You know having a presence on social media, specifically Facebook, is important for your small business. You’ve heard it all before: 1.9 billion unique monthly users on Facebook, 2.8 billion active social media users worldwide, etc. If you are using social media for your business, you most likely are one of the 65 million businesses that has a Facebook Page.
When it comes to effectively managing these social accounts, many seem to think that simply posting content is enough. This isn’t the case, as made clear by the fact that the lifespan of a tweet is only 18 minutes. Social media is oversaturated with content, most of which is being overlooked by your potential customers.
How do you make yourself stand out from the competition on social media? Refresh your content! Post content that is not only interesting, but ultimately helpful in some way.
Here are 5 ideas for refreshing your social content:
- Repurpose relevant content. It’s ok to take ideas from other blogs when you’re running low. Obviously, you can’t just copy and paste someone else’s work and play it off as your own, but you can get inspiration from elsewhere. Here are a couple of tips on how to do this the right way, to prevent copyright infringement.
- Share quotes, motivational posts, etc. This type of content needs to be well-written, visually appealing and relevant to your audience. Don’t worry if you aren’t a graphic designer, or you don’t have one. It’s doesn’t have to be time-consuming to create a few simple graphics for your social media. There are many free tools you can use to develop visual content, such as Canva and Promo Republic.
- Offer exclusive, behind-the-scenes access. People want to know about the people behind your company, not necessarily just the products that you sell. Constantly writing posts about your products and services gets boring. Try writing about a fundraiser your coworkers are participating in, or posting a picture of your employees interacting behind the scenes. These kinds of posts are more fun and can give customers a taste of your business without doing direct promotion.
- Video is your friend. Try your hand at including videos in your social media strategy. On Facebook, video content ranks higher than text updates in the algorithm, therefor it is shown more often to your audience. You can even film these short videos on your smartphone and post them directly, or test out Facebook’s new live feature for a real interactive experience. Don’t be afraid to try something new!
- Engage in Twitter chats. Twitter chats are “organized online discussions” surrounding a specific topic and hashtag hosted by brands, agencies, business owners and industry experts. However, Twitter chats are not specifically reserved for these groups. Anyone can participate! Some guidelines for participating in a Twitter chat:
- Find a chat that is relevant to your area of expertise. Don’t just jump into a chat where you don’t have valuable insight to contribute.
- Follow the proper chat format. Answer a “Q1” with an “A1” and use the proper hashtags. Engage others in the chat, when possible. Start with a few chats and then engage yourself in more as you get the hang of it.
- Don’t be salesy. Twitter chats are about learning and educating. Provide value and show your expertise and people can make their own decisions about whether they will work with you or not.
How do you keep your social media content fresh and exciting? Share your ideas with us in the comments below and for more social media tips and advice, click here.
