Social media is one of the best platforms for reaching and interacting with your audience. But, many business owners find it overwhelming, and can be scared to even try it!
Don't worry, I'm here to help.
Here's my simple guide to getting started, with some of the most important steps I cover in the All Write Social Starter Pack.
1. Identify the problems you want to solve
Why do you need social media? If it's just for the sake of it, think again!
Look at what your business is struggling most with, and how you can use social media to help. Your business may need to:
Build awareness of your brand/products/services
Make sales
Lead people to your website
Reach a new audience
Build the relationship with your current audience
Or a multitude of other reasons! Once you know why you need social media, make a list of goals you hope to reach, and keep them in mind every time you post.
2. Identify your target audience
Who are you trying to reach? Each of the below factors will change how a person uses social media and how they respond to online marketing.
Age
Interests
Income
Location
These are a good place to start, but get as specific as possible. You want to communicate directly with your audience and have them understand and respond to your message. This article has more great tips on specifying your audience.
Think about your audience and what their wants and needs are. How can you make your business appeal to them?
3. Decide which platforms to use
So, now you know who you want your posts to reach, research which platforms they use (and use for business research). You might even do a survey to find out how your audience is using social media.
Some major social media platforms are:
But, also consider platforms that are less broad. Think about Snapchat and TikTok for young audiences, Pinterest for specific interests like arts and events, or LinkedIn for people in business.
Be careful - don't have ALL the platforms just for the sake of it. It's better to focus on a couple that actually reach your audience. You would have a hard time advertising retirement homes on Snapchat!
4. Find out which content appeals to your audience
Are they interested in watching videos, or prefer lots of text to read?
This is something you have to research yourself and continue analysing as you post. There's no exact right or wrong content, you just have to figure out what works! The way we consume media is constantly changing - and our attention spans constantly shortening. Chances are your audience doesn't want to put in effort to see your posts and be advertised to!
Give them interesting content they can quickly absorb and make sure it calls them to action. Also, keep the content relevant. It's fun to share posts that you may find interesting, but ask yourself if it's something your audience wants to see.
5. Decide how often to post
Posting too little will result in low engagement, but too much can annoy your audience! I try to post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, around 5pm. This works best for All Write.
You'll quickly see what times of day (and what days of the week) your audiences likes and comments on your posts. Think about when your audience is on their phone. If they're people who work full-time, post on their lunch break or in the evening after work.
Tools like Hootsuite are great for scheduling your posts.
6. And don't forget...
Since this blog is getting a bit long, I'll make these points short:
Design and voice - how can you stay on-brand and unified?
Laws and guidelines - does your industry have to follow rules such as confidentiality?
Promotions - how will you decide what to promote and when?
Engage - reply to comments and follow other pages, it's a community!
If you're still struggling, check out my Social Starter Pack, a new service dedicated to helping you with all the above steps and more.
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