But success on social media isn’t about posting randomly and hoping for the best. It’s about strategy, consistency, and understanding how each platform connects with your audience.

At Blue Shift Web Services, we help businesses build effective, authentic social media strategies that support real growth. Here’s what goes into smart social media management—and why it matters.

What Is Social Media Management?

Social media management is the process of creating, scheduling, analyzing, and engaging with content posted on social platforms. But more than that, it’s about maintaining a brand voice, building relationships, and growing a loyal audience.

It includes:

• Content creation and planning

• Captions, hashtags, and tone development

• Audience engagement and customer service

• Analytics tracking and performance review

• Campaign planning and coordination with other marketing efforts

In short: It’s part creative, part strategic, and 100% connected to how people perceive your business.

Why Social Media Is Worth Your Time

1. It Builds Brand Awareness

Your target audience is already on social media. Regular, relevant posts help you stay top of mind and give people a reason to check out your website, services, or products.

2. It Builds Trust

A well-managed social feed tells people:

• You’re active and responsive

• You know your audience

• You care about customer connection

Social proof—likes, comments, shares, and reviews—goes a long way in building credibility.

3. It Supports Other Marketing Channels

Social media strengthens everything else you’re doing:

• Promoting blog content or new web pages

• Announcing product launches or sales

• Driving traffic to paid ad campaigns or email lists

• Engaging with SEO keywords and trends in real time

It’s a flexible tool that plays well with your wider marketing strategy.

Key Elements of an Effective Social Media Strategy

1. Content That Connects

Every platform has its own vibe and audience expectations. What works on LinkedIn may not work on Instagram. Tailor your content by platform, and focus on value, not just promotion.

Content types that perform well:

• Behind-the-scenes or team updates

• Educational tips or industry insights

• User-generated content and testimonials

• Promotions, giveaways, and limited-time offers

• Short-form video, especially Reels and Stories

2. Consistency Over Quantity

You don’t need to post daily—but you do need a consistent rhythm. A social media calendar can help you plan ahead, balance different content types, and avoid last-minute scrambling.

Pro tip: Tools like Buffer, Later, or Meta Business Suite can help you schedule content and monitor performance.

3. Community Engagement

It’s called “social” for a reason. Responding to comments, DMs, and mentions is just as important as posting. This is where relationships are built—and where brands stand out.

Engagement helps:

• Improve visibility in algorithms

• Build customer loyalty

• Turn followers into advocates

4. Performance Tracking

If you’re not measuring results, you can’t improve them. Key metrics to watch:

• Reach and impressions

• Engagement rate (likes, shares, comments)

• Click-throughs and traffic to your site

• Follower growth over time

• Conversion rates on promoted content

These insights help you refine your approach and create content that works.

Social Media and Your Website: A Two-Way Street

A strong social presence doesn’t stand alone—it drives people to your website, where conversions happen. Likewise, your website should point visitors back to your socials, building a full-circle connection.

Want to know why your website still matters more than ever? Check out our post on Why Web Design is the Central Hub of Your Online Presence.

Final Thoughts: It’s Not About Going Viral

It’s easy to get caught up in trends, but the goal of social media for most businesses isn’t to go viral—it’s to show up, build trust, and keep growing. With a strategy in place, your social media can become a powerful extension of your brand, and a steady source of traffic and leads.

At Blue Shift Web Services, we help businesses create social strategies that are clear, effective, and aligned with their goals—whether you’re just getting started or want to level up your existing presence.

Let’s make social media work for you.

The post Why Social Media Management Matters (And How to Do It Right) appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

According to Business Insider, around 76 million US shoppers will spend more than $20 billion on shopping through social networks by the end of 2020. The figure is a 20% increase from the previous year and it is expected to multiply for the following years.

Pandemic and the changing geopolitical situation has changed online businesses tremendously. Social media marketing strategies have evolved as well. The following are the predicted top trends for social media marketing in 2021.

1. Customer Reviews and Conversational Marketing

With the rise of fake news and reviews, winning the trust of online customers is going to be even more difficult. According to a survey, 75% of people do not trust online advertisements. Similarly, 60% of social media users read customer reviews before making a purchase decision. In 2021, it is even more important for businesses to establish their authenticity through positive customer reviews on their social media channels. 

Similarly, it is important for businesses to interact with their customers and provide solutions to their problems. Conversational marketing will be gaining a lot of popularity. Instead of merely posting an advertisement, the businesses are supposed to interact with their customers and engage them in an ongoing conversation about their products or services. This meaningful conversation will ultimately lead to a purchase decision.

2. Popularity of Video Content

During the Pandemic, the popularity of video content has increased. Facebook reports a 50% increase in the watch time of live videos this year. The popularity of Tik Tok has also increased the trend of video content promotion. Similarly, as far as marketing on Instagram is concerned, short videos are gaining popularity. It has been reported that the reach for Instagram Stories and Feed Posts are dropping but the reels are getting a lot of attention from the viewers. All these facts point out that in 2021, video content is going to be even more important for promoting sales.

3. Integration of Online Shopping on Social Media

With the popularity of e-commerce, brands are embracing social media for promoting sales. Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook are already integrating in-app purchasing. These changes require businesses to review their social media marketing strategies. They should determine the precise needs of their customers from an online offering. According to their customers’ needs, they should sell products through these social media channels.

4. Brands Must Humanize

In 2021, businesses need to be more authentic, transparent, and human in their representation of content on social media. Their content should reveal what they stand for and what their core values are. Such representation will enable businesses to stand out in the crowd.

Likewise, personality centric content will stand out on social media networks like Youtube. Posting generic content on social media will not interest or engage your potential customers. Rather, your personality, and the way you interact, your core values and beliefs, will differentiate you from the crowd.

Key Takeaway

In 2021, businesses need to adapt and be creative to engage the socially conscious audience. To maintain an effective social media presence, they should be creative and focus on user experience. They also need to realize that customer reviews, and meaningful interaction is very important for conversions. Using a variety of content will drive more sales. Furthermore, brands must humanize and stand out through personality-centric content.

The post Social Media Marketing Trends for 2021 appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Every business can benefit from organic posting to social media. There are boosts for search engine optimizations, the ability to share information with your followers, and to build brand awareness. Each post should link back to your website in order to take full advantage of the SEO and social signals. You should also use hashtags in order for people searching for similar posts can potentially find yours too. This brand awareness can also encourage people to recommend your business without even being a customer yourself. Having these advocates is a great way to build trust for your business as well. Posting however requires you to be consistent and frequent. You need to focus on a set schedule of content and then stick to it.

When it comes to social media advertising, the typical process is to pay to have your ad displayed on the page. This isn’t always the most efficient option because there is a possibility that the user didn’t actually even see your ad, but you’re still getting charged for it. However, you have an intense amount of control over who sees your ad. You can generally set your audience by demographics like age, location, etc. But with social media ads, it goes a step further with allowing you to also base it on likes, dislikes, income, and much more. This can help optimize the ad for better performance when it is seen. Beyond that, you can set up your ads for different goals such as email capture, sales, or just website visits.

The one thing that I don’t suggest doing however is “boosting” your posts. It doesn’t convert very well, and often you can achieve the same results by sharing your post in to groups.

Regardkess of which strategy you choose (or even if you choose to do both!), you should have a website first. We’ve mentioned it before that websites are the center of your online presence. After that, it’s important to use as much “visual real estate” as possible and to “complete” each item. When it comes to organic posts, you should always include an image/video, text (of course), hashtags, and a link back to your website. For ads, you should fill out every relevant section possible, such as the titles, subtitles, captions, links, and image/video.

If you’ve decided which strategy to choose, but don’t have the time it takes to invest yourself in to it, reach out to us and we can get your social media started. We have several packages and if none of them are the right fit for you, then we can come up with an a la carte package to fit your goals and needs.

The post Social Media Posting vs Social Media Ads appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Pinterest Posting Strategy

Posting to Pinterest is different than posting to other social media platforms in the way that you’re encouraged to post OTHER people’s content in addition to your own. For more information on Pinterest For Business, check out our other post.

When Should I Post To Pinterest?

You want to shoot for 12-15 posts daily. That’s not to say that you need to post your own unique content 12-15 times, however. The content that is unique to you, should link back to your website or store. You should optimize your title and description of each pin, making sure to use all of the space for text that you can. Check out our content writing essentials! The best times of day are 2-4PM and 8PM-1AM.

What Should I Post To Pinterest?

In one word, everything. You should post your blog posts, recipes, fashion tips, products, portfolio pieces, etc. You can do this by enabling “rich pins” from your website. Rich pins are a valuable tool for providing a better experience for your end-user.

You should make sure that your Pinterest image is high quality and optimized for performance. Lighter images are repined 20 times more often than dark images. Images without faces are repined 23% more often.

Infographics are ideal for the Pinterest layout, meaning that you can take advantage of more visual real estate. Often, you can create a graphic that details the basic parts of the page that you’re linking to. For example, for a recipe you could dictate the ingredient list in the image to entice users to click on it. You can also use images of the final product as the pin.

You want to make sure that you link back to your site as much as possible on relevant pins.

Why Should I Use Pinterest?

Pinterest is the fastest growing social media platform ever. It’s growing even faster than Facebook. Pinterest is also more useful in certain industries instead of others. As Pinterest’s primary audience is women, and the majority of those are mothers, industries targeting this demographic will tend to perform better. If you’re in the fashion industry, lifestyle, wedding, DIY, home renovation, or events industry, your pins may see more traction than something like mechanics.

Also leveraging Pinterest for SEO is an amazing way to boost your overall online presence. Your pins can be indexed by Google, further fueling your reach. This is a great use of the title and description of a pin. Making sure that you’re making the title and description keyword-rich is one of the first steps of content creation on Pinterest.

I hope this blog helps guide your social media strategy, and encourages you to include Pinterest as one of your platforms. If you’re looking for more information about social media strategy check out our previous blog post; Creating a Social Media Strategy That Works.
If you’re looking for a professional to handle your Pinterest for you, check out our social media packages here.

The post The Full Pinterest Strategy appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Blogging for SEO 

There are some important factors that should be taken into consideration while writing a blog for search engine optimization. You’ll need to make sure that you’re focusing on one keyword or key phrase. This is going to be the topic of the blog post, for example this blog’s key phrase is “Marketing on a Budget”. You’ll want to use this keyword as much as naturally possible. When writing a blog post it should be no less than 500 words, however the more the better. Creating graphics and using images throughout your blog is a great way to encourage your readers to share your post on social media platforms. You should strive to place an image every 150 words or so. Make sure to add proper “alt” tags describing your images. Another thing you can do when writing is to link back to other pages or posts on your site. For example, at the end of a blog post you can recommend a blog post with a similar topic that you’ve posted previously. 

After you’ve written your blog post and published it on your site, you’ll want to share it to EVERY social media channel you can. You can create custom graphics for each platform, or use a generic square layout for all of them. 

Some great places to share in addition to your pages are inside Facebook Groups, LinkedIn Groups, and Google My Business. Search for relevant industry groups and networking groups, and join them. Make sure to read the rules before sharing your posts, as some groups consider it as self promotion.

Make sure to post consistently. If you post every week, make sure to do it on the same day. For us, our typical posting days are Tuesday or Friday. You can determine the best day to post by checking your analytics.

Social Media for Marketing on a Budget

We have talked before about having a social media profile on all of the major platforms, regardless of if you’re using them. However, when money is tight and you’re marketing on a budget, social media can become a great way to getting yourself out there as long as you remain consistent. 

Images and videos are the way to go when it comes to social media. Most industries will benefit from using Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. We go in depth in “Social Media for Business”.

Be sure to register for our email list in order to stay up to date with the latest tips in marketing! If you’re looking for an SEO professional or a full-service digital marketer, we’re here to help. 

The post Marketing on a Budget appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Here’s a list of fun and wacky holidays with some starter comments for you to thrive even without the motivation!

January

2nd – Science Fiction Day

“It’s national sci-fi day, and here at [company name] we LOVE sci-fi. Some of our favorites include [list a couple movie and book titles]. What are your go to science fiction movies or books?”

Example: It’s national sci-fi day and here at Blue Shift Web Services, we LOVE sci-fi. Some of our favorites include “Ender’s Game” and “Interstellar”. What are your go to science fiction movies or books?

4th – Trivia Day

“Happy Trivia Day! To celebrate, we’re asking you guys [Insert trivia about industry] Leave your answers below!”.

9th – Word Nerd Day

“Words are so awesome, there are fun words like flubber, and long words like sesquipedalian. [Industry] words like [industry-specific word]. What’s your favorite word?”

14th – Clean Off Your Desk Day

“In honor of national clean off your desk day, here’s (our/my) clean desk(s). Now I want to see yours!” and share an image of your desk!

18th – Thesaurus Day

“Thesaurus Day is so great. Also wonderful. Also awesome. Also amazing. You get it. What’s your favorite word’s synonyms?”

19th – Popcorn Day

“Caramel, Kettle, Butter, EXTRA Butter. Popcorn is amazing. What’s your favorite flavor of popcorn?”

23rd – Handwriting Day

“Whether your handwriting is chicken scratch or beautiful script, share it with us in honor of national handwriting day!” and share an image of you and your coworkers handwriting!

24th – Compliment Day

“It’s national compliment day, and you’re simply killing it! What’s your favorite compliment to receive?”

28th – Fun at Work Day

Plan something fun for this day (like a party!) and share photos from it!

31st – Backwards Day!
!sdrawkcab gnihtemos fo erutcip a erahs dna “!]gniod er’uoy tahw tresni[ gniod er’eW ?yadot etarbelec )uoy dluow ro( uoy era woH !yaD sdrawkcaB yppaH” (“Happy Backwards Day! How are you (or would you) celebrate today? We’re doing [insert what you’re doing]!” and share a picture of something backwards!)

February

2nd – Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day!

Share a picture of your favorite ice cream (sundae, flavor, whatever!)
Caption it with “It’s the day to eat Ice Cream for Breakfast! I’m eating [favorite flavor/fixings/etc]! What are you doing?”

11th – Clean Out Your Computer Day!

Share a picture of an organized Desktop and encourage your followers to do the same!

17th – Random Act of Kindness Day

Share random acts of kindness for your followers to do!

22nd – Single Tasking Day

Do one thing at a time, no multi-tasking!

22nd – Be Humble Day

Celebrate others’ achievements today, followers, clients, you name it. Anyone but yourself today.

24th – Tortilla Chip Day

Share your favorite way to eat tortilla chips (and a recipe). For example, my favorite way is with nachos, yum!

26th – Tell A Fairy Tale Day

Whether you share your favorites or make one up, share a fairy tale today!

March

1st – World Compliment Day

Share your favorite compliment to receive, ask your followers to do the same.

2nd – Old Stuff Day

Share some old stuff in your industry. For us, it’d probably be an old computer. For fashion, you could do some antique outfits!

3rd – I Want You To Be Happy Day

Share how you’re making someone happy today.

4th – March forth and do something day

Share some community outreach programs that you or your company supports.

5th – Learn what your name means day

A quick google search will yield your answer. Ask your followers what their name means!

8th – Proofreading day

Share some great proofreading tools.

13th – Jewel Day

Share some fun facts about jewels. Share things that are in jewel tones.(This is great for fashion industries!)

14th – Pi Day

Share your favorite Pi – whether it’s pie, pi, or life of pi!

18th – Awkward Moments Day

No one is perfect, share some awkward moments!

22nd – International Goof off Day

Share some goofy things around the office or online!

April

1st – April Fools Day / Fun at Work Day

5th – Walk to Work Day

9th – Be Kind to Lawyers Day

10th – Siblings Day

12th – Grilled Cheese Day

13th – Scrabble Day

14th – International Moment of Laughter Day

14th – Reach As High As You Can

Inspire others with your big projects, impossible milestones, and other “reach for the stars” type things.

16th – Wear Pajamas to Work Day

17th – Haiku Poetry Day

Columnist Day

22nd – Jelly Bean Day

23th – Lover’s Day

25th – Take Kids to Work Day

May

4th – Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you!)

6th – Beverage

17th  – Pizza Party Day

24th – Scavenger Hunt Day

28th – Hamburger Day

June

1st – Say something Nice

2nd – Leave office Early

7th – Doughnut

8th – Best Friends

21st – Take Your Dog to Work Day

July

1st – International Joke Day

5th – Workaholics Day

12th – Simplicity

21st – Ice Cream Day

29th – Lasagna Day

30th – Cheesecake Day

August

2nd – Ice Cream Sandwich Day

4th – Sisters Day

4th – Single Working Women’s Day

5th – Work Like A Dog Day

9th – Book Lover’s Day

13th – Left Handers Day

September

6th – Fight Procrastination Day

13th – Postive Thinking Day

16th – Guacomole Day

October

1st – Coffee Day

4th – Taco Day

6th – Mad Hatter Day

17th – Wear Something Gaudy

21st – Clean Out Your Virtual Desktop Day

November

3rd – Sandwich Day

Sandwiches, such an awesome food group, right? Share your favorites.

13th – World Kindness Day

21st –  Hello Day

December

4th – Wear Brown Shoes

Show everyone in the office wearing brown shoes!

7th – Letter Writing

13th – Christmas Jumper Day

20th – Ugly Sweater Day

Ah, the season of ugly sweater parties. Share some ugly sweater inspiration or throw an ugly sweater party at work!

24th – Eggnog Day

Eggnog is very polarizing. Whether you love it or hate it, share your opinion and get others to tell you theirs!

Hope this list can help you out! Are there any funny holidays I missed? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to share with others who might need some inspiration!

The post Blanking on Social Media Content Ideas? Here’s a Calendar for You! appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Pinterest users are usually browsing the platform as a way to prep themselves to make a purchase, they’re researching what others have to say about products, brands, and services. Also keep in mind, 40% of the users on Pinterest bring in a houshold income of over $100,000.

To really benefit from using Pinterest for your business, be sure to create a strategy and follow these tips!

Set Up Your Pinterest Business Profile

1.Click “Create a Business Account”

2. Fill Out ALL of the Details

Ensure that all information is correct from the business info to the account manager information. You will also need to put a bit of code into your website in order to connect it to your Pinterest profile.

Link Back to Your Website

Make sure that each pin you create links back to your website. This will allow users to easily get to your site if they liked the pin they saw and want to know more.

Not sure if it’s worth you time? Studies show that 3.8x more sales are driven by Pinterest than other social platforms. On top of that 87% of Pinners have purchased a product because of exposure on Pinterest.

This doesn’t mean that every industry should be hopping to Pinterest and expecting a bunch of sales. Just like Instagram, certain industries outperform others when it comes to engagement and conversions. The best industries for Pinterest are : fashion, lifestyle, food, auto, interiors, remodelling, travel and DIY.

Pin Others’ Pins to Your Boards

Don’t just pin your own information to your board. You can have boards dedicated to your personal stuff, but it’s good to pin other relevant (quality) pins to your boards as well. This gives you broader activity and a higher chance of being seen.

Create Custom Graphics for Your Pins

When creating pins, it’s best to add an image. The correct dimensions for a pin are a ratio of 3:2 meaning the image is longer than it is wide. Creating an eye catching graphic is a wonderful way to entice clicks and repins from those who come across it. One key way is to create images with the name of the linked post or product, similar to the one I’ve created below.

So are you ready to start your Pinterest journey? Do you have questions or comments on using Pinterest for Business? Be sure to leave them below!

The post Pinterest for Business appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Today, we are going to create a social media strategy for YOUR business. While we do offer this service to our clients, it’s helpful to know the process to avoid problems and optimize in the future.

We’ve touched on the basics of marketing strategy in our previous posts, such as identifying target audience and content creation. In this post, we will dive a little deeper choosing the platforms and provide several examples.

First, you need to figure out where to invest your time and energy. There are six primary platforms when referring to social media for business: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. However, there are other social platforms that are more niche to specific industries. It’s important to determine if your time is well spent on platforms including the niche ones.

Grab a piece of paper and a pen, and let’s get started.

Not to be self promoting, but to show as an example, I’ll answer these questions for Blue Shift Web Services. You should answer these questions honestly and thoroughly. Think of it as an interview!

Social Media for Business: Strategy Interview

What is your business about? 

My business is dedicated to online presence. This means websites, SEO, social media, the whole gambit. We help businesses of all sizes get online and have the best foot forward.

How did you get started?

We started Blue Shift Web Services after working in the industry for years. As we interacted with bosses, owners, clients, and coworkers. We realized we could do it better all around. Better processes, better client relationships, better work environment. So, we saved up and took the leap. 

Why did you get started? 

See above.

Tell me what makes you different from the others in your industry? 

Well, we have lower prices without sacrificing quality. As owners, you meet with both Ryder and I and are in communication with us as well. We dedicate ourselves to helping you market your business online. When it comes to websites, we teach you how to run it (even if you get our maintenance package). We understand that business is the most important thing, and that we are there to take care of your online presence while you’re running the rest of yours. Moreover, we understand that business comes first and work at your pace. If you’re not able to focus on a project (that isn’t time sensitive like sales), we do not hound you. We also answer emails, phone calls, and text messages quickly and continuously. This is probably the number on thing that people have thanked us and chosen us for. We often hear “You’re the only one who answered.” or “My current developer never emails back or does the updates in a timely manner (usually refers to weeks without hearing from them).” We pride ourselves on communication, dedication, and excellence.

Now, what problems do you solve? 

We solve the problems of online presence for businesses. Online presence is super broad and nuanced at the same time. It’s like a spider web: many layers, many connections, all leading to one center to catch all the traffic. We provide services to help each business find what they need and do it.

What products or services do you sell? 

We sell services such as: web design, search engine optimization, social media management, PPC advertising, social media marketing, graphic design, copywriting, maintenance, email marketing, professional appearance (email addresses, business cards, brochures, etc). We also offer consulting, public speaking and training.

How do you solve this problem better than competitors? 

I touched on this earlier, we communicate better and quicker than most competitors. We are more affordable without sacrificing quality. We do not sell just to sell, we pride ourselves on only selling you what you need, and guiding you to understand whether or not your business needs a service.

Who uses your products/services? 

Businesses. Whether large or small, startups or established. All businesses need an online presence, and we’re here to service them.

Okay, now you should know who you are as a business. Let’s get into more content based questions.

Do your products/services photograph well?

For us, we have several services that we can use as graphics for social media posts. We can use portfolio pieces like websites, logos, graphic design elements, and pictures from networking events.

(Some great ideas for other industries: Before and After photos, Smiling Clients + testimonials, product images, products being used!)

Do you feel comfortable creating visual content myself (graphic design)?

I do feel comfortable photographing and creating visual content for social media. 

If not, would you rather learn it yourself or outsource it to an expert? 

In the case I wasn’t comfortable, I’d probably rather outsource it since my time is better spent doing things for the business/clients. (If you want us to manage your social media, check out our social media packages!)

What about written content? 

I am comfortable writing content for blogs, web copy, and social media. If I wasn’t, I’d outsource it.

Do your services/products need an explanation before purchase or after purchase? 

It doesn’t necessarily need an explanation, but I do have written directions before and after the service is provided. I could make this graphical or into a video as well.

Alright, all done with the interview section!

Social Media for Business: Choosing Platforms

So now, we’ll review your answers to the above questions to determine which platforms to post on. While you may not post to every platform, you should register and completely fill out an account on each of them.

Facebook

Facebook posting is good for any business. Recommendations are also a great way to show your reputation to those finding you. You can also benefit from sharing, posting, and interacting in Facebook Groups.

However paid advertising on Facebook depends on your products/services. The best things to pay for advertising for are impulse buy type items: makeup, knick knacks, etc.

Instagram

Instagram is another platform that is pretty widely useful across industries. It requires images to post though, so keep that in mind.

Pinterest

Pinterest is the fastest growing social media of all time. Faster than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This platform is useful for industry but those who thrive are: home remodeling/building, restaurants, fashion, skin care, and the like.

LinkedIn

Of course, if you’re targeting businesses LinkedIn is a great way to connect and garner attention for your business. It also gives your business a sense of legitimacy.

YouTube

YouTube is a fantastic way to share videos with your clients, followers, etc. You can create informational videos and promotional videos and upload to YouTube and then embed those videos to your website with minimum effect to load time of your page!

Twitter

I don’t suggest to put effort into Twitter for small to medium size businesses.

Social Media for Business: Content

Creating content for social media is a large topic in and of itself. We’ve dedicated a post to content writing before, check it out here: Content Writing Essentials: How to Write Content for Online Presence

Check out our other guides to social media here:

Social Media Management: A Beginner’s Guide

Social Media Strategy : Create One that Works

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR YOUR BUSINESS

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The post Social Media for Business: How to Choose Your Platforms appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

What to Post

One of the first things that comes to mind when figuring out a social media strategy is deciding on what to post. The first thing I advise our clients of is the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule states that you should post non-branded posts 80% of the time, and sales driven posts 20% of the time.

The second thing that I advise my clients to do is to use hashtags as motivation and inspiration for posts. Common hashtags are Motivation Monday, Freebie Friday, and Super Sunday. These can help when you’re stuck and don’t know what to post.

Another source of inspiration for social media posts are sales, products, and seasons. When the new season hits, you can theme your posts to go along with the holidays. In winter, posting about things you do in the winter is a promising content option.

Where to Post

You only have so much time and energy to post on social media each week. You’ll want to ensure that you are producing quality content, so you should focus on just the platforms that work for you. While you may not post regularly on each platform, you do want to have profiles on every platform that link back to your website.

Facebook

Facebook’s best use is to create meaningful relationships with your customers. It also promotes a more conversational style of engagement. The industries that benefits the most from Facebook are all businesses, but restaurants in particular. Small businesses and specialty businesses also benefit from the Facebook platform.

Instagram

Instagram is best used for visual content like images and videos. The industries that benefit the most are fashion and product-based companies.

Twitter

Twitter’s best use is for creating short content to entice customers, keep in mind that the max character count per post is 240. All businesses can utilize Twitter, however the average lifetime of a tweet is seven minutes.

Pinterest

Pinterest is the fastest growing social media platform. Yes, even faster than Facebook! Visual content is key to this platform, and most items are instructional, inspirational, or before/after posts. Industries that benefit the most are Fashion, Renovation, and Restaurants. Product-based companies and Lifestyle companies are also benefited from the format and audience on Pinterest.

YouTube

YouTube, of course, is for Video content. Service or products that need explanation or instruction are the best industries to use YouTube for.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the hub of business to business connections. Industries that benefit the most are services and company-focused products (B2B).

To decide on which platforms to choose, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does your company sell physical products?
• Does your company provide services or products that need instruction?
• Does your company focus on other businesses?

If you answered yes to physical products, consider using Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Images are great for these platforms, and can really showcase what your company provides.

If you answered yes to services. Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook could be your platforms of choice. Videos are a great tool to show how your services benefit users.

If you target other businesses, LinkedIn is a must.

When to Post

You don’t want to post in vain, knowing the optimal times to post can help reach clients, and get engagements. Optimal times depend on the industry, target audience, and platform.

5 Step Social Media Audit

1. Determine your Business Objectives for your Social Media Campaign
2. Determine the platforms to use.
3. Determine a posting schedule.
4. Determine the content you’d like to post.
5. Review engagement statistics to tweak your plan.

Need a professional to manage your social media?

The post Social Media Management: A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.

Set Objectives.

First things first, you need to set objectives. What are you hoping to acheive through posting and interacting on social media? Are you looking for a following? Potential clients? Sales? Brand recognition? All of these have different processes to hit those objectives. If you’re looking to establish a following for your brand or product, you’ll likely promote interactions like comments and shares. If you’re looking for brand recognition, you’ll likely focus on getting likes. This will also influence which analytics you’ll focus on when reviewing your strategy. This will also help you post with intent and purpose.

Figure Out Your Audience

The next thing you should do when building your social media strategy is to figure out your target audience. Find out what they like, who they are, and what their values are. You’ll often find that this will help you figure out what to post to your pages as well. You can create lasting impressions and relationships with your followers by giving them content that they not only will enjoy but also appreciate. Cooking blogs post recipes and reviews, because that’s what their target audience is looking for. Companies like Sephora post makeup tutorials and reviews because that’s what their target audience enjoys!

Choose Your Social Media Platforms

Not all industries benefit from certain platforms. Figure out which would work best for you, and then focus your energy on them. If your company is strictly B2C (Business to Consumer), then LinkedIn might not be the best choice. However if you sell physical products, you might want to focus on Instagram and Pinterest.

Be Creative

Readers don’t want to see the same stories and posts regurgitated over and over again. Post creatively, give your own personal opinion on things happening in your industry. Not only will this keep your followers interactive, but it will also allow you the ability to not get stuck in the routine of posting. It will also give you flexibility in associating yourself with what’s important in your industry, like trends and classics.

Launch Your Social Media Strategy

After figuring out the details of your strategy, be consistent and review it often to make sure that it’s working for you!

If you’re still not sure you want to do this on your own, reach out! We help companies reach their full potential on social media platforms. We work with you to decide what the best choices for your company are. We implement our chosen strategy and optimize it as we see what works for you and what doesn’t. No social media strategy is the same, just like no company is the same.

The post Social Media Strategy : Create One that Works appeared first on Blue Shift Web Services Blog.