5 Steps to Becoming a Social Media Savant

It’s no understatement to say that running a company takes a lot of time and work. Between managing employees, increasing your client-base, and building your brand, your hands are full! Even though you know it’s important, managing your online presence can seem like a daunting task with so much to do. We’ve been there, which is why we’re offering up 5 quick and easy (but hugely-helpful) tips for managing your brand’s social media like a boss!

1. Give the people what they want

It’s good to have a plan of what you want to promote on your social media accounts, but don’t forget to be aware about what performs well online. For example, if you post a lot photos of products and notice they aren’t getting much interaction, try making them more personable by utilizing people, props, motion, or sound… basically anything that captures a user’s attention longer and appeals to them on a deeper level.

As a good rule of thumb, remember that posting what you want to push lets potential customers know what you’re selling, but posting photos that get high engagement gives them a reason to keep coming back to your page.

2. Follow the 80:20 Rule

The 80:20 Rule in social media marketing states that 80% of your posts should be to inform, educate, and entertain, while the remaining 20% will be to directly promote your business. As Asen CEO, Paul Scoonover, always says, “no one cares what you have to say until they know you care about them.” While you deserve to boast about your accomplishments and qualifications, potential customers want you to tell them what those achievements mean for THEM. When posting about yourself, know how to present your own achievements in a way that does something beneficial for them. Whether it’s educating them on your products or services or simply entertaining them by appealing to their interests, focusing on your audience more than promoting yourself will help improve engagement.

When you do post about a milestone or achievement, make sure to mention your appreciation for the customers, team members, and partners who have helped you get to where you are. If they are important to your success, you want to be sure to remind them every once in awhile! Plus, letting your followers know how important others have been in helping you achieve your goals paints you as a team player, while showing them just how far your brand has come!

3. Know the best platforms for your brand

These days, there’s nearly a dozen social platforms to choose from! With all of these options, it’s important to know which ones will be most effective for your audience. The top 3 platforms for business today are Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Instagram is the most visual platform and the hardest to capture users’ attention on. For this platform, it is best to post highly-captivating, aesthetically-pleasing content that will get your followers to stop scrolling and take notice. Personable photos, such as employee highlights and office activities, are likely to get high engagement. Videos are another great form of content that usually stops followers from scrolling and engage with your post. It allows users to spend more time on your page and learn more about your brand.

LinkedIn is mostly for business professionals in the B2B world, so followers on this platform will likely be people interested in partnering with or working for your brand. This means your posts should be more professional and include things like: relevant industry news, company success stories or case studies, and product-specific material. However, if using this platform specifically for recruitment, office culture posts are always great.

Facebook is the perfect blend of the above 2 social platforms, as it has a wider range of users. On Facebook, you should post a mix of content varying from company achievements to photos of team members having fun at the office. This is the perfect platform for showcasing your company’s personality!

4. Make a calendar ahead of time

There is no set rule on how to make a calendar. Some agencies help brands by creating calendars and scheduling posts a month in advance, while others may do it for an entire quarter. The benefit of making a calendar is that it lets you prepare content, take and edit photos ahead of time, and never run out of ideas to post — all while saving time and making your days a tad more efficient.

You can plan ahead for upcoming launches, holidays and birthdays, promotions or retirements, events, and more! You can even plan out your thought-leadership content, like industry tips and news updates. Having posts planned ahead of time will ease your mind, so on the day of the post, you can focus on the other items on your “to do” list. When planning, however, understand that things can always change and you may have to tweak your calendar from time to time.

5. Make sure the person (or agency) managing your social media has:

• A good eye for aesthetics and design
• Strong writing skills (captions matter!)
• Familiarity with your brand’s voice
• Familiarity with your brand’s audience
• The ability to meet posting deadlines
• Sales or reputation management skills (for responding to comments, messages, and reviews)
• The ability to stay up to date with current topics for relatable posts

In other words… hire professionals! What many business owners tend to forget is that investing in social media DOES pay off. Everyone today is online in some way or another, and social platforms like Facebook have essentially become a new-aged search engine for learning about brands.

Why hire an agency?

Managing social media can feel tedious and time-consuming to those who have a lot on their plate. For this reason, many brands turn to a marketing or advertising agency to run their social accounts for them.

Our tip here? Choose an agency that has many social media specialists and will work collectively with you or your team on everything from calendar creation to understanding analytics. After all, you need to know how successful your social campaigns are in order to truly understand what your audience wants. At Asen, our digital and social teams work together to help our partners grow their online presence with proven, creative strategies that work.