As digital natives, we know this by now: social media is a necessary evil. Clients and customers expect some kind of presence on at least one of the Big Three (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter). However, social media is NOT the best or most reliable marketing tool. It’s just one tool that adds value to your overall brand image, assists in brand recognition, and serves as a medium for SEO (which should be your main marketing tool).
The best way to kickstart your social media presence is, you guessed it, to have a plan. In this post I’ll give important tips to beginning your business Instagram.
Look legit
Before you get started, you’ll want to gather images that authentically represent your business. If you haven’t already, you’ll most definitely want to book a professional branding session with me. We’ll capture all the best angles: you and your employees, your space, and the products and services that make your business unique. Having cohesive photography across your website and social media (and anywhere else folks can find your brand) bolsters your brand—people see your images and recognize your business.
Pro tip: Make an intro series. Introduce a new employee once a week, or if you’re an especially small business, once a month. If you’re feeling brave, give that employee the reins for an Instagram takeover for a day. Let them show your clients or customers “A Day in the Life.” Followers love to see this authentic, behind-the-scenes content.
Be consistent
Beyond sharing kickass photos, this is perhaps the most important: be consistent with your posting cadence. There are apps that can help you schedule posts if you’re going to get serious about your social presence, but for the bare bones business social account, just post regularly. 2-3 times per week is recommended, since Instagram algorithms don’t show photos in chronological order anymore. This way, your followers know when to expect things from you.
Pro tip: If you’re not feeling very creative with posts, try posting a weekly special where followers can get to know something unique about a product or service you offer as a way to give yourself a give yourself structure. Post example: Our favorite Thirsty Thursday special is our award-winning whiskey sour. Be sure to ask for extra whipped egg-white (you’ll thank us later).
Get candid
Good writing is something that holds back a lot of businesses from posting. Not everyone was born a Hemingway, but your captions can still be witty. Keep it conversational—try reading your captions out loud. Does it sound like a refrigerator manual, or does it sound like something you might say to a friend? Aim to sound like a human (not a robot) who lives in 2022. Avoid coming off as sales-y, and just explain what you’re offering like you would to a friend. As with all great writing, if you’re totally stumped, come back to your captions later and try again. Or do as I do and get wine drunk while you write out a month of captions ahead of time, so you’re extra sassy.
Pro tip: Use SEO keywords tools like Moz and Get Keywords to create captions that algorithms rank higher and to really kickstart your social media presence, squeeze those keywords into the copy as much as you can naturally. In other words, the internet gods favor content that uses specific words and phrases, and will reward you by showing your account or website before others.
Your business’ social media debut can be easy and painless, even for the most anti-social media business owners if you stick to a plan. Keep it clean (photos that is) and keep it simple. Stay tuned for tips on kickstarting your business Facebook and Twitter. Ready to book your branding session? Let’s chat.
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