January 2022
We all know that promoting your business online is a great way to boost sales and increase brand recognition, but to reap the full benefits, your brand has to maintain a consistent presence online. There are a lot of ways you can do this, but here we’ll be sharing our top 5 tips with you for 2022.
#1: Set SMART Goals
Setting goals is key to your social media presence. You wouldn’t run your business without a plan, so why would you run your company’s social channels without creating a path? SMART goals are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-specific.
An example of a SMART goal you might use to increase your business’s social presence could be “we will increase our Instagram engagement rate by 25% by the end of the first quarter.” This goal is specific to a channel and a key performance indicator. It is measurable because you can use an analytics program to determine your engagement rate. It’s achievable if you put the effort into it. It is relevant to your brand and your focus on maintaining your presence. And it’s time-specific because you plan to achieve this by the end of the first quarter.
#2: Create a social media calendar
You’re more likely to post consistently if the content is already created and all you have to do is schedule it. You can create a calendar that is weekly, monthly, or as far in advance as you’d like. It requires a little bit of time on the front end when you are creating the content, but if you dedicate time in the beginning, you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the end not having to think of something clever to say every day in your posts.
#3: Automate as much as possible
There are tons of automation programs that make posting and scheduling social media posts simple. You can put your posts into the scheduling tools and then you don’t have to think about them again. You can also look at automation in the form of chatbots that can answer simple questions from your followers online. You’ll want to make sure you still regularly check the chat forums just to ensure that no questions or feedback go unanswered.
#4: Optimize your accounts
You’ll want to make sure your social media accounts contain as much information about your brand as possible. This will help customers find you online and tell them what your brand is all about. Ensure that all the contact information is available and correct. Use hashtags, @ mentions, or keywords when possible. Most importantly, don’t forget to link to your website or other relevant sites. If you incorporate all of these things then you increase the chances of new followers and potential customers being able to find you online. A fully optimized social account even increases your Google search rankings.
# 5: Monitor your progress
Regularly monitor your progress to make sure that your efforts are working. There are a number of ways you can measure analytics, and most social media platforms have built-in analytics tools. There are also tools available for purchase or as part of an automation program. By checking the progress of your accounts on a weekly or, at the very least, monthly basis, you’ll be able to see how your audience is reacting to the content you’re sharing. The more content you share, the more insight you’ll have into what interests your audience and why they are following your brand.
We hope these 5 tips help you to continue to maintain a social media presence for your brand. As long as you’re active online and engaging with your audience, you’ll be surprised to see how easily you can grow your brand online. If you have questions or need help getting started with your brand online, reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help.