Simple Social Media Tips to Help Your Pages Shine
The majority of us use some sort of social media, at least occasionally, in our personal lives. While sharing your photos, events, or just your thoughts with friends and family has become pretty intuitive, utilizing social media for business purposes is a whole other ball of wax. It can seem a bit daunting to work towards your goals with constant changes to best practices and how the various algorithms prioritize social content.
Maybe you’ve been running a Facebook page to promote your e-course, or an Instagram account to sell your artwork and haven’t been seeing the engagement numbers or audience growth that you’d like to. Even if you’re totally new to this, here are a few tips that will help your social media channels shine and reach more customers for your small business simply and organically.
Determine Your Intended Audience
First things first, you’ll need to decide who your audience is going to be. This will determine how you’ll personalize pretty much every element of your social media plan. It’s useful to think about your audience as actual people you might interact with, in the real world. Jot notes down on age, location, and interest demographics of the folks you’ll be targeting with your social media posts. For example, if you’re an online course creator who’s looking to sell your course to beginner creatives your notes could look something like:
Age: 25+
Location(s): North America, United Kingdom
Gender(s): All
Language(s): English
Interests: Art, Painting, Pen & Ink, Continued Learning, Poetry
Feel free to make a few audience profiles, but it’s in your best interests to have them have foundational similarities so that you can market to a consistent audience. Keep your core audience in mind when determining hashtags, imagery, and the voice you use in your posts.
Use Hashtags In a Smart and Consistent Way
You’ve probably seen some Instagram influencers bombard their followers with upwards of 30 hashtags including generic ones such as “#Instagood” and the like. While that technically is within the limit numbers-wise, it’s generally a good idea to stick between 8 and 15 relevant hashtags per Instagram post, and a maximum of three for Facebook or Twitter. This prevents your content from being viewed as spam and also forces you to really think about the right hashtags for each post.
The first hashtag on every post should be one that you create for you and only you. Make sure to search already created hashtags to make sure your is actually unique. For most people, this tag will be your name (#JaneDoe) or your business name (#CourseCraft), but feel free to experiment with what feels right for your personal brand. Following your own branded hashtag, you should only use hashtags that apply to both your content and the audience you’re trying to reach. Also, try to avoid “top” hashtags where your content will get totally drowned out in the noise of millions of other posts. For example, Instead of using #DogsOfInstagram to promote your pet portrait business, consider using #DogPaintingArt and #DogPaintings.
Another tip that will help your posts more polished is properly spacing the hashtags from the body copy, specifically on Instagram where a higher number of hashtags are par for the course. There are a few ways you can do this, but the goal is to leave three to five blank lines before you list off your carefully selected hashtags. This effectively “hides” the hashtags from view on your audience’s timelines unless “…more” is clicked. One to do this way is to utilize the Notes app on your phone or computer to type your caption, type a dot, click return or enter, and repeat until you have the proper amount of space, and then include your hashtags. You’ll then want to copy and paste this all into Instagram before publishing. An easier way to do this involves using a third-party tool to schedule and post your content, which I highly recommend.
Use a Social Media Scheduling Tool
Utilizing a social media scheduling tool allows you to plan ahead, spend less time posting day-to-day, manage multiple channels at once, and more. There are several great free options out there such as Buffer and Later, as well as paid tools that offer more advanced social listening tools and analytics such as Sprout Social.
The time of day, as well as the day of the week that your posts go live, will have a direct impact on the number of people who will be able to see it! While each page will have different “peak” times, this page offers good predictions broken down by industry and platform. Consistently posting, and at the right times will do wonders for putting your content in front of more people. With the time you save by using one of these tools, you’ll be able to dedicate more time to actually engaging with your audience on a more personal level.
Engage with Your Audience Directly
No amount of bells and whistles will replace actually interacting on a human level. While it may seem obvious, responding to questions, “liking” others’ posts, and highlighting others through your page is a great way to build a solid social media presence. Being responsive and taking interest in your audience will increase affinity for your business and will help you build trust over time. Here are a few simple ways to increase your engagement:
- Post “Stories” on Instagram using Polls, Q&A, and other widgets
- Tag other relevant creators and businesses in your posts
- Respond to every comment you receive
- Ask questions of or suggestions from your audience
No matter how you choose to engage, take time to interact on a one to one basis with folks interested in your brand or product.
Try Things Out, Play Around, and Learn from Your Past
The nature of social media is constantly changing, so being flexible and continue to learn about the latest best practices will be your best bet for running successful pages. Taking advantage of the analytics offered through your chosen scheduling app, or the ones provided natively, can offer insight into what’s working and what’s not. At the end of each month, take a look to see what sorts of posts are connecting with your audience. This can inspire you to try something new, or lean into a type of content even more. Don’t be afraid to tread untested waters, as something that works for one person or brand may not be the best strategy for you!
If you’re looking to share tips and chat with fellow online course creators, be sure to join our Creative Online Course Makers Facebook group. You can also follow CourseCraft news and updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
