Social Media: What Do you Post?

With so many social media platforms, it can be hard to distinguish what you should post where. Generally, as a business, your social media messages are probably the same across the board, but should you be differentiating them?

If you look at the most popular platforms, it’s safe to say that most businesses would have a presence on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as a minimum. 

I generally post the same message across platforms but recently I realised that some of my posts aren’t necessarily relevant across all channels. Why? I believe each social media platform has its own personality. You might think this is a strange term to use but it’s probably the best term I can think of to describe my thoughts and give credence to those same thoughts. My findings come from my own experience.

If I had to compare mediums, I would say Facebook and Instagram are more casual. If I look at followers on my business page, they are made up of personal friends and acquaintances, business acquaintances and business owners. 

LinkedIn is, in my mind, solely professional with some water cooler humour thrown in at times. The followers of my LinkedIn page are predominantly businesspeople who I may have worked with in the past, current business associates and anyone who may be interested in what my business has to offer.

So, why would I communicate a different message to each group? The main aim of social media is to engage with followers so it’s important that your messages encourage those they have reached to engage. 

I mainly communicate messages that are applicable to both groups. Whether its communicating changes on my website, a new blog post or even a motivational message. These I post to all my social media accounts. 

But, if I look at my Facebook page, I know that most of my followers are mums in business. Being that I consider Facebook a more casual social media platform, I at times post messages that may be targeted towards working parents, for example wishing those parents in Victoria all the best for home learning (we’ve had quite a bit of that in VIC!) etc.

I guess I feel that social media should be treated as you would treat any social event. LinkedIn would be your business conference or networking meeting where most conversation veers on the professional side with a little personal thrown in for good measure. Facebook and Instagram on the other hand could be considered a bit like Friday night drinks, work will be discussed but there will be talk of weekend plans with the family or home renovation projects.

Whichever mediums you are using, the right message will go a long way to getting you that coveted engagement.

Do you tend to post differently on each platform?

What is a Social Media Plan?

A social media plan outlines your strategy and specific objectives for each social media platform you have outlined in your marketing plan. 

Your social media plan should outline which platforms your business is active on and how often you will post content.

A social media plan is effective in: 

-       Maintaining consistent posting schedules across all social media platforms

-       Avoiding last minute panic and rushing to find content to share

-       Allowing you to keep up to date and utilise trending topics.

Of course, it’s important that you recognise the differences between social media platforms when it comes to creating content and the frequency in which you post. You need to also understand that a post that may work on Facebook may not be suited to LinkedIn and some platforms such as Instagram will lend themselves more to visual posts. It’s imperative you acknowledge the strengths of each platform as you put your social media plan together.

As with any type of plan in your business whether it’s your marketing, content or social media plan, it should have some flexibility to adjust with the changes that may take place within your business or industry.

If you would like help putting together your social media plan, contact Absolute Marketing Communications.

To Social Network or Not To Social Network?

Social Media is such an integral part of everyday life and business. Most businesses now have a social media presence whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram or a combination of any of these. But its not uncommon for a lot of business owners, in particular small business owners to shy away from promoting their business on social media. The main reason for this is they fear that they are open to negative feedback and for a small business negative feedback can have a big impact.

Businesses survived many years without the internet and social media but we now live in an age where people rely heavily on websites and social media to make decisions when it comes to purchasing goods and services. It’s safe to say that if a business doesn't have an internet presence then it needs to rely on its reputation and word of mouth but unfortunately it doesn't always have the desired results. 

So how can small business have a social media presence and minimise negative feedback where its not warranted? By exploring the options of your desired social media you can tailor your page to ensure you are able to monitor any content that is made public. 

In the case of Facebook, you can set up your page to not display posts on your time line unless they have been approved by you. This allows you to police what is made public. If you do this bear in mind its not an excuse to bury your head in the sand if you don’t like a comment that has been made. 

One of the golden rules of social media is to address all comments whether they are positive or negative. Someone may comment that they left you a voicemail message but you didn’t reply to the message in what they believed was a timely many. Rather than ignore the comment, offer an explanation. You may have been in a meeting with a client or some other legitimate excuse. People need to understand that you are running a business so there may be times when you can’t answer the phone. Of course if you feel that a comment is detrimental to your business and unfounded you are within your rights to not publish it but I would still reply to the person directly.

Social media is such an effective marketing tool that I believe it’s important to have a presence. Consider it a passive form of word of mouth.

If you would like assistance in setting up your social media profile you can email Absolute Marketing Communications at arizzo77@tpg.com.au