Some Quick Advice to take your Social Media presence up a notch.

Social Media is everywhere these days. You have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Plus – and the list goes on and on. If you’re not doing well (or anything at all) on Social Media, no one will ever know the value your business has to offer for their lives.

Thankfully, you don’t need a degree in Marketing to get a solid return on your time researching and posting to your profiles. Follow these 8 tips to start seeing better results for your business’s Social Media:

1. Offer Value.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: You have to offer something of value first if you want people to start listening. Social Media is an awesome place to spread the word about whatever sale or content you’ve cooked up. Start the sharing process with value and you’ll see a drastic improvement.

2. Post regularly and often.

One of the worst things you can do on Social Media is creating a profile and then abandon it. Social Media profiles aren’t temporary stages that you can use once in a while – they’re permanent platforms to shout your brand from! Regular posts will keep your audience engaged and growing.

3. Consider timing.

Not all times are equal when it comes to Social Media sharing.

Depending on the platform you’re using, you should consider adjusting the timing of your posts for maximum exposure and effectiveness. We highly recommend this advice from our friends at HubSpot if you’re looking to do it yourself!

4. Curate content

While it’s tempting to always try to post your own content, it helps to utilize content from other sources.

Sharing content pieces from trusted sources that are relevant to your brand can actually help you gain more trust with your audience. Spend a few hours looking at trustworthy sites (like a major publication or a .gov site) and bookmark what you find to share with your audience. You’ll be surprised at what you can uncover!

5. Don’t post your competition!

You might be thinking, “Who would do that, Ryan?”

You’d be surprised, actually.

It’s fairly easy to browse the web, find an awesome article, and not look at the author or source. You should always check the source. The last thing you want to do is undermine yourself by sharing something from a direct competitor. Doing a little bit of digging before posting that curated content can save you the headache of having to backtrack against a competitor.

6. Unify your brand image.

Another deadly sin of Social Media is having a half-baked approach to the imagery and content that you share. Establishing brand guidelines and keeping a uniform face for your business can help attract customers to you that would otherwise turn away.

There are tons of sites where you can obtain professional and free to use photos for every need you can think of. Next time you open up MS Paint to create an image for Facebook or Instagram – consider using a stock image instead!

7. Create evergreen content.

Evergreen content is an article, image, or some other form of media that will stand the test of time. While it takes a little effort to create evergreen content, the upside is that you can come back to it again and again via Social sharing. It’s a great way to cut down on future efforts at revitalizing any old content you have to keep it relevant.

8. Get some help.

If all of this sounds like a lot of work, it’s because it is. Properly maintaining even one Social Media account for a week will take hours of your time. If you don’t have the hours to spare, I highly recommend finding someone who does.

Social Media is no longer the future. It’s the present. If you’re not on it and sharing value, you’re missing out on so much potential for your business.