If you want to amplify your greatness to a specific audience – be it Aotearoa-wide, international, female-only, the 34-45 age group, or ‘businessmen in their late-50s from Bay of Plenty who like a coconut, vanilla latte with a dash of cream’, then social media is a great place to do it.
Social media is low investment, targeted and high reach. IF you do it right. That’s where specialists (like us!) come in. The various social media channels are not ‘one size fits all’. You need a bespoke social media plan that’s tailored to your business and its specific KPI’s, with targeted messaging to reach the right people at the right time.
All social, but not all the same
- Ever wondered if you should have every social media platform known to man, just in case? Well, it all depends on the type of business you’re running. Here’s a brief overview of the four main platforms used by Kiwis, that should help you answer this first basic question.
- In general, your business should have a presence on Facebook. Even if it’s a basic profile with fresh content posted 1-2 times per week. Facebook is an absolute giant, and its users are prolific. People use it almost like a search engine, looking for business and brand pages to engage with. If you don’t have an up-to-date Facebook page with content that show your audience what it is you can do for them, they’ll go to your competitor’s page.
- If your business is corporate, B2B or sales-focused, then LinkedIn could be a valuable networking tool and sales pipeline. With LinkedIn, you get out what you put into it. A strong and consistent strategy is important.
- If you work in a largely visual industry and can create a steady stream of aesthetically-pleasing images, Instagram is for you. Keep your feed ‘on brand’ with a consistent look and feel, use captions, and don’t forget your hashtags.
- A ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘must-have’, Twitter hasn’t really taken off for businesses in Aotearoa. Unless you have a specific reason for using it and if you’re short on time, you might just have a basic Twitter profile and link it to your business Facebook page. That way whenever you post on Facebook, that same post goes out to the Twitterverse.
Social media tips
There are many tips and tricks when it comes to social media. At times it can seem like these change on the daily. Keeping up with social media can be hard, but luckily there are people whose job it is to do just that.
Below are some of the basics:
- Create a social media content calendar to guide your posts. This will help you develop the themes you’d like to cover on your pages. Planning ahead saves you lots of headspace further down the track.
- Post two to three times a week, at a time when most of your followers are online. Check your analytics to find out when. And if it’s on a Sunday at 3am, you can schedule your posts in advance. Phew!
- If you have a newsletter, repurpose the content by sharing snippets on your social media to reach more people. Remember to encourage them to sign up to your panui.
- Showcase the people behind the business / brand. We all love putting a face to a name so don’t be shy!
- Consider whether there’s a way to have a call to action on the post. For example, a post about supporting local organisations can include a call for people to tag their favourite in the comments.
- Ensure you’re following other relevant accounts so you see their posts and can share / like / comment where appropriate.
- Wherever possible, tag in those who you’re mentioning – it helps spread the reach.
- If an image is blurry there’s no point in using it – best to not post than post uninspiring content.
- Emojis are an awesome way to break up text-heavy posts and hold the reader’s attention.
- There are a number of great free infographics tools that can be used to create jazzy branded content – try Canva.
We love helping our clients become more social on social! Get in touch to see how we can help.