As if Friday needs any help being amazing, I’ve decided to dedicate a weekly blog post to it. That’s right - welcome to 5 Friday Faves! Every Friday, I’ll be sharing a list of 5 of things. I’m sure these lists will cover a variety of things from my favorite tech tips for non-techs, my go-to time-saving industry tools and maybe even my favorite cookies. Who knows - anything can happen! Today, because I’ve been working on my own social media and website all week, I’m going to talk about 5 Fast Fixes for Social Media. As the title hints, this is a quick list of 5 action items that you can take today to improve your business's social media presence. It's easy for me to knock these items out because I know what to look for, this is what I do after all, but it's also easy for me to recognize where a novice might have difficulty. As a Virtual Marketing Assistant, it's my job to help business owners with tasks that they don't like, don't have time for or just plain don't know how to do. We can start with this blog post but if you find that you need more assistance, contact me. I LOVE this stuff!
Keeping social media accounts updated and relevant is SO important for businesses and it's SO easy. Simple things like making sure that your business name is listed right, that you're classified as the right type of business and that the services and products you provide are clearly stated have a huge impact on whether or not customers will find you. If you’re not getting the likes and the followers that you would like or think you deserves, well, you’re not alone but there are some simple things you can do to give your business accounts a boost. It's important to note that each task on this list could be far more involved if you have the time and really, truly want to put in the effort. But, I said this was going to be a fast & easy list and I'm a woman of my word. If you want to take a more in-depth look at your online presence, send me an email, I'd be happy to help. For now, let’s get started.
Update Profiles & Contact Info - This seems obvious, doesn’t it? You’d be surprised at how many business owners or managers look up their business accounts just to find the wrong phone number is listed or the hours are incorrect. This could be due to a variety of reasons from staff/social media management changes to changes in the information itself. Whatever the case, it’s a quick fix! Check your info out now and then check it again in a couple of months. As a matter of fact, set a reminder to check in on it again.
Reset Passwords - Speaking of change of staff and social media management - change your passwords. Back in the days when businesses were just testing the waters with social media it wasn’t uncommon for a lone employee to start the accounts or for an intern to create and manage social media efforts. But, once those accounts are created, their credentials need to be accessible to management. You absolutely do not want a summer intern or an angry ex-employee to walk away with your social media presence in their pocket. Keep all account information stored somewhere safe where only the appropriate employees have access. While you’re at it, set up two-step authentication (we’ll be talking about this more next week).
Update Profile Pics & Banners - Make sure that all of your social media profile pics & banners are up to date, high quality photos. Verify that your logo, slogan and color/themes are consistent everywhere online, including your website. Each platform has different size requirements for profile photos so make sure that yours meets those requirements and looks professional. If you’re not sure how to do this, reach out to me, I can help!
Weigh Your Options - It’s intimidating to put your business on social media, I get it. Trends change so fast and if you’re not ‘tech savvy’, keeping up to date on what apps are used for can be a headache. If that’s the case, you should certainly consider hiring someone to manage your social media (ahem). But, one thing that is crucial and can be helpful is to decide where your online efforts should be focused. This differs from business to business and industry to industry. For example, almost all businesses should have a Facebook page. No, really, they should. Funeral home - yes! Dental office - abso-freaking-lutely! But not every business needs a twitter or an instagram. Figuring out what your goals are for social media is an excellent starting point. From there, do your research online to see where you should be focusing your efforts online. If that seems too daunting, consider talking to someone like me, who does it for a living.
Conduct a Competitive Analysis - Take a peek at what your direct competitors are doing. Whether they’re big box stores or small businesses it’s good to get a sense of what your current and potential customers are seeing from similar businesses so you know what you’re up against. Plus, this can serve as inspiration for what you want your own content to be like.
These are just some starting points to help make sure that your business doesn’t look outdated and irrelevant online. There are so many different ways that businesses can choose to utilize social media these days. Whether it’s totally in-house or done with the help of a content creator like me, with the right tools and effort your business will stand out above the rest and your online reputation will grow organically. Meaning, you’ll finally start to see the engagement and interaction with customers that you’ve heard about.
Comments