Every company needs to have a social media presence regardless if you are a B2B or B2C company. In fact, according to Forbes there are over 50 million business pages active on Facebook right now. That’s a pretty big number, right? It’s also a strong indicator demonstrating how important it is for your company to have (and utilize) social media accounts.
Let’s think about it from this perspective: you’re trying to decide where to go out to dinner with friends and everyone gives their recommendation. How do you decided? You take to social media and look at the restaurants Facebook, Twitter & Instagram pages to see which food looks the yummiest. We’re not alone, according to Zizzi, 30% of individuals would avoid a restaurant is their social media presence is weak.
Now, we understand that starting and maintaining social media marketing can be overwhelming (that’s what we’re here for) but we thought we’d give a few basics so you can get your business strategy up and running.
Set Up Business Accounts
There’s a reason why business accounts exist. Under no circumstance should people have to “friend” your business instead, they should like your page. The same goes for LinkedIn, creating a company page creates a much better user experience for your clients to keep up with you without having to send an invitation to request. Business accounts make it easy to add your company’s hours, services and so much more helpful info. Most importantly, creating a business account on all platforms allows you to see insights and analytics to monitor the performance of the account and specific posts, allowing you to optimize as you go.
Use Hashtags (when applicable)
I’m going to keep this as simple as possible and tell you exactly which platforms need hashtags:
· Facebook – no
· Twitter – yes
· Instagram – yes
· Pinterest – yes
· LinkedIn – yes
When it comes to hashtags there’s a million different studies that will tell you a million different “magic numbers” for the number of hashtags you should use. Truth be told, there is no magic number but we’d recommend going on a site like hashtagify.com and finding popular, relevant hashtags for your business and using those in your posts. Don’t use popular hashtags just to gain traction – it won’t make a different in the long run.
Don’t Link Accounts
Just because there’s an easy-option to do something, doesn’t mean it’s the correct option. This is true of linking your company’s social media accounts. Each platform has their own best practice for how to post and they’re all very different. For example, seeing a plethora of hashtags in a post on Facebook is something that will make your company stand out – and not in a good way. They are not helpful on Facebook because no one is searching for them there, therefore it’s not necessary to use them. However, they are powerful on other platforms! Plus, you want people to follow you on as many platforms as you’re on, so posting the same content at the same time across the board may not be the best strategy.
Post Enough, but Not Too Much
Again, there’s no magic formula for how many posts a week your business should be posting but we’d recommend 3-5 times a week on Facebook and daily on Instagram and Twitter. You want people to keep your company top-of-mind but don’t want to drive them away by being in their face all the time. Make sure your messaging and content are relevant and helpful.
Post Content People Want to See
This seems simple and for the most part it really is. People love to see people so show off your team and add that human element to your posting. People also love to see food, dogs, babies… you know everything that makes people smile. Remember, social media is supposed to be social. So yes, it is important that your posts are on-brand and coincide with your company’s values and goals but it’s okay to have a little fun as well. Make sure your messaging and content are relevant and helpful.
Always Incorporate Imagery
It’s the norm for every post to have accompanying imagery. Studies show posts with pictures get 650% more engagement. Use social media to show case your work! If you’re a salon, use images that show the newest hair style. If you’re a restaurant, show the specials you’re having that night. Try to entice your followers and turn them into loyal clients!
So, there you have it, the basic guidelines to using social media as a part of your company’s marketing strategy. If even this guide is overwhelming to you, we should talk. Contact us today for a free social media consultation!
