Learn how to utilize best practices on social media to grow your business
Platform Specific Best Practices
There are several key components to accomplishing a successful social media marketing and strategy plan for any business. I always suggest the easiest step first, maintaining a quick response rate to customer comments and messages. Customer service is a part of social media that should not be overlooked when managing an account, and it can be done at no cost. Measuring analytics for both organic and paid posts is also an integral component to a successful strategy. Identifying which metric is important when establishing your KPIs, will be an important factor to know when reviewing the analytics reports. A third item that often gets overlooked is Verifying your accounts, especially on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The verification will make your brand stand out and appear more reputable which is important when attracting new customers.
Below is an example of a guide that will keep all of the checks and balances in order for day to day social media management.
All platforms must be logged into a minimum of once per day to monitor and respond to posts, comments, mentions, and DMs. Each platform has a best time to post based on historical data, be sure to schedule your posts at those times for optimal reach. Check insights weekly and adjust post time if needed.
Be responsive and reply within 12 hours to DMs and direct questions in the comments section of a post. Monitoring of conversations needs to occur at least one time per day.
Monitor negative feedback and respond appropriately and as soon as possible. Never give off a negative or disrespectful tone and manner. Always try to reply with concern and offer a solution when appropriate. Delete offensive and vulgar posts if they appear on the page.
Use the best judgment when posting if a national event has occurred that can be a sensitive topic. Be sure to only post content related to the event if appropriate, and make sure the social media post is not tone-deaf to the situation.
Link your company's website in the about section. Make sure the About sections stays up to date and includes all relevant contact information.
Canva is available to use for creating unique posts and you can even create a brand style guide for your pages. It is important to create a cohesive look and feel across all of your social media pages. The style guide should be made available to all social media managers within your organization.
Use an editorial calendar to schedule content creation. Plan 4 weeks out for all regularly occurring posts. Campaigns need to be planned 6 weeks out. Rotate themes on weekly posts. Ex: Image, Tip of the Day, Poll, or Question repeat…
Plan to have social media campaigns to increase business. Track metrics for each campaign and adjust as needed. Consider using a unique and clever hashtag for each campaign. Tracking campaign metrics will allow your organization to make adjustments for future campaigns based on the data.
Use consistent hashtags on every post and within the first comment line under a FB or Twitter post. Try not to use over 6 hashtags in an Instagram and Twitter post for a professional look.
Add a call to action button on the page for appointments or link a website in the bio.
Only use high-quality images. Follow the recommended pixel requirements to ensure that each post looks polished and professional. Here is an example of how to size Facebook posts.
Keep character count (post length) around 50 characters or less (see image). Use a free character count service if you are unsure of how many characters you have used.
Shorten URL links (bit.ly, & j.mp 3rd party service) when posting them in the description, and comments section. Track the links and apply the data when making changes to your strategy plan. Shortening links will give a more professional and aesthetically pleasing look. Use the same URL tracking system when posting links within a Facebook and Twitter post. Instagram does not allow clickable links in a post, put all links in the bio for IG.
Example of too many characters in a post.
Example post of the correct amount of characters and a better layout
Facebook offers unique features that will allow you to market your product and put a human face behind your brand. There are many companies that offer programs to assist you with managing strategy and tailoring your messages to the target audience. This will save you a lot of time in the long run.
For ads, use variation each month. Rotate traditional ads with the new carousel feature add. Carousel images are square, use 600 x 600 pixels for this type of ad.
Go on Facebook & Instagram live at least 2 times per month.
Post a Reel on Instagram weekly to increase reach.
Allow User-Generated Content or tagged posts on the page no more than 1 time per week. Allow UGC in a story no more than 3 times per week.
Implement all social media best practices and they will come together like a completed puzzle. Each social media platform needs to have their own best practices guide. Most of the items on this guide can be used on other channels, but the content needs to be tailored specifically to each platform because the audience can vary. All of the information in this guide can seem a bit overwhelming at first. Once you understand how each best practice works together, you will watch your business grow.
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