Social media has become a valuable channel for businesses to reach customers, create brand awareness, and grow their leads and sales. However, many businesses struggle to see the value in hiring a social media manager, or there isn’t room in their budget to afford one at this stage in their business.
If you are considering taking on the duties of social media management on top of running your business, here are three tips to help you get going.
Tip #1: MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME – You’ve probably heard how important social media has become for businesses to reach their customers and grow. Whether you are trying to get your name out there, generate more leads, or get more sales. There’s no denying that social media has a role in achieving your business objectives. Business owners can no longer sit on the sidelines. Your customers are on social media and they are following businesses and making purchases.
If you are going to take on managing your business’ social media on your own, this is not the time to jump on all social media platforms. There are many platforms out there and they each function somewhat differently. You already have your hands full running your business. Each social media platform has a learning curve. Attempting to manage too many platforms could cause you to delay getting started because you are spending too much time trying to figure them out. Keep it simple. Start by selecting two platforms. You want to maximize the limited time you have available to dedicate to managing your social media on top of everything else.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE PLATFORMS TO FOCUS ON?
Start with the platforms you like and enjoy using. Remember, you want to maximize your time and get max efficacy. By social media platforms that you already use and feel comfortable with, you eliminate or reduce any stress or anxiety you might have about taking on this extra workload, plus, there won’t be much of a learning curve. Don’t overwhelm yourself thinking you need to be on every social media platform.
Another approach to selecting which social media platforms you should choose is to research which platforms are best for your type of business and your goals. The last thing you want to do is put in the time and effort on a platform, only to find out it doesn’t work for your business objectives. You also need to research where your customers and clients are hanging out. What do they use those platforms for? Are they taking actions that would be helpful to your business?
Tip #2: BE CONSISTENT – Consistency is key. The algorithms are working constantly to serve content that users will respond to. As a result, some posts can get buried in our social media feeds. It’s not enough to post once in a while, once every month, or even once a week. To get traction, you should aim to post something every day. Depending on the platform you choose, you might need to post multiple times per day due to posts getting buried in the user’s feed. You also don’t want to post just anything on your business account, your posts should add value. Whether it’s information about your business, product, or service, something relevant about your industry, something that evokes a certain emotion. This takes practice and usually involves more strategic thinking, but you can get the hang of it.
Tip #3: BE SOCIAL – This goes without saying, but so many businesses forget this very important step in the process. They post on their account and do nothing else. It’s called social media for a reason. Comments and Likes help the algorithm to show your posts to more people because it determines that people find it engaging. You have to engage with your audience. At a minimum, you should be liking and replying to comments on your posts. If someone liked one of your posts, you can also comment and tag them in the comment thanking them for finding it valuable. Ask them what they found most helpful, etc.
Bonus Tip: Look into collaborations with other businesses or influencers. This is a great way to increase your visibility.
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