It’s 2019 and social media is EVERYTHING.
Social is great for building and nurturing relationships with your audience and potential leads. It’s also a perfect way to ramp up brand recognition (we’re looking at you, Wendy’s).
Right now, the world is packed full of 3.48 billion social media users. That’s a HUGE number, and sometimes it just feels like you’re jumping up and down and shouting into the void to get attention.
Our recommendation is to stop wasting energy (unless you need to get your cardio in. Then keep jumping) and start following our tips to make your social marketing visible and cool (because we’re cool).
Make Your Profile Better
If you want social media to provide great ROI for the long-term, you need to have the basics down, and that goes back to your profile.
Here’s a quick list of best practices that can apply to profiles on all platforms. Just remember that each platform has its own special rules, too.
- Include your full name or business name on your profile, not just in your profile picture. If it doesn’t load, how are they going to know who you are?
- Make sure your username is either your full name or relevant to the brand. No more of this gothicbyrd1618 nonsense, okay? (Believe it or not, that was actually one of our team member’s old screen names. Ew.)
- Make your picture relevant to you or the brand. We don’t want to see those mirror selfies, okay? Unless you’re selling mirrors. Then maybe.
- Cut down on your bio. You want it to include keywords but still be easy to read at a glance.
- Include a link in your bio. It’s way easier to get people to visit you if you tell them where to go (duh).
Don’t Smack Them Over the Head
You want people to see your profile and you want your posts to build credibility with your audience. What you DON’T want is to flood their feed with your content.
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as posting too often. In 2019, nobody wants to see multiple posts from your brand on Instagram daily. But if you’re only posting once per week, you run the risk of disappearing. Use these guidelines as a general rule of thumb:
- Post on Twitter 3-15 times per day
- Post on Facebook once per day
- Post on Instagram 1-2 times per day (Insta Stories are different)
- Post on LinkedIn once per weekday
Obviously, these numbers change depending on your industry and your audience. When in doubt, try adding more or cutting back. Social media, for the most part, is all about trial and error. Find out what works by experimenting.
Get to Know ‘Em
Never underestimate your audience. They can spot a fake from a million miles away. And when that happens on social media, everybody hears about it.
Here at 8THIRTYFOUR, we pride ourselves on realness. Sometimes, people might say we’re even a little too real. But our audience seems to genuinely appreciate it, and we encourage all of you to be yourselves, too.
That’s a social media lesson and a life lesson, too. You’re welcome.
So how do you get to know your audience? Outside of spamming their DMs (don’t do this – we’re looking at you Carl), the easiest way is through analytics. Make sure you’re using social media listening tools and analytics to learn what your audience loves and hates. That second one is normally easier to figure out.
Keep Up
Technology is evolving quickly, and social media algorithms and trends change on a daily basis. Try subscribing to industry blogs or following different agencies on Twitter who seem to be up to date on this kind of thing. (We know a good one, if you need any recommendations. Here’s a hint: it’s us).
Social media doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Let us help you get started. Contact us today to talk all things social.
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