A Quick and Easy-to-Implement Social Media Strategy for Busy Companies
For many small businesses, social media is a shared responsibility. Members of the team share content related to their particular field and showcase the company’s collective expertise. While this is a great way to divide the work and showcase the many facets of a company, it is often the easiest item to move down employee’s ever-growing to-do lists. Below are a few tips to help streamline the process and ensure you stay on track.
Use the Scheduling Tools Made Available to You
There’s nothing out there that says you have to sit down at your desk every day and post – schedule, schedule, schedule! Choose regular intervals to batch content and create schedules. I try not to schedule too far in advance in an effort to stay relevant. For example, if you schedule a post for an event four months from now and next month the event is cancelled, but you forget you scheduled a post – oops – that promotion is now out there and you may not even realize it! On Facebook, when you create a post, simply hit the triangle next to “Publish” and choose “Schedule.” If you’re an avid Twitter user, try out TweetDeck. Feel free to also check out scheduling software if you think it’s useful for you!
Don’t Overdo It – Pick Relevant Platforms
Digital marketing is up and coming; you have to be on social media! While both of these statements are true, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself right out of the gate! There are plenty of resources out there to help you choose one, maybe two, platforms that will work best for you. Take a look at your target audience and go from there! For example, LinkedIn swings more professional and business forward, where Snapchat has a younger audience, teens and young adults. Being able to focus on just a couple of platforms allows you to dedicate more quality time where your customers actually are.
Create a Calendar
I keep a monthly calendar for all of our clients – it keeps me on track and helps me remember important dates. I put everything from holidays (normal and strange!) to events to work anniversaries and birthdays on each calendar. You can also plan what kind of content you want on each day to avoid posting five articles or ten quotes in a row. Keep your content fresh! If you can do the upfront work when you have a little extra time, you will thank yourself later down the road when you have no ideas and… “Hey look, it’s John’s birthday!”
Create Templates
Branding is another key component when posting to your social media. People want to see that you’re making an effort and not just sharing everything you see. So, create templates in whatever graphic software you use (I’m biased toward Adobe Creative Suite). Common templates include holidays, quotes, events, announcements, etc. When you see you have a holiday coming up, all you have to do is open your template replace Happy Halloween with Happy Thanksgiving, and you’re ready to post! Add elements into your template to make it relevant to whatever your posting about, but be sure to stick to your brand guidelines.
Save What You Like
Keep a folder on your desktop or notes in your phone – whichever works best for you – and store interesting articles, quotes, ideas, etc. When you’re in a pinch for content, check in your “Ideas for Social” file, and share away!
Post on the Fly – Your Cell Phone is Powerful!
Every social media platform has an app – utilize it! If you’re out and about, snap a photo, and post! Your fans want to get the “Behind the Scenes Scoop,” so share a photo of your next speaking engagement, if you’ve setup a booth at an expo, or you toured a really cool new facility. You don’t always need to be at your desk to post, you can even post from your phone while waiting in line for coffee!
Social media is about brand awareness – being where your current and potential clients are when they need you. It’s also provides an opportunity to stay on top of customer concerns and comments. Conversations on your social media platforms are public, so this can be an excellent way for potential clients to research your company and see how current clients interact with your brand. This also allows you to respond in real-time to negative comments in a polite and problem-solving way.
I believe content is more powerful than what time and how often you post, so always keep your content fresh and fun. If you are looking for a partner to help you with social media strategy and implementation, contact us and let’s work through it together!
