Have you got your Autumn/Winter social media strategy ready yet? If you haven’t, then you need to start! We all know that social media and digital communication is the future of pretty much everything, but sometimes it can feel a bit confusing. To help you out, we’ve made a quick guide that will teach you how to make the most of social media for your business.

Be present on all relevant platforms

Each social media gives you an opportunity to reach new clients, so it makes sense to take advantage of that by having active accounts on all platforms that are relevant to your business. If your business is, for example, a law firm, then you may not find it helpful to be on Instagram, as your business is probably not suited to a visual approach. Think about where online your target audience would spend their spare time, and make your decisions from there.

Post regularly

Every post that you make has the ability to increase your exposure. If you get into a habit of posting in a schedule, then your audience can also anticipate when you are going to be posting and they may specifically look out for you if they enjoy seeing your content – how amazing would that be?! However, by posting regularly I do not mean that you should post for the sake of posting. It’s important that your content is meaningful and relevant, ‘less is more’ as they say.

Use hashtags

What do hashtags actually do? Well, they link all of the posts with the same hashtag together so that it’s easy to find the things you’re looking for. If someone wanted to go to a café in Ilkley, then they may look at #ilkleycafes to find one. You should only use hashtags which are relevant to your business, don’t just use #gainpost because it’s a popular tag. Think of what hashtags your customers may be searching, and target these. That way you have more chance of being seen by both your existing and new followers.

Create content that appeals to your target audience

You should know your target audience inside out. What is their age range? What are their interests? Where are they located?

If you sell children’s clothing and one of your perfect customers is a 30 to 40-year-old female with a young toddler, then she won’t be interested in seeing lots of constant posts about new born babywear…unfortunately you’re more likely to turn her off and she’ll hit the ‘Unlike’ button. Instead she’ll be more than happy to see a wide selection of clothing for all age groups, including some outfits for her beautiful toddler!

My advice is to know what your customer wants to see, and post more of that.

Post content that adds value

You need to give your audience a reason to follow you, and you can do that by posting content which adds value to the customer’s life. Do you run a children’s toy store? If so, then post some top tips on how to keep kids entertained in the school holidays. No one is obligated to follow you; you need to give them an incentive.

Link your pages

Do your Facebook followers know you have Instagram? Not unless you tell them!! Every few months you should be posting an “Are you following us on (other platform)” message to make sure that your clients and followers know they can reach you through all the different channels available to them. This is especially important when you’re getting a new social media platform established. If your Twitter followers go to like your page on Facebook, then it could be shared with their friends, and you gain even more exposure.

Keep your details up to date

There is nothing worse than finding a page on Facebook that has an old telephone number on, or the wrong address for their premises. You need to make sure that every time you change any contact details or website addresses, that you update your social media pages. A lot of people make this mistake and it can lose you a lot of business; if people can’t immediately get in touch with you then they’re probably going to find someone else who can do the job.

I hope these tips will help you get the most out of your social media and give you ideas which will help you grow your business online. If you need a more advice or a helping hand with your marketing, then please give me a call, or drop me an email, I’d love to hear from you.

Join our social media training cafés

If you’d like to learn more practical tips on how to manage your own social media platforms, why not come along to one of my Social Media Café’s. It’s a great way to meet likeminded business owners, share experiences and learn how to take your social media to the next level, whilst enjoying fresh coffee and delicious cake!

My upcoming events can be found either on my Facebook page or on my Social Media Cafe Page

Hope to see you there!

Rachelle

Email: hello@theyorkshiremarketingcompany.co.uk

Telephone: 01943489767