- Jimmy Renallo
Getting Started On Social Media: A Beginners Guide.
Updated: Jan 26
Social media is a great way of building relationships with customers, if you approach it the right way. There is a lot of noise out there on social media but if done correctly it can be very powerful for building your business...
There are countless moving parts involved so it's vital that we understand how everything works together in the big picture.
Getting started in social media can be a very daunting task. With countless platforms, hashtags, keywords, strategy, posting times, comments, and so many other moving parts it easy to feel overwhelmed. It can be tempting to throw yourself into all of the platforms at once. But we're going to tell you right now: don't do it! Often times people jump right in when instead they should build a foundation and build their digital presence from there. Below are some of they key steps to building that foundation and taking the slow and steady approach to social media.
The best ways to get started with social media to understand the following things:
Pick your platform. Understand how each social media platform works.
Be consistent with your voice and message. Spend some time perfecting your bio and business profile.
Don't be too formal. Focusing on being yourself and representative of the business.
Get to know your audience. Understand who you want to connect with and who you're speaking to.
Picking Your Platform: Getting It Wrong Isn't An Option.
The first step in building a social media presence is picking the right social platforms. Remember that every social platform is different. Each platform utilizes different audiences, layouts, users, and many other variables. If you are looking to implement a social media strategy for your business, you probably have some questions about which platform is the best fit. Figure out what kind of people would be interested in your content and then craft your posts accordingly on the corresponding platforms. For example if you are selling a local service you could benefit from Facebook whereas if you're selling a product nationwide maybe you instead utilize Instagram. When you're getting started on social media, it can be tempting to throw yourself into all of the platforms at once. But we're going to tell you right now: don't do it! You have to pick one platform, and then spend time really getting to know it before moving on to another.
Be Consistent With Your Voice And Message. Decide What Your Voice Is And When You're Posting And Stick With It.
If you want to get started on social media, the first thing you need to do is be consistent. The goal of social media is not just to get people to buy something from you—it's also about creating an authentic relationship between your business and its audience. You shouldn't be saying one message about your company on Instagram and a completely different one on Facebook. Take some serious time and effort to make sure you have a unified message that can be used across all platforms at the beginning to allow for the best results.
When it comes to posting you can't only use social media once in a while when you feel like it; that's not going to help anyone out at all. You need to go in with the mentality of "I'm going to post something X amount of times per day or week." If you can't commit to posting regularly, don't start at all. Start small—posting once a week and see how it goes. Remember this is all about building on a foundation while growing and adapting it as we go. Don't try to do too much at once—if you're trying to get into the habit of posting regularly and consistently, start small with a couple posts per week. You can always ramp up later if that feels right for you.
Don't Be Too Formal. Instead Focus On Being Yourself.
The secret to getting started is just to be yourself. You can't fake being yourself, and everyone knows when you're not being authentic. If you're posting about positive things, people will want to follow you because they trust you as an expert in your field. They will be able to see the passion in what you do. Social media isn't about trying to become someone else. It's a place where people can interact with each other in an open, honest way. You might have heard that social media is all about using hashtags, posting photos of your food, and creating catchy phrases for your profile bios. While those things might help get your attention, they're not what actually makes a good profile. The best profiles are ones that show off who the person really is: their interests, their passions, what makes them tick… things like that
Get To Know Your Audience. Understand Who You're Speaking To.
Know your audience and create and an identity: You need to know who your audience is before you can start building a following. If you're running a business, figure out what kind of people would be interested in your content and then craft your posts accordingly. If you ignore what your audience is looking for you're essentially creating content that will constantly fall short.
What does your audience look like? Do they use Instagram more than Facebook? Are your customers more likely to be on Twitter than Snapchat? What kind of content do they want from brands? Are they looking for funny videos and memes or are they more interested in longer form content like blog posts or articles? These are all questions you need to understand before you start creating content. If you can understand and provide people exactly what they want where and when they want it, you'll be lightyears ahead than if you simply just started posting.
We understand it's a lot to take in at once. As with anything, you need to start somewhere. Hopefully the tips in this article will help you make sense of things, and get you on your way to laying the foundation of social media marketing. The important thing is not to feel overwhelmed; take it slow and steady, while focusing on one channel at a time, and you'll eventually find that social media marketing becomes second nature—and hopefully helps boost your sales in the process. As always this is what we do and we're more than happy to help! Feel free to reach out to us with any questions, comments, or feedback on how we can help!