage it for you.
