We’re back at it again with our 2nd to last tip on how to Boost your Business/Brand using Social Media. We’ve already tackled Tips 1-3, so let’s near the finish line with #4: Content Is King.
So now, let’s talk about the importance of what you are putting on your social media platforms. We already mentioned the need to use visuals, graphics, and video but let’s dig a bit deeper into content. To make the most of your social media posting, you need to focus on the content you are putting out there. The video we showed in the beginning broke content down into the 4C’s:
You should be using social media to drive the 4Cs.
1.Creating
The first thing you must do is CREATE the content you want to share on your social media. This means taking those pictures, making those videos, creating those graphics. If you aren’t great with graphic design, I’d suggest checking out Canva – a super user-friendly little web-based tool that will help you make some effective graphics for your social media platforms.
2.Curating –
The second is curating content that is helpful or useful for your audience. You want your content to help your audience solve a problem, entertain them, and/or provide valuable insights. My best advice here is to think about what engages YOU on the social media you use as a consumer – personally for me, I am mesmerized by those quick cooking videos on Facebook, or the inspiration quotes on Instagram. They teach me something or inspire me in an easy, effective way.
I also can’t overstate enough the need for curating content that is engaging, causing your audience to interact with it (via a like or a comment or a share). This is how your social media will gain a further reach. Though I am not a Facebook expert by any means, I have found that posts I share that are engaging are ones that always get MUCH higher reaches. I always see vendors complaining why their wedding pictures don’t see much reach – it’s probably because the post isn’t getting much interaction. On the other hand, I recently put a blog post on Facebook that was about a piece of business advice that I received from a stranger. I shared this piece of content that was a resource for other small business owners and to date the post had reached over 3700 on Facebook (which is pretty awesome considering I only have 1700 fans and most my Facebook posts only reach 300-700). This post was helpful and so people liked it and shared it and the reach grew.
3.Connecting
I think some people have forgotten that these platforms are called SOCIAL media. The point isn’t to just endlessly promote your own stuff, it’s to interact and be social and connect with your audience. You will get so much more out of social media if you create conversations about your brand or business. Your posts should aim to start conversations which could help you get to know your audience better or find a new audience you didn’t even know was following you!
4.Community
Finally, relationships are everything in social media and creating a sense of community around your brand or business can be extremely beneficial to you. You’ve all head of the phrase “circles rise” and it’s true. And social media is an EASY way to enable this. Some things to keep in mind here:
- Use social media to either join into a community or create your own
- Personally as a wedding coordinator, I belong to a community of other planners on Facebook – we share insight, ask for recommendations, share experiences, and even pass referrals along to each other!
- Not everyone you are trying to reach via social media is a customer. Some of the most important connections within a connection base are influential people in various social circles.
- Through Twitter I’ve found some invaluable resources in the form of other wedding vendors, or other small business owners
- I’ve also made connections to clients through Instagram
All of these 4Cs can help you to use social media in a more impactful way to boost your business and reach new audiences and networks.
