Being a digital marketer on the Space Coast has allowed me the opportunity to work with a great deal of different types of businesses in many industries. One common factor I have noticed regardless of industry or tenure in the business world is the understanding social media is important.
As business owners we know social media is becoming the standard in the quickly changing landscape of marketing, allowing us to interact with customers directly online organically and through paid advertisements. Unfortunately many businesses, especially startups don’t have a budget for an employee in the early days, let alone a marketing budget. To help those who want a social media presence they can handle themselves I’ve put together a few quick pointers and resources that are free and easy.
Never forget the basics in business
As a caution, I’ve heard a surprising number of digital marketers in the industry say social media is the “quick and easy way” to “skyrocket your sales” and “engage consumers immediately”. In my experience the best way to market any business is to offer a great product or service while providing an outstanding experience for your customer or client. No amount of boosted posts or adwords will ever replace word of mouth advertising. Social media management can be tedious and often takes a long time to see real results, especially if you are learning as you go. So, if you can check off the boxes for a great product or service, provide an excellent customer experience and have the patience to learn a new skill, read on!
I can learn Facebook for free?
Yes you can. Blueprint is a free service Facebook offers to everyone for free. It is set up as a self paced, online learning path that teaches you the ins and out of Facebook starting with the basics. Click here and follow the prompts to begin your free online learning. Why would Facebook give this knowledge away for free? As a business owner if you understand how to use the platform effectively you are more likely to advertise on Facebook which generates revenue. Even if you hire a digital marketer to manage your social media for you, I recommend taking the classes so you can properly vet them which can help your business time and money.
How often to post on Facebook
Like many topics, if you talk to five different social media marketers you will get five different answers ranging from “post once a week” to “post three times a day”. In my experience I have found it is important to post at least five times per week to maintain optimal reach(the number of people who see your post, regardless if they like your page or not). Days and times should be determined by analyzing a page’s insights, though I generally post at least once Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the evening. Hubspot recently published a study that showed their clients only benefited from posting twice daily if their page likes exceeded 10,000 people as illustrated in their graph below.
What to Post on Facebook
The million dollar question: How do I create the perfect post? To state it plainly you have to tell a story with great content. Sounds easy right? There is a catch, you have to tell this story using photos or video and no more than 160 characters at most(though now it is being recommended to keep it between 80-100 characters). Having a repeating schedule of post topics that work for you makes it easier to create and schedule. Five topics to get you started are:
- Behind the Scenes: Post a picture of your daily operations a customer would not normally see.
- Share a Quote: Post a quote that means something to you or will help inspire others.
- Show a Product: Picture a product you are working on and say why you are excited about it, do not directly sell.
- Ask a Question: Solicit feedback from your audience regarding a topic of your choice.
- Customer Interaction: Take a photo with a customer or share a review with your audience.
There are plenty of topics to post about just remember to keep text short and make your posts visual.
This seems like a lot of work!
It is. Larger companies generally have one person in charge of social media management working within a larger marketing department. As a business owner you have to decide where to allocate your time an resources to generate the most revenue. Even if you don’t commit a lot of time or resources to your social media, it still is good to post with some consistency. When your business grows enough to have someone manage your social media it does provide valuable data to that person which will help them get better results faster.