SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES
Facebook’s platform is a cost-effective way to generate exposure for your brand. With features like Facebook Pages, which are places on Facebook where businesses can connect with their customers, you can gain valuable insights into your consumer base. When someone likes or follows a Page on Facebook, they will start seeing updates from that Page in their News Feed. Additionally, creating a Facebook Business Page allows you to reach consumers in your local market that are interested in your products or services.
To learn how to create a Facebook page for your business, follow this step-by-step process.
Follow these steps from Facebook to learn more about how to invite people to your Page, add a call-to-action button to your Page, and see Insights to learn how your Page is performing.
Facebook generally speaks to an older millennial, millennial families looking for shopping and events and the baby boomer generation.
Instagram has shifted from a photo-sharing app to a hub for consumer shopping. This is great for businesses and brands that are looking to sell products or services through social media. To capitalize on this, create a Business Account. Instagram’s Business Accounts provide a number of benefits including, but not limited to, analyzing the metrics of your posts and stories, linking and tagging products and services to your posts and stories, scheduling posts ahead of time, and utilizing Instagram advertising. These features make it easier to target your audience by giving you insights into your followers.
To learn the step-by-step process to create your Instagram Business Account, follow these instructions.
Instagram generally speaks to a millennial audience and is huge to drive e-commerce directly from the app via an Instagram Store that can be easily linked to your Shopify e-commerce website.
TikTok
TikTok is a platform that has recently grown exponentially – presenting the opportunity for brands to capitalize on the magnitude of exposure the platform offers. The use of short, relatable videos allows companies to connect with an expansive audience and establish brand identity and awareness. Businesses using TikTok for advertising typically use one or both of the following approaches – either paying for advertisements that will show up repeatedly on users’ “for you” pages or opting to naturally grow your brands account by using hashtags and creating eye-catching content that users will interact with. By staying on top of the trends and using hashtags, your page and videos will generate more traffic. Additionally, one of the benefits TikTok offers is the opportunity to promote your brand’s authenticity. By creating videos that showcase your products and services through real people, customers are likely to consider your brand more credible. TikTok has quickly become one of the best platforms for brand development.
To create a business account with TikTok, follow these instructions.
To create an ad on TikTok, follow these steps
TikTok generally speaks to a Gen Z audience.
X (Formally Twitter)
If you are looking to show the world who you are, X (Twitter) is the platform to employ. First impressions count, and X (Twitter) will allow you to showcase your brands personality and message through your content. You can leverage X (Twitter) for your business by discovering what’s happening right now, growing your brand awareness, providing timely customer service, and connecting with potential customer, brand advocates, and influencers. X (Twitter) works best when speaking person to person, as users find it more engaging when you speak as the founder/CEO/marketing executive instead of the brand itself.
To learn best practices for publishing content on your X (Twitter) account, view X’s recommendations here.
For X small business resources, follow this link.
Yelp
Maintaining an active Yelp page and proactively managing reviews can be pivotal for business owners in the digital age. Yelp provides online visibility to a vast audience of potential customers actively seeking local services or products. Positive reviews on Yelp foster customer trust and act as social proof, while negative reviews offer valuable insights for improvement. Engaging with customers through Yelp demonstrates commitment to satisfaction, building stronger relationships. Additionally, Yelp boosts local search engine optimization, provides marketing insights, and grants a competitive advantage in the digital marketplace. In essence, having a well-maintained Yelp presence can be a game-changer for businesses looking to thrive online.
Learn how to set up your Yelp business page.
Social Media Advertising
In addition to using the social media accounts outlined above, it can also be incredibly beneficial to employ social media ads on any of these platforms. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter all have features that allow small businesses to filter their target audiences based on the demographic characteristics the company wants to direct their ads towards. Additionally, social media ads can provide insights into the consumer base and an audience’s behavior, providing the opportunity to refine marketing and targeting strategies.
More information on creating Facebook Ads.
More information on creating Instagram Ads.