Social Media Marketing

5 tips for social media success for the new normal.

1.     Build a content calendar.

2.     Use scheduling tools.

3.     Consider outsourcing.

4.     Respond and engage.

5.     Show personality. 

Let’s jump in.

First, whether that’s in your office, retail space or home, you must consider paid advertising.

Adding value isn’t about selling to add to your bottom line. As consumers, we go on social media to:

·        Build relationships

·        Learn

·        Be entertained

As business owners, we can add value to the platforms through the tone and content of our messages through how we create a social media strategy. This could be as simple as explaining how to do something related to your industry.

Focus on engagement

Consider paid advertising

With more individuals and brands working to be heard on social media platforms while big advertisers are shifting their ad spends, you might consider using paid advertising to increase your visibility and reach.

Whether you use re-targeting ads to close sales or look-alike audiences to generate more reach as you create a social media strategy, ads are a powerful tool to grow your business. Plus you can set budgets and schedules that work for your immediate business needs.

Related: How to use Twitter for business

5 tips for social media success for the new normal

So, how do we take all these general guidelines and put them into action?

1. Build a content calendar

Now isn’t the time to “wing it” and let your social media be impromptu. When you’re writing off-the-cuff, you’re more likely to say the wrong thing or phrase it the wrong way.

With a content calendar, you give yourself time to think through what you’re saying and address it properly. Plus, with a calendar, you can quickly and easily review what you’ve got coming up and adjust as the world changes.

2. Use scheduling tools

Schedules are all sorts of crazy these days. The last thing on your mind is making sure that you remember to post to Instagram.

With scheduling tools, you can keep your social media going even when you step away from the computer for a few hours.

Just remember when you’ve got content scheduled so that you can pause or delete posts if they’re no longer appropriate. Your content calendar can help with that!

3. Consider outsourcing

Another option is to hire someone to help with your social media, like Sunsite.com or a virtual assistant. If you’re running a small business and adjusting to near-constant updates and shifts, it’s okay to let someone else handle a few tasks on your behalf.

4. Respond and engage

The goal of social media is to build relationships and community for your business — which means you need to have conversations! Make sure you’re checking in regularly for new questions, comments and feedback.

This is especially important if you’ve opened up your brand for private conversations like Facebook Messenger or Instagram direct messages. When people talk directly to you, you need to respond.

5. Show personality

Earlier I talked about the need for your brand to be human, now more than ever. You can achieve this infusing every post with your brand personality. You can do this by using emojis, select language, and even on-brand memes.

While the use of humor can go a long way in showing personality, remember to make sure your messages are tasteful to avoid alienating your audience and pushing them to someone more aligned with their values.

Next steps

So, where do you go from here? Start by evaluating how you’ve been doing with social media so far, and how you want to change. Then, clearly define your brand voice and map out your content calendar. With those ingredients, you’ll create a winning social media strategy in no time.