7 Social Media Basics You Don’t Want to Overlook
I don’t know about you, but checklists help keep me on point. And, often when I find things aren’t jiving well or aligning with a goal .. I strip things back. I go back to these social media basics because it’s in the basics and in the foundation where success is born.
Whether your goal is brand awareness, customer care, social selling or anything else in between you will find these 7 components SUPER powerful.
7 Social Media Basics You Don’t Want to Overlook
Quickly, just before I dive in I can’t stress this enough — complete a customer avatar. In my own humble opinion, I wish I was taught about the importance of a customer avatar before anything else. When you know who you are speaking to you can direct your content there and it will almost always, convert the way you’d like it to.
Why? Because your audience is feeling like you’re speaking directly to them.
Let’s go.
Choose your Channel(s)
My suggestion is always start with the channels you’re most familiar with or comfortable on. Facebook is always a great starting ground for those just getting started. From there, figure out if being on other platforms will be beneficial to your business. (this is why your customer avatar is super important)
I mean, why hang out on Twitter or Instagram if your ideal customers aren’t there?
Where do you feel your customers spend the most time?
Display a Completed Profile
I cannot tell you how common an incomplete profile is. Please, ensure that the sections available to be filled out — are. Remember, there are more watchers on your profile than you might realize and they are forever checking you out.
Take the time to fill out each of the sections for your profile(s). Do your best to avoid leaving empty areas. Use your profile to showcase a bit of your personality, your values and things that are important to you.
Think about it like this; a lot of times people will check you out on social media long before they’ll reach out to you, give them something worthwhile to checkout.
Follow Others in your Space
Following others shows that you’re an active participant in the social media space versus a profile that’s just blasting its own content. Whether it’s competitors, fellow industry leaders or even prospects, make a point to follow fresh profiles to see how others operate on social media.
Most networks offer up some sort of follower suggestions to get you started — do that. And if you find after a while they’re not your ideal ‘follow’, then just unfollow. This is a great habit to get into as it keeps your timeline with fresh faces.
Create a Content Strategy
Now that your profiles are set up, you’re going to need to decide what you’re going to post on a consistent basis. Developing a content strategy might seem like a lot of work, but it all really boils down to your goals.
- Looking to educate your audience? Publish content, news and opinions relevant to your niche.
- Focused on customer care? Tips, shout-outs and overdelivering in the value departments is always a good idea. (I have some great blogs on this topic you may want to check out!)
Create a Content Calendar
As mentioned above in the social media basics you don’t want to overlook …. For the sake of saving time, knowing in advance what you’re going to post and when you’re going to post is in a great idea. This also keeps you from posting the same pieces of content again and again.
If you are already working from a content calendar, do you prefer weekly, monthly or even yearly ones?
Engagement is Key
Don’t forget: social media isn’t all about you.
Getting noticed on social media means being an active participant. Interacting with your audience allows you to show off your personality and likewise introduce your brand to new followers.
Make a point to interact with at least a few new and existing profiles per day. Focusing on relationships and engagement via social only takes a few seconds and can score you major brownie points.
Promote your Social Media Platforms
Let’s say you have all of your social profiles locked and loaded.
Great! Now, how do you expect people to find you?
Don’t make the mistake of confining your social presence solely to social media. Some additional places and you can share your profiles include:
- Your email newsletter, footers and signatures
- Your site headers and footers
- Cross-promotion between social sites (think: promoting your YouTube channel on Facebook)
Overall, stripping things back to the social media basis is always a good idea. It’s often in these small steps where the large wins are found. What is one of your most common go-to’s when it comes to the basics?
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