Is your business on social media?
One of the best ways to advertise your products or services for free and to easily talk to your customers is through social media. All you need to do is to set up your Facebook or Instagram page, add your logo, post some photos, and you’re done! That easy, right?
Oops! You’re wrong!
Social media is such a powerful tool for businesses—especially for those who are just starting out and even freelancers and content creators. Unfortunately, social media is more than just posting a photo. When you use it properly and if you have a solid strategy for it, then it will be a powerful income generator for your business—whether you’re running a business or having a personal brand and here are seven tips that I want to share with you.
Tip #1: Know your purpose.
Why are you on social media?
- Do you want to advertise your business?
- Do you want to reach out to your local customers?
- Do you want to show off your amazing skills?
- Do you want to update your customers on new collections and products every quarter or every month?
Whatever your reason may be, you have to know your purpose why you want to be even on social media. Have a clear purpose will guide you on how to run your page and what content to put out.
Tip #2: Know where your customers are.
The number one mistake that most business owners or an individual make is they try to be on EVERY social media platform out there. They’re on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp, WeChat, Messenger, Tumblr, and as many social media platform there is available.
As business owners, you have to know how to prioritize. Focus on the best platform for your business so you don’t waste time planning and creating content for every single platform there is.
How would you know which platform to prioritize?
You can create a short survey with your current customer base. Ask them what social media platforms do they use every day. You’d be surprised by the insights that you’ll get! Some customers are active on Facebook. Some don’t have a Facebook account. Rather, they hangout more on Instagram or YouTube. From this simple survey, you’d know where most of your customers spend their time connecting with their family, friends, and the brands they love.
Once you know this, set up an account on that platform.
It’s okay to start with just one platform. Don’t spread yourself so thinly by being present on every social media site there is.
P.S. You’re welcome!
Tip #3: Know what you can offer.
More than doing “business,” keep in mind that social media is all about “making connections.”
What value can you bring to the table?
Are you good at something? Will you give your best tips and hacks to your audience that will blow their mind and ultimately change their lives? Yes? Then, focus on that.
Do you sell the best handmade bag in your area? If your customers will buy from you, will a portion of the price be donated to a charity?
Do you provide a service that’ll make someone’s life easier?
You have to give value—and lots of them—to your audience on social media. You have to be relevant to them so they will keep on following you—and eventually, buy from you.
Tip #4: Know your customers’ interest.
Your customers follow you for a reason—and that is they like your products, services, or you—but what else do they like?
- Do they like to go to the gym?
- Are they foodies?
- Do they like to shop for clothes online?
Why is this important?
Knowing your audience or customers’ interests will help you craft content that’s both beneficial to your business and their daily lives.
Going back to tip #3, you have to give value to your community and what better way to do this but by being relevant and relatable.
Tip #5: Post consistently.
Now that your purpose on social media is clear, you’ve set up a page where your most of your customers are, and you know what to post, what’s next?
You have to show up on that platform consistently.
There is a misconception that posting consistently means posting every day or every hour.
My advice is that start with what works for you and your schedule.
Being a business owner, you can’t be on social media for 16 hours a day straight. You won’t get anything done with your business. You’ll just be stuck in a tiny corner of your office and posting non-stop. You have to manage your time wisely and you have to stay active online and post consistently in a very strategic way.
One of my best tools to keep me sane when I’m posting content for my clients and my accounts is being organized. I use a tool that’s called a social media content calendar. It helps me in getting an overview of what is going on in the pages that I manage. It also helps me in planning things so I don’t get overwhelmed and stuck every day thinking about what to post today or tomorrow.
Producing content on social media is no joke. It requires time. So, to help you out, I’m sharing the exact social media content calendar template that I’m using for 11 years! You can get your free copy of this template below. Just fill out the form and the template will be delivered straight to your email inbox.
Tip #6: Be human.
Don’t be a robot and talk like an answering machine. Make your captions informative but relatable at the same time. Putting an emoji on your captions will not harm your business. It adds flavor to your text and adds a different layer of interest to your content.
You can also tell jokes and witty lines here and there as long as you’re still being true to your brand. Don’t tell jokes just for the sake of making people laugh. Don’t post memes on your Instagram page that will ruin our brand’s image. This part can be tricky but keep in mind that you should have a balance of everything. And lastly…
Tip #7: Engage with your audience and customers.
Good job for publishing content every day! But hold on, what do you do when you receive a comment?
The social media game is now all about engagement. You have to make people engage with your posts, and once you’ve done this, you have to engage back.
- When someone asks for the price of your product, comment back with the price.
- When someone comments on your post on Instagram, give that comment a like and comment with a simple thank you.
- When someone shares your post, put them on your stories.
Go and implement this right away and you’ll see a huge difference in how your customers will engage with you. Good luck and don’t forget to share this article if you find it helpful.
If you have more questions about this, you can send me a DM on my Instagram (@socmedmgr) and Facebook page (Sai Montes) or tweet your questions and tag me (@saimontesdotcom).