Of course, garnering a substantial social media following isย importantย toย all industry professionals and companies as a whole; however, a select few are still not implementing the basicsย toย optimisingย theirย social presence. More than likely, your profiles will be theย first thing new users look at to find out more information, and often dictate how your business, and you as an individual, appearย in searchย results.ย
Here, we breakdown theย essentialย elements toย maximisingย the potential ofย your social accounts,ย and why this is importantย forย generating new business andย creatingย a lasting impressionโฆ
- Aย clearย jobย title:ย How many timesย have you searched for someone’sย profile, only to find the individual considersย themselvesย to be a sales manager, commercial development director, project coordinator, and all of the above?ย May sound simple, but you’ll be surprised by the number of job titles people list as their current employment; therefore, to make life easier for all parties involved, just stick to one! Short, concise descriptions of yourย role within a company instead of laying out extensive, essay-styleย paragraphsย will also helpย users and clientsย to stay engaged.
ย - Keep updating your accounts:ย Posting daily, or even multiple times a day, is crucial to sustaining a loyal following as well as how others will perceive both your company and your role. Granted โ it’s tough work keeping on top of an average ofย four social accounts,ย nevertheless,ย as multiple marketing industry reports suggest,ย consistent use of social mediaย canย boostย a company’s site SEOย and allowsย instant communication with your clients.ย To share out the workload, why not create a weekly schedule where every member of your marketing team is responsible for a particular dayย of the week.ย
ย - Select a professional image:ย I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but your choice of profile image for both a personal and business account greatly impacts a clientโs perceptionย of you; and, with my recent experience of following up with leads after a networking event, someย are still choosing to ignoreย this basic component.ย Don’tย just leave it as aย generic grey box; and definitely don’tย upload a picture of you and your friends on a night out along theย Magalufย strip – for a business, a logo image will allow clients toย instantlyย find you among the other accounts with a similar name. For personal,ย stickย with a simple yet professional, smiley and welcoming headshot.ย ย
ย - Include ALL direct contact information: Donโt forget to include information on how people can get in touch with you. Include your preferred contact methods, such as phone, Skype, email, website,ย The inclusion of bothย a professional and personal blogย presents itself as a way ofย existingย and potential clients to learn more about you.ย
- Recommendations: If a social platform provides the opportunityย (particularly LinkedIn)ย it’s a good idea toย take full advantage of theirย ‘Recommendations’ feature. Don’t feel embarrassed to ask a bunch of your loyal clientsย and even someย colleagues to write short recommendation paragraphsย forย you โ but expect to giveย a little guidance onย what they need to write, and be open to doingย the same for them.ย