Having a social media strategy is super important to creating a profitable and engaging online presence. Today we will cover how to get the most out of your posts.
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’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 is best used for visual content like images and videos. The industries that benefit the most are fashion and product-based companies.
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 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 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
- Determine your Business Objectives for your Social Media Campaign
- Determine the platforms to use.
- Determine a posting schedule.
- Determine the content you’d like to post.
- Review engagement statistics to tweak your plan.
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