by Kizzie Nicholson – Social Fireworks https://www.socialfireworks.co.uk/
For small-medium businesses, getting onto social media for the first time can be daunting. For those who know what it can do and want to get onto social media, here is some top tips to consider to lessen the feeling of daunt! From my years of experience as a social media specialist, this is for you:
- Be realistic– In the social domain, people will say positive, negative and neutral things. This is the beauty of social media; it is diverse and unpredictable. It is a world full of opportunities. Be prepared, plan and consider the ways your customers will react.
- Be Responsible– It must be common knowledge who is responsible for posting at specific times. Social media isn’t Mon-Fri 9-5. Agree on responsibilities in and out of standard working hours – this goes for bank holidays too!
- Have the Logins– Make sure your team or key people in the business know what the logins are, or where to find them. Simple, yet I’ve seen it overlooked. The day the social media manager is on holiday with no WiFi and the junior is out sick, is the day your social media activity could be heating up…!
- Know Your Audience– Do you know your customers’ online behaviour already? Do research into where they may be visiting when they are online or any forums they might be posting in to uncover what they are saying.
- Check Your Competitors– Be aware of competitor’s presence on social media. Have a peek at what they have been saying and what their customers are saying. They will do the same to you!
- Strategy & Planning– Plan what you are going to say! Plan your content (posts, imagery, videos etc) so it is in-line with marketing and business objectives. Consider short and long-term goals. Fit it in with contextual dates if it suits your business too.
- Post Everyday– Keep active with your posts and engagement with customers. You need fresh daily content to make impact.
- Get Mobile– There are some apps that can help you manage single social media activity better. For Facebook there is Facebook Pages Manager, and for Twitter there is Buffer & Plume.
- Consider Management Tools– If you have a budget, consider a management tool. You can see what all your customers are saying on every social media platform on one screen. Easy.
- Content– Last but not at all least! In fact, I’ll write a whole blog on this soon but for now, make your content engaging. Social is about sharing so ask yourself, would someone share what you have to say?
When it comes to writing content, sharing updates and offering giveaways on social media, simplicity is key.
As consumers “consume more” and scroll faster, it is important to stand out, get to the point and ensure you are giving your target consumers what they want.
One of the ways you can do this is to get to the point. You have on average 2 seconds to grab attention. Your status updates better impress.
Here’s an example…
Ever had a conversation with someone where they waffle on… and on… and on to the point where are you are switching off? You start thinking about what time the football is on, what time dinner is, should you pop into Tesco after work. Just like what I’m doing now by dragging this out. You must, get to the point.
It is easy to forget this when sharing a status on Facebook, communicating an update on LinkedIn or Instagram. The best platform for this discipline; Twitter. You’ve got 140 characters to contend with. Your tweets have to get to the point, and the heart of your consumer’s needs to succeed.
It is vital to get to the core of your consumer’s needs on social media. A status should give them enough to stop scrolling, with a link to a blog/ video/ website to then take them where they need to find out more.
On YouTube, a 2.30min ClearBlue advert keeps appearing for me (Typical I’m of that demographic!). Completely unwanted content when trying to watch videos with friends – inevitably it gets ignored and talking continues. ClearBlue had about 10seconds to grab attention. Unfortunately, they waffle on and don’t get to the point until the end. You HAVE to get to the point… and quickly.
Do consider getting to the point as you plan your content this week.