Get social: make the most out of your channels

So you’ve done it. You’ve set your business up on Facebook, Twitter, maybe even on Linkedin and Instagram too. You’re posting every now and then, making yourself heard. You’re feeling pretty chuffed with your channels. However, you’ve noticed there isn’t a lot of engagement on your pages and you’re starting to feel a bit ignored. What’s next?

Establish the basics

Firstly, are you on the right platforms? Often businesses can go a bit social crazy and tend to set up company accounts on every single social media platform that has ever been made, purely because they think that means they’ll reach more people. Wrong – it is far better to manage a few social networks well than to try and spread yourself too thin and fail to grow engagement. Facebook and Twitter are great places to start: Facebook is good because people often use it like Google now, so may search for your company online – therefore it’s great to have a Facebook presence to demonstrate your professionalism and success. Twitter is ideal for reaching a fresh audience easily, and for building up business contacts in similar fields to you. More and more businesses are jumping on Twitter, so there is a minefield of possible business connections to be made. If you’re a B2B company, it’s a great idea to get networking on Linkedin too, and if your business is high in visual content, Instagram and Pinterest could show off your work well. Analyse what will work best for your business and focus on those channels first.

Are you making the most of your social channels?

Is your information up to date?

Your website might have a tip-top ‘about us’ section, but if a potential client is browsing Facebook and can’t find your telephone number, will they bother to find your website? Probably not. You want to make everything as easy as possible for new audiences to find and contact you. Your ‘about’ section on Facebook is crucial: make sure you fill out every section so that all of these basic questions are answered – how, what, why, when and where.

Do your pages look impressive?

For how long have you been saying you’ll change your logo display picture to one that isn’t blurry? Or re-write your Twitter bio so that your company actually sounds interesting? We are shallow beings, and these seemingly un-important things can actually have a huge impact on your engagement. Make your page imagery look clear, professional and in line with your brand. Your Twitter bio is the first thing people will read to decide if they want to follow you. Use key hashtags within your bio to reach more people. Keep it clear, concise and interesting. How can you benefit your followers? How are you better than your competitors?

What kind of content are you posting on your channels?

People often ask us, “Why do I have to post about other people? It’s my business – why can’t it be all about me?” The answer is very simple: that’s dull and uninspiring. A key part of social media is responding to others and listening. No one likes people who only talk about themselves – it’s arrogant and unattractive. Yes your social channels are a way to show off you and your business, but they aren’t a shop window like your website is, they are SOCIAL networks. By definition being social involves sharing information, not just throwing it at someone. If your posts are just about you, people will feel like they’re part of a sales pitch and be quick to unfollow.

Founder and CEO of Leadtail explains why sharing content is so important:

“Content marketing is about producing brand content that you can use to build awareness and trust with your prospects. The problem? Share only your content, and your target audience may not believe you have their best interests at heart. If you also share other people’s content that helps your buyer, the trust meter goes way up…”

Make sure you engage with your audience and other businesses – comment, share and retweet information you like across your channels. You can’t expect engagement if you don’t engage with anyone else. Of course post about your achievements and opportunities too, but make sure there is a balance. Make your content as valuable as possible to your audience. It doesn’t always have to be strictly business either – it’s quite likely that universal cat GIF will make a lot of people smile on Friday.

Make your content relevant and valuable

Have you established an online voice?

Social media is about networking with people, not just profiles. Establish a credible and honest online voice that reflects the company’s core values. It’s easier to build relationships when you have built up a strong online voice, particularly when you team this with the valuable content you are posting. Maintain integrity online and people won’t think you’re something that you’re not.

The key thing to remember is that social media is meant to be interesting, and if your pages are monotone and repetitious people aren’t going to want to engage. Keep your page info up to date, post engaging and varied content and establish a credible online voice. If your page still needs a push after that, then it might be a good idea to explore online social advertising.

If you think this all sounds great but simply don’t have the time to monitor your channels personally, why not give us a call on 0145 4222 959 or email hello@notgreedy.media to find out how we can help.