I (Nicky) love social media almost as much as I love coffee, which really says all I need to say about that really because I'm addicted to coffee, so you get the idea. Now I know there will be a few rolled eyes in the hypothetical 'room' as you read that, but let me explain my reasons. Social media is a connection tool that links brands and businesses with each other and with their consumer. It allows people to have brand experiences before they've even stepped into a businesses store or purchased their products, which means it's a massive relationship building tool. Not to mention the fact that it's accessable to everyone, it's cheap, and it's creative! BUT I also get that a lot of you don't share the same addiction I have for social media, and might even feel like it's all a bit too hard, or that you don't have time for it. So I thought I'd create a bit of a user guideline with some tips for those people who really just aren't that fussed on social media, to still have a presence and utilise the tools of the social world. And hey, my sneaky hope is that in applying some of these easy tips, you might even learn to enjoy it, just a little bit... or maybe just hate it a little bit less. Here goes:
Work out what platform you're going to be on, and focus on that. We get it, there's too many social media platforms these days and various experts are telling us we have to be on ALL of them for various reasons, but I'm here to let you off the hook, and I'm asking you to pick ONE and do it well. Think about where your target audience are spending their time, do a little research into some stats on this (THIS article might help), and therefore decide which platform you're going to spend your time on. Easy - now all your efforts are going to be targeted towards this platform.
Get the basics right. Take 30 minutes to 'pull through' your current social media presence you already have. If your Facebook page is a bit out of date, update those 'about' sections, make sure your website link is there, get a fresh profile picture up. Aaaahhhh that feels better already, we've got a solid base to work with.
Start noticing the conversations you're having, and turn them into content. We get that it's hard to think about 'what' to post, but we're here to remind you that social media is social, and that it's a reflection of our lives and businesses, so you're probably already doing all the hard work around what to post, it's just about identifying the gold in there! Yep this is as simple as switching on the 'noticing' switch, and tuning into the conversations you're having with people about your business. Are there regular questions you're answering around your products, services, or industry in conversations or on email, that you could turn into a post. Are there tips you could share that would make people's lives easier, or could give information that could be useful to them? Are there specific events or milestones you're hitting with your business that you'd like to share, just like you'd tell your friends about? Write them down. Go to a cafe with your laptop, get a coffee and a slice, and set aside 2 hours to schedule your content. Coffee gets the ideas going, slice makes it feel like a special occasion, getting out of your house or office makes the creative juices flow and allows some perspective - and you've got the perfect environment to become a content creating and scheduling ninja. Take the ideas above, find photos that illustrate them, either from your camera, or from free photo sites if you really haven't got anything (check out Unsplash), pair them together (if you want to get fancy do some designing in Canva), write some words - and schedule those posts! Now you might think that your work is done, I'm sorry but there's ONE more step to this process. Reply. So many people forget that social media is social, if you start a conversation and someone engages with you, you don't just not answer their engagement or comment, so we have to also do this online! If you're not likely to be online much, set a little reminder in your phone for the days you've scheduled a post, and remember to jump back in to respond to anyone who's commented on your post. Be a human and really engage with them in your comment too, no wishy washy responses using only emojis. The goal is genuine human interaction. Do a little victory dance, because you're totally nailing this whole social thing!
Scheduling content is a great way to reduce the overwhelm, and to put a bit of structure around your social media. Knowing you've got scheduled posts going out means you can rest assured you've got some basics covered, which often leaves room for you to think of ideas and post them AS you think of them, knowing they're all 'bonus' posts, which feels great. Remember that consistency is key with this social world, so set a scheduling day each month to make sure you stay on track, or even shift it to weekly if you're wanting to step things up a bit with your posts - plus you get the coffee and slice treat more often so that's pretty win-win if you ask us. If you have any social questions, ask away, Nicky would be delighted to talk social media with you! Feel free to comment or flick us a message on our FB page.