Social media is evolving and changing constantly. What is relevant today is obsolete tomorrow and what is predicted rarely ever occurs exactly as said. Gone are the days where managing your internet presence and profile was all about basic interaction and copy and pasted myspace themes. Needless to say, social media is a phenomenon that is here to stay.
Social media is as much of a business tool as it is a recreational sharing platform.
Social media is where we advertise but it’s also where we learn about, interact with, and understand consumers and our audience. It is important.
There are countless social media applications. And it can be difficult to understand everything about every one of them. We’re going to try to help you out bit by bit and today, we’re focusing on INSTAGRAM SWITCH OUTS!
You may be working on your social media skills and wondering why certain actions aren’t making the impact that you anticipated. Often there are small adjustments to your strategy that could take your social media presence up a notch. We are going to outline a few suggestions for how to up your game via small changes in strategy!
What you’re doing now: Posting and never looking back.
Step it up a notch: LOOK BACK! Scroll through your page overview and see which posts are sticking out. Your page is a living thing. It’s okay to edit. If a certain post is throwing off the vibe visually, archive it and see if that restores the fluidity to your page.
What you’re doing now: Working tirelessly to abide by a profile pattern.
Step it up a notch: Patterns are cool and when done right can be striking and memorable, BUT you have to be very diligent and often it puts you in a headlock. If you’re willing to allocate the time and effort to maintaining the patter, do it. Make sure you have enough graphics and content in waiting so that even when you need to be responsive you have the support graphics to continue the pattern. If not, CHOOSE A VIBE NOT A PATTERN. Use similar colors, filters and fonts. Jot down the ones you like so you remember to continue using those formats. Make sure it is always consistent with your brand. It’s still curated and styled, but there aren’t as many rules.
What you’re doing now: Keeping with one template.
Step it up a notch: Please stop overusing your templates. They have a place and can be very useful. Make them simple so even when you are posting them more consistently it doesn’t appear too redundant. When posting on your instagram, think of your company as an actual person. Based on your culture, figure out who that person is. Then, make sure everything you put out is true to the persona you have outlined. That will help.
What you’re doing now: Commenting generic comments such as “GREAT! Or THIS IS COOL!” to increase engagement.
Step it up a notch: Join a conversation. Join many conversations. BUT try to add a bit of razzle dazzle. Make your presence and voice known. You don’t have to sound like a robot. Simple affirmations are nice but can often be hard to respond to. Ask a question. Make a comment that is specific to the company or the post. Tag another person or company. Repost on your page with your feedback or opinions. The key is to support and engage. Remember that social media is a network. So you actually have to NETWORK!
What you’re doing now: Following internal team members and maybe a few influential leaders.
Step it up a notch: FOLLOW MORE. SEE MORE. INTAKE MORE. Follow industry leaders and your internal team of course. Follow hiring authorities. Follow CEOs who engage in social media. Follow companies in your network. Follow your competitors. Follow companies in other industries that have missions and messaging that aligns with yours. Follow products. Follow customers and clients in your industry.
One opportunity that is often untapped in regards to following is HASHTAGS. Follow hashtags. Follow hashtags that are large and diverse and follow hashtags that are more focused on your industry, services, and clients.