Are you trying to figure out what to do first to promote your business online?
There are so many free social media options how can one manage them all, right?
To begin, remember you do not have to try to do them all. Start with your personal favorite. (Usually, any three are safe for all businesses. Do some research. What are your competitors using for theirs?) Once you nail down and open three of your favorites – get posting my friend. It’s that simple.
I think the 3 must haves are: Facebook, Instagram and my other must-have is Pinterest [even though Pinterest is technically a search engine. It’s good to use daily to be social with your customers.]
Here are 4 quick tips to get you started promoting your business on your social media accounts.
1). Start with what you know.
If you love to browse Facebook and Instagram while you’re waiting for your child at dance practice, then start there. It’s a good idea to start with what you are familiar with, so you don’t want to pull your hair out on the first day. Plus, chances are if you aren’t on the platform already, then your industry might not be either. Check out your competition and follow their lead. Note: You might need to branch out of your box and go where your potential clients are hanging out.
2). Make a schedule and make it a priority.
Find something to post every day and stick to it. Maybe you already post the recommended 3-4 times a day? Great! For some of my clients, that is easy. For others, they simply do not have that much to say right away. When trying to build a brand, make sure you post at least once a day when you are starting and stay on a schedule.
TIP: Batch your efforts! Post for the week by scheduling ahead with the Scheduled Posts feature right on Facebook. It’s so easy and efficient for me. I sit down two times a month and search for things to share with my clients. I also use the “Save” feature in Facebook as I’m personally scrolling. When I go to schedule, I pull these up and schedule them out in just minutes. Facebook won’t let you schedule a share, so that is what I do to batch posts on a schedule.
3). Make it fun.
Social Media needs to be social for results. This doesn’t mean that we post pics of what we sell, what we offer and things we have to promote day after day, and that’s it. Your audience will probably be bored stiff! And unfollow you quickly. Schedule some fun things, maybe recipes, jokes, funny videos that have some relation to your brand and your clients might stop to watch. Try polls and ask questions! Another tip is to offer 2 different pics with your product in different settings and ask which one they like better. This will keep people engaged with your page and the Facebook really like that! It will help long term.
Think of this marketing rule like the opposite of a mullet:
Business in the Back – Party in the front!
This means, running social media for a business is a lot of work. But worth it.
The Mullet Rule of Social Media
TIP: If you sell signs, post pics of your signs in a real home setting instead of simply posting the product. You can even tag the product on this post.
Make sure your posts are things that are in your brand. Not sure what your brand is? Try my Marketing Workshop where we walk you through figure out your brand and marketing it online.
4). Social Media isn’t really free.
Sure, it’s free to open social media accounts, but it takes time to maintain one for a business. It can often be a part-time job for most brands/businesses especially is you want your audience to engage with you online. (When they like or comment on your posts that is great, but in the end, you want them to click your offers; Share your products and bring them to your website for a sale.) This is when social media isn’t free to get results — it takes time and great eye-catching graphics.
Social Media is free, but Social Media isn’t free to maintain when promoting your business.
Feeling overwhelmed with your social media?
These real-life tips get you started online, but that’s not the whole story. Humans are visual. We do indeed judge a book by its cover. That’s why graphic designers have a job! Ha. I can help with your social media management. Send me a list of your monthly events, product specials or features so we can talk about what to do next. I can create fun graphics that will draw your clients in, or try my workshop to show you how to do this yourself.
Friendly Regards,
~Chelly
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