Now that we are into the fourth week of staying at home, I hope you have found a rhythm and balance. For business owners, like anyone, it has been a challenging time. To add to the list of things to get our heads round is what to do about social media and in particular, what to talk about.
We spoke to the lovely Georgie at Georgie Krone Social for her top tips on how to use social media in this current climate.
1. Stay Connected
The first issue to address is whether we should still be using social media to promote ourselves.
The answer is undoubtedly yes, but with caveats. You will have experienced a surge in online activity since the restrictions were imposed, and will have probably made your own changes to adapt to a more online way of working. Being online is the only way we can stay connected with family, friends, colleagues and clients. Social media will play a massive part in this on a personal and business level, so it is absolutely vital that we make use of it.
But how?
2. Social Media Best Practice
By using social media, and indeed all your marketing channels, you are keeping your voice heard so that when the curtain lifts you and your followers are no strangers.
The main thing to bear in mind is that you are mindful of the potential plight of others and remain sensitive to it. The hard sell will not be appropriate, but then again, it rarely is.
Instead, an acknowledgement of the difficulties we are all facing as an introduction, followed by a gentle reminder that you are still here and (I hope) still doing business if they need any of your products or services. Wishing your followers well at the end is a kind way to round off.
You will have seen this formula being used to good effect already so should not feel awkward about communicating.
Whilst it is not business as usual, you will find that your followers and clients will welcome hearing from you and will be reassured that not everything has ground to a halt.
3. What To Talk About On Social Media
Now that we have established that using social media is not only fine but a necessity, what to talk about?
The world has changed and our daily activities with it so it won’t always be possible or appropriate to churn out our usual content. Here are a few ideas to help bridge the gap on your social media channels:
- Offer discounted products or services if you can. There is a real spirit of generosity out there and a spirit of wanting to help others.
- Can you offer and promote a new service in the light of the restrictions? For example taking your offline services online if you haven’t already. I saw a brilliant idea from an art teacher offering to post art kits to children to keep them occupied, coupled with an online art class to get them going.
- Some behind the scenes content always goes down well, and at the moment, much of our time is being spent out of the public eye, so talk about it in a way that is interesting to your followers. For example, your new routine, how you have adapted to being at home, what you have learned from it, what you are looking forward to when restrictions are lifted.
- If you aren’t doing much business yourself, give a shoutout to a business you like and admire. Everyone could do with a boost at the moment and showing support always pays off.
- Video is still the number one place for growth on social media, so if you aren’t already using it now’s the time to have a go. Instagram Stories is a brilliant place to post short videos as they don’t have to be polished and will disappear after 24 hours.
- Use this as an opportunity to do something different or new whilst you have the time. It’s the best way to stand out on social media. Have you looked at TikTok? There’s a lot to learn from it’s rapid rise. Are you using Canva to create lovely graphics? Have you considered doing a live broadcast on Facebook or Instagram? The list is long.
4. Give Your Platforms A Spring Clean
As well as continuing to post content, now is the ideal time to spend brushing up your social media platforms to make sure they are up to date and fully reflect your current offering. A few tips:
- Make sure your profile photos, logos and banners are up to date and consistent across your platforms.
- On LinkedIn read through your profile and edit as necessary. Complete any relevant sections that need to be brought up to date, experience, education, qualifications. Ask your contacts to endorse your relevant skills.
- On Instagram, check your bio is up to date and includes any relevant hashtags. Have a cull of who you follow and start following some new accounts. You will notice a small spike in your own following when you do this. It’s good practice to do this on a regular basis. Delete any old Stories in your Highlights.
- On Facebook check your About section and Story are still relevant and fill out all your contact details and other information to help your followers find you. If you receive a lot of frequently asked questions, consider setting up some automated answers. Follow the prompts on Facebook. It can be a great time saver.
- On Twitter, a cull of your Lists is a useful exercise, and think about starting new ones to reflect your current interests.
There is so much to look at, learn and try on all the social media platforms. We may never have this opportunity again, let’s hope we don’t, so let’s really get to grips with it whilst we can and get our social media channels in a great place for when we are out the other end.
Georgie Krone is the founder of Heart Social UK, soon to be rebranded as Georgie Krone Social. Georgie is a social media consultant and trainer, offering One 2 One remote training on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. She offers Instagram workshops for beginners and advanced users in Hampshire and London. She will be rolling out online courses in the next fortnight. Please get in touch if you would like to know more georgie@heartsocialuk.com
