Getting started with social media for your business

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for a while, social media can be a great way to reach new customers and grow your business. But it can also be confusing and overwhelming if you’re not sure where to start. In this post, getting started with social media for your business I will outline the basics, including what platforms are best for your industry and how to create effective content. I will also share tips for growing your presence on social media with the use of a content calendar.

Choose the right social media platform for your business

There are several social media platforms to choose from, and the one you choose will depend on your business and industry. Here are some tips for choosing the right platform:

• If you’re a B2B company, LinkedIn is a great platform to reach potential customers. Written content including blog posts or thought leadership articles can be published there too.
• If you’re a small business, Facebook and Instagram are good options, as they have large user bases and are easy to use. These platforms are also great if you have beautiful product images to share.
• If you’re selling a product, Pinterest and Instagram are good platforms to showcase and sell your products.
• If you’re looking to reach a younger audience think about Snapchat and TikTok as 80% of users are between the ages 16-34.

Develop a style guide to ensure all assets are consistent

When creating content for social media, it’s important to be consistent with your branding. This means using the same fonts, colours, and messaging across all platforms. A style guide can help you do this. We work with our clients to create social assets for the platforms they post on. This can be either static graphics and/or motion graphics for increased impact. If you would like some advice on this, please contact me.

A style guide can include the following:

• Fonts: What typefaces you can use and the size for each message (title, body copy, call to action for example)
• Colours: What colours are you using and what RGB codes should they be? The brand guidelines for your business can advise you on colours for various mediums (print and digital for example)
• Imagery: What types of images should be used (stock photos, product images, etc.) and what dimensions should they be?
• Messaging: What tone should your messaging take (casual, professional, etc.), and what kind of language should be used?

Creating regular content for social media is easier when you have a library of stock photos or graphics that can be reused. This will help keep your branding consistent across all platforms. If you need some help finding stock photos or graphics, we can assist you.

Benefits of using a content calendar

Writing content can be time-consuming. A content calendar (a hub for all your content marketing) is a good way to plan campaigns and editorial pieces across a specific time period.

• Plan your content calendar and keep your team organised and focussed
• Brainstorm ideas and plan your posts in advance
• Schedule your posts across your platforms using a social media management tool (Hootsuite for example)
• Analyse your post performance and adjust as needed
• Respond to comments and messages promptly. Engagement with your audience is key.

Getting Started with Social Media for Your Business

If you need help creating regular content for social media, contact me. We can help with all aspects of social media, from planning and content writing to design of your social media assets. We’ll make sure your branding is consistent across all platforms, and that your content is high quality and engaging. Contact me if you would like to see how we have achieved social media success for our clients.