As a social media manager, I’ve heard all the excuses from businesses as to why they are not on social media. One of the most common barriers for businesses is simply not knowing what to post and keeping up the momentum with new ideas.
Many businesses have social media channels which are not being used. You may not have considered this, but it can be worse to have a dormant channel than not having started one at all. Why? There are 2 reasons, the first is that you are potentially ignoring engagements which can leave a sour taste in the mouth of those who contacted you and secondly your business looks neglected, out of date and uncared for. If your company hasn’t posted for a long time, your story isn’t uncommon but it may be time to kick your social media back into action.
So with the well of social media ideas dried up, “What can I put on my business social media channels?” you ask! I put together post plans for clients regularly and with so many options out there I thought i’d share some of my ideas for those who are feeling a bit stuck.
Top ideas to kickstart your social media
- What’s happening this week?
- Upcoming events
- Offers / discounts / promotions
- Meet The Team posts
- Top tips in your industry
- Ask your customers questions
- Before and after images – this works really well if your industry is visual. e.g. beauty / design.
- Feedback to suppliers – Tag your supplier! e.g. Great meeting with @supplier today
- Blogs from other people in your industry that you find inspiring
- Celebrity inspirations
- Engage with your local community, local events and other businesses
- Take photos of the surrounding area occasionally to promote your town/city as a whole
- Products focus – e.g. “This week we love…”
- Solve problems – if one of your customers had a problem, show others how you solved it.
- Fun activities – if you are doing a social activity in the office, use it to show the personality of your business.
- If you have a window display which changes seasonally, photograph it.
- Celebrate your team’s birthdays, anniversaries or life events where it’s appropriate to.
These are just a few ideas, the list could go on. My top piece of advice is….don’t be shy! Social media is dead without visual content, so take photos (or video) at every opportunity. Don’t be afraid to ask your customer if they mind getting involved or having their picture taken, the worst they will say is no.
The key thing about social media for business is to be social. Sounds silly right? What I mean by that, is don’t be a salesman. There’s a time and a place for sales and social media isn’t the hub of it. Sales should take up only approximately 20% of your posts. Think of social media more as a loyalty platform. Your audience are people who already know about you, already follow you, and they may have already bought from you too, so blindly throwing more products at them won’t go down well. Use you social media to give your business flavour, a human side and make it an opportunity for your customers to have a conversation with you.
Coming up with new ideas for social media isn’t easy, but keep going and don’t give up as there’s always something to say. And, if you’re really stuck, deploy the ultimate social media secret weapon…the office pet! Everyone loves a cat or dog photo.