No 1: Always have a current profile photo, cover photo and bio
Your profile photo and cover photo are the first things that people see so it’s important that these are updated throughout the year. Initially so that it is clear to your customers which brand you are, however also so that these are refreshed in relation to certain time frames throughout the year. Therefore, at Christmas or around Valentine’s day for example, you may wish to theme your photos in line with this.
No 2: Keep your profile up to date and consistently post
It’s so important that when people go on your social media profile they can see that you are active consistently and that your profile information is current. This can even be down to your contact information being correct if you have recently moved, or got a new website address. However, it’s also important that your content is relatable to existing happenings and on-goings, to keep things interesting and also for extra engagement.
No.3: Don’t just post for the sake of it, have a clear strategy and message
This can be everyone’s biggest mistake, not really knowing what to post so just putting something up anyway. There’s nothing worse than someone being able to tell that your social media is ‘forced’. However, we all know what it’s like when you have those days where you need some inspiration as for what to post and you get a bit lost with your social strategy. Our best advice for this would be to have regular meetings with your employees regarding your social message, maybe every fortnight? Just so you are all on the same page with the messages that you are wanting to relay to your followers and the content that you wish to create. This way you won’t end up off-track.
No 4: Post at optimum times
A very important indicator in how well your post is received can be to do with the time that you schedule the post for. Apparently, for Instagram, according to the Huffington Post, "the best time to post is 2am and 5pm, with the best day to post being Wednesday!" So, depending which social media networks work best for you, it is probably a good idea for you to do a little bit of research in to the optimum posting times for your chosen social channel in the geographic location in which you are based, to ensure that you get maximum exposure.
No 5: Shake up your content
Another common slip-up, posting too much of the same thing. Going back to where we mentioned having regular social media reviews and creating a strategy, this way you’ll have constant checks in place that makes sure you’re not posting the same types of content too many times. Also, mix up your posts by sharing different types of material, for example images, videos, live streams, quotes etc.
No 6: Use common and popular #hashtags
The next tool to maximum exposure after optimum posting times is by using key hashtag’s, in order to ensure that your post reaches a wider audience. The message of your post will depend on which hashtags are good to use. If you do a search on sites such as oberlo.co.uk or makeuseof.com, these all share good insights in to popular hashtags. If you go on Instagram and Twitter themselves, their home pages also show you the main hashtags that are trending at that time, for you to get-involved and also jump on the bandwagon with those!
No 7: Paid advertising?
As the saying goes, you pay for what you get! In which there are a lot of paid advertising methods that you can use on social media in order for your brand to be seen by a wider audience. Since Facebook and Instagram collaborated, you can now create adverts through Facebook’s ad-manager and these same ads will then be optimised for your Instagram feed, so that they are also shared on their main feed. You can pick your daily budget, meaning you can literally try out Facebook ads for as low as $5 per day. You can then also target specific age ranges and demographics, making the ad as relevant as possible to your business and the audience in which you are looking to target.
No 8: Seek reviews
Like many of us do check-ups on review sites before we book a holiday, hotel or even perhaps a restaurant; many people do a similar search on businesses before they actually use their services. And with Facebook now being the new social google, you want as much positive exposure on your social networks as possible, to promote the possibility of new clients when they are doing their mini check-up on you. So, it is important to try and collect as many reviews from clients as possible, in which you can use social media in which to do so. Why not create a competition to get the review process going? So, for every client that gives you a review they are then automatically entered in to a competition with the chance to win a prize (of your choice)?
No 9: Promote these testimonials (image on twitter to catch people’s eye)
Once you’ve got some positive feedback, you then have some great social media content! As long as you have your clients’ permission to share their reviews (in which if they’ve posted this on a public facing site you will have); you can then share your success stories with your followers! Word of mouth and real-life experiences are the best types of advertising and so use this to maximise your exposure further.
No.10: Finally, be personal.
Last but not least, personal social media posts are the most relatable with your fan-base. And by this we don’t mean share your life story, however give your brand a personality! Think of it this way, your team are creating your social media content. Therefore, there is a professional person behind each of your posts and so if your content comes across in a certain way; as if your clients are speaking to that person face-to-face, then you are more likely to receive some engagement. This is simply because your brand seems more approachable and because your followers can further relate to these types of posts.
We hope we’ve helped you to continue your social media growth and hope you have fun using a few of our tips! If you feel you need a little bit more help, our marketing team is always on hand to answer all of your questions; simply contact them on 0113 350 8230.
Salon Tracker x