Start well: How to set your social media up for success
Most of us have our own personal social media accounts where we share updates on our kids, pets, holidays, dinner etc. these personal social media accounts can be more opportunistic than strategic, but when creating and managing social media for a business, organisation, project, brand or other professional entity, strategy is key. Here I share the foundations to setting up for social media success.
Ponder the platforms
With so many social media platforms out there, you have so many options to choose from, but how can you choose strategically for your brand? This is your first step to set your social media up for success, what platforms will your brand be active on? While some platforms have similar features, they are diverse in the manner their features are used, the types of content that can be posted and who uses them. Ultimately, social media is a marketing tool for your brand to reach its target audience online. So to decide what platform you would like your brand to be on, you need to consider what platforms your target audience is most active on.
So how can you figure this out?
A great tool that I would suggest is the Global Digital Reports created by Hootsuite and partners, which gives you insight into all things digital including statistics on social media platforms, demographics, trends and can give localised reports on specific countries’ online behaviours. Using resources like these can assist you in deciding which platforms are worth putting effort into so you can reach your target audience. You do not need to be on all platforms, but spend time carefully considering which platforms will benefit your brand most, and remember to think innovatively! There are always emerging features, and it's about carving out your own corner of social media and using the new features to further your brand's mission.
Visit this link for the global overview www.hootsuite.com/resources/digital-trends
Visit this website to find specific country reports more easily datareportal.com
Get a handle on your username
See what I did there ;) Handle and username are interchangeable words. When you are deciding on your username for your brand, the best practice is for it to correspond with your business and domain name.
To use EngagingDev as an example:
Brand name: EngagingDev
Domain name: www.engagingdev.com
Therefore @engagingdev is the username/handle that is used across our social media.
Before you go to create any social media accounts, make sure you check the availability of your preferred username. The easiest way to do this is to simply search for your first preference on your chosen social media platforms. If nothing comes up, then you are good to go!
Tip 1: If you have chosen multiple social media platforms, make sure to check the availability of your preferred username on all platforms first before creating your accounts.
Tip 2: Think of a few variations of your preferred username because your first preference may be unavailable on some, or all, platforms. Your aim here is to find the option that is available across all of your chosen platforms to maintain consistency.
Now, what happens when your preferred username is unavailable on one or more of your chosen platforms? No need to stress. This is why, if you followed tip 2, you would be prepared for this to happen and would have other username options as a backup plan.
So what could your username variations look like? In an ideal world, your first preference (your brand name) would be available. However, there are additional elements you can add to craft some suitable alternatives.
To use EngagingDev as an example again:
First preference @engagingdev
Variations:
The goal with your username selection is to maintain consistency across all platforms with the same username, and for it to be easily remembered. This reduces the risk of confusing your audience and making it difficult for them to find you, which further impacts your opportunity to secure more clients or customers.
Pick your profile photo
Similar to your username, using a consistent profile photo is what will make your brand easily identifiable and, ideally, it will be the same across all social media platforms. Logos are great to use as your profile photo as it reinforces your brand identity and keeps it simple for your audience.
In addition, some platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook also allow you to add a header/banner photo to your profile. This space is an opportunity to reinforce your brand’s mission statement. Again, ensure that the photo you select is on brand by either incorporating your brand colours and fonts or using an image that is related to your brand or industry, or both!
Build your bio
Let’s break down bios. Bios, or ‘about’ sections, look different on every platform. In your bio, you want to explain what you do, why you do it and perhaps who benefits, if that is relevant. Think of your bio as your brand’s elevator pitch. If you were in an elevator and a complete stranger walked in and asked “what does your business do?” you might have about 30 seconds to explain. Again, prioritise conciseness.
Each platform has different character limits so make sure to keep this in mind, some may not have a character limit at all. However, remember our goal? Make it easy, by keeping it short and concise.
Make sure you add a link to your website or URL! If you wish to link to multiple and specific areas of your brand, like your website, your products, your blog or events, here are a few ways you can do this:
1. Use a free (to an extent) customisable landing page for your link in your bio, like Linktree.
2. Using Canva is another alternative to Linktree. However this can give you a long URL, so use the bit.ly URL shortener - long URLs are overwhelming to look at in a bio.
3. Create a separate landing page on your existing website with all of your links and use this as your bio link - we have done this with EngagingDev see here.
Let’s chat Instagram bio.
The name is searchable so you want to try and make sure (within a 30-character limit) that you can fit your brand name and some key search terms in it. A lot more people are using social media platforms as a search engine now, rather than only consulting google.
See the elements below that make an effective Instagram bio with two examples.
Hashtag Research
You’ve found your platforms, figured out your username, uploaded your profile photo, and written your bio, now you want to post!
Another tool in the social media world that you would likely be familiar with is the hashtag - that waffle-looking symbol #. As mentioned earlier, every platform is different and therefore will have different recommendations for hashtag use. Hashtags are words that start with the #, for example, #socialmedia. They are used to identify content on a specific topic. A shared priority across all platforms is for your hashtags to be relevant to the post you shared. For instance, if you post about your favourite candle, you wouldn’t apply #socialmedia because generally, social media is not relevant to your favourite candle. Instead, you may use #candlelovers #candlesticks #candlecommunity if you were to make a post about candles.
Ideally, you may like to collate common hashtags that are relevant to the topics that you post frequently about and note them down in your notes, a word document, or a spreadsheet to create a hashtag library.
Experiment!
Now you are ready to post, I have one final tip. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Your social media profile will evolve, and it can take time to find your ‘voice’. You can adjust your bios, update links, change-up hashtags and work out what works for you and your brand. Social media is not and should not be static. It should be dynamic and engaging - it is ‘social’ after all.
Written by
Holly Sutcliffe-Carey
Communications Assistant