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Sometimes, social media feels like you’re playing the classic computer game Minesweeper. You think you have all the bombs figured out, but then you click on the wrong square and the game is over.
Just like Minesweeper, it’s easy to say something wrong and “hit a bomb” with a social media post.
But unlike addicting computer games, social media marketing doesn’t have to be a guessing game. When creating your social media strategy, follow these dos and don’ts to ensure that your posts build awareness and your business grows.
Social Media Dos
1. Plan posts in advance with a calendar
When you first start social media marketing, it’s easy to get excited and want to share every post idea you have at once. But you need to save some gems for later because it’s easy to run out of steam after a month or so, especially if you’re doing all the social work yourself.
To spread the love, create a calendar with all your different post ideas. That way, you can work ahead when you’re feeling inspired but you won’t actually post the content until later in the month. This strategy helps you stay on target if something comes up at work and you don’t have time to create content for that week. You can even use software that allows you to schedule your posts in advance, so it becomes automatic.
2. Share content at least 2-3 times a week
While you can work your way up to posting every day, at first you should aim to post at least 2-3 times a week. Posting regularly keeps you at the forefront of your audience’s minds, and ramping up slowly can help you avoid burnout and keep your ideas fresh. But no matter how often you post, you want to make sure you’re sharing consistently. (As long as it’s quality!)
You also want to post at the time of day that your audience is most often online. The right AI tools can help you find the best time to post so you aren’t guessing what time the most users will be browsing their social feeds. Timing your posts correctly ensures that you’re getting the most views possible.
3. Create visual content
Vary your post content so that people don’t get bored with your channels. If you’re just pushing out blog posts, it will be hard to get your viewers excited.
To add more interest, share lots of visual content. Audiences typically respond better to content that includes video, and it can help you generate increased engagement, leads, and conversions. Options can include:
- Pictures
- GIFs
- Memes
- Explainer videos
- Entertaining content
- Infographics
These types of posts make content pop on your social media channels and help you stand out against your competition.
4. Interact with responses
One of the best parts about social media sharing is that you can talk directly to your audience. If someone has a question about your business on Twitter, respond directly in the comments. This will make your audience feel heard and build stronger relationships between your brand and its followers.
Make it a goal to respond to all comments—even a simple “thank you” to a compliment on one of your videos could make the difference between someone becoming a customer or not.
You don’t have to wait for responses to posts to chat with clients, either. Asking them questions directly can provide a big engagement boost. If you need a recommendation for a new supplier, ask your Facebook followers. If someone mentions your business in a post, add it to your story to help the other user get some more likes on their post. Helping others out may also make them more inclined to help you in return.
Social Media Don’ts
5. Post without proofreading
Before you put a post out into the world, always ask a coworker to spell-check it. Even if you have eyes like a hawk, all of us are human and make mistakes. By making sure your social media presence remains error-free, you build your brand’s reputation as a reliable and trustworthy source.
And if you’re a sole proprietor and don’t have employees to help you spell-check, you can always use an app like Grammarly to give you a second opinion.
6. Post spammy content
If you use phrases like “follow us back” or “retweet us” over and over, your content becomes disingenuous and makes it seem like you’re on social media just to get more followers. The same thing goes for joining 50 Facebook groups in one day and posting the exact same copy about your business in every single one.
Be thoughtful and genuine in all of your social media content. You can’t rush the process by spamming content at your users—in fact, this practice will only curb social media growth.
7. Use identical posts across multiple platforms
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are three distinct platforms with users going to each for different needs. So don’t post the exact same content across all of your social media channels. The type of content people are interested in on Twitter tends to be short, funny, and visual, while business professionals on LinkedIn want to learn more about their industry and find new tools to improve their careers.
Each platform is different, so take your time to learn the ins and outs of each one before posting content.
8. Give in to the haters
While it’s usually a best practice to interact with responses, when it comes to trolls, it’s not worth your time. If the same person keeps spamming your account over and over, simply ignore them or report them if what they’re saying breaks the social media platform’s code of conduct.
Trolls want your attention, so don’t give in to your haters. Ignore them and show the audience that you’re above petty disputes.
Clearview Social maximizes your social media marketing strategy
Clearview Social’s employee advocacy tools make it easy for you to implement social media best practices.
Clearview allows you to build a queue of articles to post in advance so you can get ahead of your social media sharing. And since our platform allows employees to share your posts with only one click, it’s easy for your whole team to amplify your content through their own personal social media feeds. Clearview’s PeakTime feature also ensures that your content is shared at the exact time your audience is most likely to be active, so you can maximize your views for every post.
To see how easy Clearview Social can make social media sharing, book a demo today.