Social media is hard!
There I said it. I reckon this is what most people think but no one wants to admit.
Social media is meant to be the easy part of marketing. It’s free so it must be simple! No-one counts the time that has to go into creating, posting and monitoring the content that will represent you or your business on social media.
This is what scares a lot of business people away from using social media. They dip their toe in and then realise how much time is involved and step back. And when they decide to give it a second chance everything has changed!
But it doesn’t have to be that hard – I promise.
Here are my top tips for keeping on top of your social media platforms:
- Create a social media marketing plan before you begin
Just like you would with a normal business plan you should create a social media marketing plan. This will help you set goals and decide which platforms you want a presence on. Doing this will set you up for success, and will allow you to avoid any social media mistakes.
- Create a social media content calendar
I swear by this.
It makes everything so much easier and helps you to stay organised and on track with your plan. By using a social media content calendar you’re able to figure out a social media content schedule that works for you. You can see and control how often you post and make sure you’re posting suitable content to the right platform.
- Engagement!
You must be willing to engage with people online. The main point of social media is to be social!
If people are asking questions about your business or your products, you need to respond to them. Even if it’s bad. Acknowledgement of an issue goes a long way and could stand to you in future.
- Know when to outsource your social media management
If you’re getting stuck with ideas for content or you just don’t have the time to properly monitor your activity, it might be a good idea to seek some outside help.
Whether it’s training or getting someone to take over your accounts, sometimes an outside perspective can be very beneficial. By working with an agency you get access to their knowledge and expertise about social media marketing which you can apply to your business.
Greg, our social media guru (he’ll hate me saying that!) is a huge advocate for not outsourcing your social media but even he will admit that outsourcing to well-briefed professionals is much better than doing it badly or not at all.
If this is you then give us a call!
Alma
Alma Brosnan is part of the Social Media Consultancy team at Fuzion Communications who have offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland
