Top 10 Social Media Management Tips
Almost every business out there has jumped on the social media band wagon, and we often get asked by business owners “what are the top social media management for small businesses” that they can implement themselves to take their social presence to the next level. We’ve already discussed what you’re doing wrong with your social media but let’s give you some tips on how to improve your engagement on your social media accounts.
This is general advice and should work across all platforms.
Why is social media important for your business?
It sounds simple right? Post a picture of your business, write in the address and opening hours and press share. Easy, huh! Well…that’s not exactly how it works.
If you are like the many of us out there, that have no idea where to begin- then sit back, relax and keep reading.
Social Media has become one of the top players in the game in terms of helping promote your business, connect with your audience, and increase business profits.
First off; what is the difference between Organic vs. Paid social media?
Organic social media is any content that is posted and not paid for. Organic can assist in building your brand and engaging with your current followers without a cost attached. This is important because it’s not only free, but it also allows you the opportunity to work on your content and discover what works best to convert.
Paid social media is any social media content that is paid for to connect with non-followers in hopes of capturing a broader audience. Paid has become necessary in terms of capturing your target audience. The current algorithms put in place on Facebook and Instagram-make it impossible for organic posts to reach new viewers. When using paid social media, you should always make sure you are targeting the correct audience and ensure that your CTA (call to action) is clear.
A successful social media strategy plan should include a combination of both organic and paid social media.
Our Top Social Media Management Tips for Small Business
It’s all in the handle
An Instagram handle is the same thing as a brand name, it is important that your business handle aligns perfectly with the name of your actual business and any other business profiles. Choose a handle that is recognizable and if possible, expresses what you do.
Make sure your bio says it all
This is often your audience’s first impression of your brand that will stick with them. Does your bio properly explain who you are and what you do? Is it confusing?
Tell people exactly what you do and try to use as few words as possible. Make it more visually appealing by inserting emojis, if they’re appropriate, and try to include your top accomplishments with a link to your website.
The data tracking available on your own website through platforms such as Google Analytics, significantly outperform the information the social media companies decide to make available to you.
Know your target demographic! Who are you talking to?
Who is your target audience? Make sure that you have figured out exactly what the age, locations, characteristics, and interests are of the person you are looking to target. Having a ton of followers is great but are they creating conversions for your business?
Followers are nice, customers are better.
Everybody needs an achievable goal
Have you set your content goals yet? What would you like to see your social media looking like in a year? Having a set goal in mind will help you plan out the type of content to create brand awareness, increase community engagement, and develop steady web traffic.
Get on a posting schedule
Scheduling a social media post is EVERYTHING! It gives you a clear overview of what your content will look like for your followers, but most importantly you’ll save yourself so many headaches.
Thankfully there are social media posting tools for this!
Why should you use a social media posting tool?
These tools can enable you to develop the right content, decide the best time to schedule, publish and create. They also provide content calendars, and help you stay organized.
We recommend scheduling out your social media posts at least 2 weeks in advance, which means you need to start creating content about 3-4 weeks in advance. Without a proper scheduling tool this just becomes super stressful.
Now which one do you choose?
I have listed some of our top favourites here:
SEMRush, Hootsuite, & Buffer.
Here are 3am Ideas we use SEMRush because it is a total powerhouse on top of the social media scheduling! It will help you create, share, and curate your most engaging content and compare your performance to that of your competitors
It also has tremendous insights for your SEO so it covers a lot of bases for us.
You can give SEMRush a try with a free 7-Day Trial here on us.
How often should you post?
You should be posting around 2-3x a week depending on what type of business you have. Get on a steady posting schedule and stick to it.
Once you grow a solid group of followers they will start to look for your content. It will become part of their schedule and you will be able to track which posts perform the best.
The Secret to Great Content
Your content should be entertaining, engaging and something that is shareable. Create videos, feature content produced by your audience tagging your business, share relevant business news and hot topics that will boost your traffic.
Something that is working really well for some of our clients is user generated content, particularly in the eCommerce space or hospitality. Get users submitting videos or pictures of them interacting with your products, food, or drinks.
You should always be asking yourself: Would my target demo find this information useful and engaging?
You should be using hashtags on every post
Hashtags are our friend! Hashtags are an easy way to gain more followers and help your target audience find you. You can use up to 30 hashtags on a post; but stick with the ones, which work best for your brand. Remember more isn’t always better!
Have a look at what your competitors are using and experiment with mixing those around to see what works best for you.
Don’t be afraid to keep an Excel spreadsheet with some of the hashtag combinations you’re using. It makes it easier for you when you sit down to schedule your posts.
Yes-stories are important!
Stories are like the supporting actor or actress in a movie. Without them there is just something missing. These cool videos or snap shots are available for 24 hours on your newsfeed before they disappear. You can even archive them in your Instagram highlights section for later viewing. Have some fun with them and don’t forget to tag accordingly.
Stories really help with follower retention and engaging your followers once you’ve
Change it up
Consistency is key; but it is also nice give your audience a broader view into your business. Try posting a reel every 6th post to interrupt your regular image posts. Reels are short film clips that can be used to engage with your audience using music, special effects, and sound clips.
There you have it! Hopefully these simple tips and tricks will get you started on your social media journey; but never fear-we are always here to help!
Have fun and start getting social!
3am Ideas Social Media Management Services
As you get stuck into your social media, you might find that consistently creating posts and content can become tiring.
If you’re happy to continue doing the hard work yourself, we commend you, but smart business owners know when to outsource tedious tasks to get the best outcome.
That’s where we come in! View our social media management packages here.
About the Author - 3am Ideas
3am Ideas is digital marketing agency focussing on providing data-driven services that get measurable and trackable results.
Based in Perth, Western Australia, we've been looking after small and medium-sized businesses since 2014, having worked with clients all over the country.
Our aim is to adopt the role of Virtual Marketing Officer for you, becoming part of your team, sharing in the successes, the blood, sweat and tears.
We're here for you. Let's get the job done!
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