Simple Ninja Tips so you Don’t look like a Social Media Dummy

Whether you are just starting out or have been ‘doing’ social media for awhile, there are a few Ninja tips that should make it look like you know what you are doing on social media.  I say Ninja because while they have skills, okay, mad skills, they appear to be stealthy and social media sometimes can be tricky. You have to hunt things down and when you find them, Facebook decides to move or change things around. Isn’t that typical? Ugh, right?

Regardless of which social platform you are using, or whether you are trying to use them all, the one thing I would say is to make sure you are KILLING IT.  If you aren’t, step back, select one, perfect it, then feel free to add another. Keep in mind that what works on one, won’t always work on another. J

Anyways, these aren’t anything special, but good reminders of what you SHOULD be doing. You do all this, you will look like you know what you are doing and your engagement will prove that to you.  Then, take it to the next level or step it up (same thing, right? Lol).

1. Personalize your profile – Always be sure to have a picture of you, logo or some picture in your profile picture (the smaller one that shows up next to your comments) as well as your cover picture (this is usually the big one).
   • All too often we see eggheads in Twitter or the Google symbol and it just doesn’t resonate with me of professionalism or being serious in their social media. If you need graphics help, outsource or give yourself a look into Picmonkey.com, Canva.com or something else to help you.
   • Keep in mind, this is your opportunity to BRAND yourself or your business appropriately
2. Complete your profile – There is usually a bio of some sort as well as an about section in most social media platforms. Take the time to complete the address, website address, contact info and short/long description about your business being sure you use descriptive (keywords) words about your business that people would search for to find you.
   • Link your personal FB profile to your business profile. This way, your friends can find your business better. Similar, be sure you have your web address on your profiles.
3. Consistency – if you don’t plan to devote the time, save it because if you can’t post and engage consistently then you will be wasting your time.
   • Plan to post regularly – daily a couple times a day. This will depend on your following and time, but start somewhere and build on it. Check your results and see what works best for you.
   • Engage as your brand with other companies and people by liking their pages, commenting, sharing and liking their posts, daily.
   • Be yourself, have fun, show your personality
   • Build relationships not followers
   • Consider posting about news, industry stuff, ask questions, answer pains, motivational stuff, funny pictures, provide value, nostalgia, quotes – keeping in mind that people are visual.
   • When folks engage with you on their page, be sure to reply to them, and tag them. If you tag them and back space to their first name, it looks like you know what you are doing. 😉
4. It’s NOT about YOU! – it’s about the consumer, the followers. If you are self promoting – me, me, me – do not plan on getting much from it.
   • I try to use the 80/20 rule – 20% self promotion to 80% of what’s in it for them. Don’t forget to promote yourself, that’s why you are there.
5. Value – Like mentioned above, it isn’t about you… but how you can provide value to others. Similar
   • Think of how you can provide value to your consumers. What would YOU want to see if you were a follower of your own business!?
6. Promotion – once you have gotten the hang of being more consistent on social media, look into promoting your posts. This is available on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
   • Remember – Facebook filters their posts so chances are you are reaching a very small percent of your followers.
   • Boost posts to reach your followers and their friends or target your market. You can do any of these boosts for as little as a few dollars. Test it out and evaluate.
7. Evaluate – not everything you will do is going to work for you… so, take the time to review your analytics to your website and your insights on each of your social channels and adjust your marketing appropriate.
   • Review, revise, rinse and repeat

Hopefully you have found this valuable. I’d love to hear if you have other pains on social media or if you have tips you’d love to share. I do offer classes on social media and hands on classes with specific social media channels, so keep an eye out on my Events page or sign up for my newsletter and I’ll remind you!

Here’s a great blog from Post Planner with more tips on your social, I’d highly suggest reviewing it as well. Contact me with any questions about social media, or even search engine optimization, website readability or paid ads, I’d be happy to help!  Have a great day, thanks for reading!

~Kristen