Social media has long been a powerful tool for promoting your business, and that’s not changing as TikTok continues to cement itself as a prominent platform for sales and brand awareness.
Yet still there are so many businesses who don’t fully utilise social media and could be doing more. There are thousands of tips out there from professionals in the space, with companies like CEEK using a variety of tactics to reach the right audiences with the right message.
However, if you’re looking to go it alone and manage your business’ social channels, here are five must-dos when it comes to that…
Define Your Audience & Objectives
Before you dive into creating your content, the first port of call is to understand who your audience is and what the objectives of using social media is.
For example, are you looking to generate leads, increase website traffic, perhaps it’s a brand building exercise? Once you’ve established this, you can tailor your content to match those goals, considering your audience’s interests, pain points and general demographic.
Consistent Branding and Tone
One of the big things you need to do is be consistent in your brand voice. This needs to be representative of your brand and be consistent across the logos and imagery you use.
The tone is so important as it should be consistent across your business, including things like your website, brochures and any other marketing collateral. Think about your position on this and how it suits your business. Do you need to be formal? Should your tone be slightly whimsical?
Either way, maintaining that consistent tone builds familiarity and trust among your audience.
Engaging Content Mix
When it comes to the content you’re creating, developing a mix of content can aid in keeping your audience engaged.
Of course, it depends on the type of business you are on what you post but a blend of informative posts, visuals, user-generated content, behind the scenes glimpses and interactive posts can all add value.
Answer the common questions the audience may have about your business or industry, showcase your expertise and create valuable content that is a useful resource as well as encouraging interaction.
Build Your Community
What many businesses fail with is understanding that social media is far more than just broadcasting your voice, it’s about being part of an active community.
Actively engaging with your audience is key and if you are unable to manage that, then social media may not be the best option for you at this stage.
Respond promptly to comments, messages and mentions, acknowledge feedback, both positive and negative and do what you can to be helpful.
Alongside this, you can look to initiate conversations online too by creating posts that ask questions or being clever with hashtags that are specific to you or your audience’s interests. By building a loyal community, it secures your authority in the space as well as helping you build a stronger community online.
Analyse and Optimise
Finally, one thing businesses forget to do is analyse the performance of their social media posts. There are many analytics tools on the market, while social sites also have their own business analytics platforms which allow you to monitor metrics such as reach, engagement, conversions and more.
You can then use these insights to hone your social media strategy, focusing more on the style of posts that work, as well as looking to improve response times and so on.
By continually taking stock of your social media output, you can really help in driving results and ensuring your social strategy is on the right pathway.
