Businesses and brands can’t ignore the importance of their social media success in today’s digital world. Knowing the best practices and mistakes to avoid can help you avoid a lot of the trial and error that comes with starting out on social media.

To help you face the learning curve of social media for business, here are some do’s and don’ts for social media success that can help you develop your marketing and brand presence.

Do’s:

1. Research your audience

Use social media analytics tools to get demographics from your social media followers. Keep the age group, gender, occupation and interests of your main demographic in mind when creating content so that it’s tailored to them.

2. Post when your audience is most active

Analytics tools can show you what times your followers are most active on various social media platforms so you can schedule your posts to better align with those times. This can boost your engagement and ensure your posts get seen.

3. Hone your voice

Every brand needs a consistent voice that communicates personality and prevents its presence from coming off as robotic, salesy or just plain boring. Once you know your audience, you can develop a sense for how to speak to them. Does your audience appreciate slang? Emojis? Shorter posts or longer posts? Get a sense by looking around at what your audience is paying attention to on social media, and by experimenting with what posts of yours get more engagement from your audience.

4. Find out which platforms fit your business best

Just because there are several social media platforms out there doesn’t mean you need to represent your brand to the same extent on each one. Brands that target an older demographic may perform better on Facebook, whereas brands promoting to a youthful audience may do well on Twitter and Instagram. If you’re targeting middle-aged women, you may find Pinterest is your most valuable social media platform. Knowing your audience will help you determine which platforms you should focus most of your attention on for the biggest outcomes.

If you want help maximizing your business’s potential success, contact Will Sherwood, CEO of The Sherwood Group. He can help you bypass any marketing and branding blind spots that may be keeping you from the achievements you want.

Don’ts:

1. Ignore trends on social media

Social media is all about what’s happening in people’s lives today, which means having a pulse on what’s happening in the world is important for any brand’s presence. When the world is in the midst of a tragedy, it’s not the best time to post about your products. Instead, you can provide helpful content to your audience tailored around the news people are paying attention to. Acknowledging holidays and major current events in your posts helps you stay relatable and relevant.

2. Post the same content on every platform

People use different social media platforms for different purposes, and businesses should to. A post that does well on Facebook may not do well on Pinterest or Instagram because people use them for different reasons. Twitter users like short, snippety content that gives them instant value, while Pinterest users appreciate links to in-depth, valuable how-to’s and guides they can save for later. Also, posting the same content across all your platforms can come off as insincere to users who follow you across multiple platforms.

3. Post text without visuals

If you’re going to post, make sure it contains a visual element. Without an image, infographic, GIF or video, it’s hard for text to stand out and be read on social media while users scroll through their timelines.

Final Note 

Using these simple guidelines as a checklist for your social media content can help you create better posts that get more engagement, and ultimately a better ROI. Be sure to track your results on social media using analytics tools so you can add to this list of what works and what doesn’t. 

Do you need help growing your business? Click here to check out our website design and marketing packages. We can help you achieve your business goals and in the process leave your competition shaken and wondering, “Now, what do we do?”

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This article is published by Will Sherwood | The Sherwood Group |Website Design | Graphic Design | Marketing Communications: The Sherwood Group has over 30 years of experience working with all sorts of companies, small and large. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, in nearly every business sector, from across the street to around the world (and yes, even Europe, China, and South America). Our goal is to create advertising,  graphic design, website design, and marketing communication that still looks fresh and relevant 10-15 years later. Our mission is to stir your imagination and leave your competition shaken and wondering,  Now what do we do?”  We are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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