Common Social Media Q&A
Social media is a vital tool in growing your business, but it can be confusing because it doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Here are five answers to some questions you might be having about social media.
Do I need to be on every social media platform?
Each platform offers an array of benefits for your business. However, each platform is a brand new beast requiring a new approach and strategy and it is not always necessary to be on each network. Depending on who/where your target audience is, and what your overall reasons are for using social media for your business, there are a variety of factors that could play into where your social media marketing efforts land. For example, since Twitter is mostly a B2B platform, and favors text, a photographer may not fit in. On the contrary, a software company may not
You have our permission to start on just one. Yep- you heard that right! If you’re just one person trying to run your business, trying to manage several social media accounts can stretch you too thin, and make the content you’re posting not worth reading. Start small, and get the hang of a few sites. Once you’re feeling confident with those, you can consider expanding. But keep in mind: quality over quantity. If you’re not making good posts, but you’re posting a lot, it doesn’t mean your content is better. It just means you post okay content more often. It is also important to keep in mind that not every social media platform is appropriate for every business.
How often should I post?
The key with this is consistency and remembering quality over quantity. You don’t want to be that brand that’s posting 24/7 and tiring out your followers, but you also don’t want to be that brand who only posts once in a blue moon. We highly recommend you do some testing, find out what your audience likes to see, and when they’re most interactive with your content. Things like this take time to figure out, but in the long run, they’re absolutely worth it.
In terms of exact numbers, it depends. For Facebook and Instagram, don’t exceed more than one post a day, but at the same time, be sure to post at least a few times a week. Finding the right balance for you, what works best for your schedule, and what your followers interact with are what will help you to determine how often you should post. There is no magic number, so keep testing until you find that sweet spot for your brand.
What time should I post at?
This is a challenging question to answer. Timing used to be an important piece to consider when posting, but in the recent years with all the new algorithms, timing matters less and less. Generally, the “best” time to post is when your average person would most likely be online; during the morning commute, on lunch break, or early evening.
If you’re in one time zone, but a large part of your audience is in another time zone, how do you mediate that? The folks over at Sprout Social did quite a bit of research as to when the best times are to post for highest engagement. If you want to check that research out, you can find it here.
How do I gain followers?
Gaining followers takes time. If done right, it doesn’t happen overnight, you have to be patient. You have to post good quality content, and people will recognize the work you’re doing. You’ve got to give people a reason to follow you. As with all of this, gaining followers is not an exact science, so trial and error will always be your friend. If you are looking for some more concrete tips on gaining followers, check out this highly informative blog post.
We are often asked about buying followers. It seems like the easiest and fastest way to boost your numbers, right? It may be easy and fast, but it’s also a big mistake. We wrote about why on a recent blog post that you can read here.
Should I pay for social media advertising?
In all honesty, you probably should. Free social media can only take you so far. By paying for ads, be that on Facebook or elsewhere, you’re reaching more people than just those who already follow you. There’s no shame in starting small and then building up your paid advertising, just to see what happens. But if you’re just sticking to free things, that isn’t going to build your brand very fast. If the world of social media is confusing and time-consuming for you, you can hire someone to do your social media for you. This way, you’re getting an expert to curate your social media content. They know what they’re doing, and your business is benefitting. If you are interested in working with us, we would love to learn more about your business and provide you with a free quote.
All in all, the key points to remember are quality over quantity and understand your audience. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help if social media is confusing for you!