Social media can be a powerful tool for businesses and nonprofits. However, it’s much more than creating a profile and sharing sporadic posts. To maximize social media’s potential for your brand, start with these simple tips to grow your presence and prospect engagement.
Review your social media profiles regularly
Whether your profiles are new or established, you should regularly review them for accurate and consistent information. If you capture a prospect’s attention with your content and inspire them to take action, a worst-case scenario is for them to call an outdated number or visit a broken webpage link. You should also ensure you’re utilizing “business” profiles for a more professional appearance and additional analytics insights than personal profiles provide.
Consider which platforms your target audience uses
New social platforms continue to emerge, adding to the already-crowded competition for shoppers’ attention. If your brand has limited resources to put towards social media, start by focusing on just a few networks that you can actively manage well.
However, don’t write off new networks altogether. What’s emerging today may be the go-to platform for your audience surprisingly soon. When you consider joining a new network, research if it’s where your target audiences are spending their time. If so, perhaps it’s time to claim that page and handle.
Ask for the follow
Are your employees and board members following your channels? Start with this low-hanging fruit, and remind those groups of your profiles in your next meeting or email. Conversations with customers are another great opportunity to ask for a follow. Also consider including your profiles on your print and digital materials (such as your email signature) to make it as easy as possible to connect with you.
Engage with existing followers
If your profiles are established, you’ve likely grown an engaged follower base. However, don’t take those followers for granted while trying to attract new ones. If users are commenting on your posts or tagging your profile in their content, “like” those posts and comment back. With their permission, consider recognizing them by sharing their content on your profiles. Just like the adage of it being easiest to maintain an existing customer, the same applies to loyal social media followers.
Develop a content plan and media library
While many great social posts are spontaneous opportunities, you should have a plan behind the overall content you share. Start by developing a baseline posting frequency that’s manageable for you, whether it’s once a week or twice a month. Let that great unplanned photo be the icing on the cake of an intentional content plan.
Try mapping out a posting plan for the next few weeks or months, taking advantage of special days such as the first day of a new season or an employee’s work anniversary. You should also develop a library of images/videos you can fall back on if you need additional content.
Follow an 80/20 content mix rule
Let’s face it – people don’t enjoy being sold to. How often do you unsubscribe to an email or unfollow a social profile that only pushes their products or services? The key to maintaining your followers is providing them with content they want to engage with.
Many brands follow an 80/20 rule of 80% of their content being educational and/or entertaining with only 20% being an “ask.” Some organizations take that even further to, say a 90-10 policy. Focus on developing rapport with your followers so when you do ask for a purchase or other call to action, they are listening.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are still commonplace and offer a way to explore a larger group of content. Users can search and follow hashtags to discover content from profiles they might not follow or otherwise encounter.
Use relevant hashtags to increase your exposure to new potential followers. Even consider starting a branded hashtag with your organization’s name or tagline; just research to ensure your branded hashtag isn’t already being utilized by another entity.
Utilize free resources
Tackling these steps can seem challenging. Luckily, there are great resources to make planning and posting content easy.
- Canva has become the go-to design tool for brands of all sizes. The website provides customizable templates for marketing materials of all types, including pre-sized social media graphics. Canva offers a free plan adequate for handling most needs; however, most of our clients find their premium plans are well worth the affordable investment.
- If you lack enough original photos, many websites provide quality royalty-free images. In addition to Canva, our favorites include Pexels and Unsplash.
- When organizing your content plan, Google Drive’s tools offer free documents and spreadsheets for planning and collaborating with team members.
- Once you’re ready to post, social management tools like Buffer or Later* are great for posting to multiple platforms simultaneously from one dashboard and scheduling your posts in advance.
Summary
Social media is an impactful way to introduce your brand to prospects and stay top-of-mind with your established customers. However, like any marketing channel, it does require consistent attention and effort. Begin following these simple steps today to gain a handle on your social presence and maximize it for the benefit of your business.
