​Are you a social media newbie? Then never fear, help is here…


If you’re just starting up your own new business and want help on how to manage your social media platforms, or have been given the task of managing someone else’s, then here is my easy peasy checklist on managing your social accounts. 

TWITTER
Tweet every day. You’ve got to try and hold peoples attention, so try to deliver content and have something to say to them daily, or else they’ll lose interest and bugger off. Or worse, unfollow you. The online equivalent of being dumped. 
Don’t be afraid to use hashtags.  But please #don’t #start #making #your #content #totally #unreadable. Don't overdo it. 
Repost your content. Don’t be afraid of reposting content. Social media is a busy old place, and things can get easily overseen or missed on people's timelines. People can look at Facebook or twitter dozens of times a day, and they might only look at things posted in the last hour or so, so regularly reposting can make sense if you don't want to fall through the gaps. 
Include pictures and videos. We’re visual creatures, and an image will always draw extra attention than a few words on a page. 
Schedule your posts: Look into using a scheduling site like Hootsuite, tweetdeck or sprout social so you can make sure posts go out even when you’re not working. Hootsuite has a free starter version, perfect if you're only managing one or two accounts. 
Share content from other people. Keep it relevant to your audience though. 
Don’t ignore people!  Try to take the time to reply to people if they’ve bothered to talk to you. Otherwise its just bad manners. 
Don’t ignore the bad stuff. Always respond, but keep it professional. Remember, the world and its dog is watching….

​FACEBOOK
Keep it short & sweet. If you want to write lots of stuff, put it as a link to your business’s blog. Which of course you have, don’t you? 
Post photos and videos to your timeline. Images and videos are generally always shared way more than other content. 
Find where your customer is.  Try posting things at different times of day to find out when they are most likely to be looking. ie, a gardening business may fare better with early bird postings at 7am, whereas parent focused posts may do well in the evenings when the kids have gone to bed.. 
Don’t do a hard sell. Generally, people aren’t on Facebook to part with their cash, they just want to be informed and entertained.

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​INSTAGRAM
Use detailed descriptions. Instagram may be all about pictures, but an unusual description can really put a picture or video into context. 
Post original video content as well as images. People will love you for it and with video technology being so easy these days, there really is no excuse! 
Come up with your own hashtags and then use these to help to create a community of people around them. 
Other peoples Hashtags. Don’t be afraid to jump on to the back of existing hashtags to promote your own posts.

Have you ever thought about what your social media voice should be? No? Well now’s the time to take a good long look at yourself. 


Creating a strong, consistent voice is the key to building a real relationship with your audience or customer. Whether you’re a recruitment company or a food business, ultimately people buy from people. More specifically, people we LIKE and relate to.


Social media gives brands a chance to develop personality and characteristics of their own. All the lovely stuff that attracts you to certain people more than others, can also endear you to a brand or company too.


A social media voice can be playful, educational, fun, irreverent, inspirational, sophisticated or whatever you want it to be. So how do you find out what YOUR brand voice should be? 


Business Core Culture
Every business has something that makes it different & unique. What does YOUR organisation stand for? What makes you different? If your brand was a person, what would they care about or do? Dress down Fridays? Service with a smile? Ethically aware? 


Your Customer & Community
Who is your customer and the community you cater for? Listen to the way they voice their feelings. How do they talk to eachother? Notice the tone and language they use. Make sure you know what they want from you and try to reflect that in how YOU speak to THEM.  


Start a Conversation
Ask yourself what you’re bringing to social media by putting your brand out there (your answer might be something like customer support, industry education, general fun or product promotions) and then communicate it with the personality you are and an authentic voice. No strong-arming or hard selling, just talking in a way that’s comfortable, conversational and relatable.


Be a human, not a robot
They key is that social media is meant to be SOCIAL. A party or get together that’s online 24/7. If you were to walk into a room full of strangers, how would you approach them? Who would you be? 

Be Consistent
Remember who you are and try to be consistent with what you say and how you say it. This is easier if it's just you who posts all your Facebook posts, but harder if you share the workload with other colleagues. Make sure you all understand WHO you are, the sort of language you use ( and more importantly, don't) and the kind of things you're interested in.  No body wants to use a business when they sound like they have multiple personalities with each post. Which one do you trust? 

Finally, a little secret. The hard sell doesn’t work. Nobody likes to chat to someone who comes across as a pushy salesman. Try to charm, engage and inform (like the perfect party guest...) and you’ll soon find people will want to be your online friend. And don't be afraid to give away information for free (although that's a whole different blog post....)

Because that’s ultimately what this social media thing is all about. Making friends, and influencing people. And maybe, just maybe, they will like you enough to become a customer. 





Here are some social media brand voices that really work. 
Have a look at their social media platforms and notice how the personality of the brand is clear, engaging, consistent and authentic. 

Innocent Drinks
http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk


Virgin Media
http://www.virginmedia.com


Amazon UK
https://twitter.com/amazon

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