Get Social - Part 1

Written by: Dave WrightWeb Manager

Have you ever clicked on the Facebook or Twitter icon on a website, only to see that the most recent post was from a year ago, or even earlier? Or there are zero posts? There's a clear message being sent, but it's not a good one: outdated and neglected. It'd be better to hide the social media links temporarily, until there's current content on each platform, and enough of it that the business looks established, sending a different message: up-to-date, well-maintained, and professional.

Social media and its management doesn't always get the attention it deserves. For many small businesses, the idea of hiring someone just to manage the company's social presence is cost-prohibitive. Managing freelancers can be more time-consuming than just doing it yourself, and other tasks are (or will seem!) higher priority. Even if you had the time, where would you find ideas of things to write about? It's easy to feel overwhelmed, or even a little hopeless. However, there's good news! With a little effort, you can easily set your organization apart from your competition who might be in the same boat.

WHERE TO START?

Before you even create your various social media accounts, consider creating an email account specifically to be used for social media, just to keep things organized. An easy choice is socialmedia@yourcompany.com. This will avoid any issues with staff responsibilities shifting or employee turn-over, i.e. "I think a guy who used to work here a long time ago set up a Facebook page for us... not sure what email he would have used, though."

When it comes to choosing a username, keep it simple. If your website is AcmeWidgets.com, make it easy for people to find you on Twitter by snagging the username "AcmeWidgets." Websites like NameCheckr  can help you find out quickly whether the username of your choice is available across multiple platforms. If your name isn't available on the platforms that you'd like to use, consider using an alternate username, and using that name on all platforms: "GetAcmeStuff" on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, for example.

BRAND IT

Imagine this… your avatar on Facebook is the owner's adorable dog, and the header image is a photo from the office holiday party. That might seem great to the people who work there, but for potential customers who go from your website to your Facebook page, it could be jarring. Or, if someone did a web search and ended up at your Facebook page, they might think they've found someone's personal page instead of a business page. Using your company logo as your avatar and using a header graphic that echoes the website would help smooth out that transition and make you look more professional and polished.

If you have brand guidelines established for your company, it will be easy to set your social media profiles. Simply follow the guidelines. (If you don’t, consider consulting with us. We do a lot of brand positioning and strategy work, and as our clients continue to tell us, it is an excellent investment!) If you don't have any guidelines at all, put yourselves in your potential client's shoes. You want to make people think, "Oh yeah, I've seen that company before." Consistency is key to brand recognition.

WE'RE HERE TO HELP

If you need a little help to get moving in the right direction, give us a shout. Or we can handle the bulk of the work, if that works better for you. As a full service marketing firm, web design and advertising agency, our team here at Avenue 25 can help at any level that works for your needs and within your budget. We want to see you succeed in this crazy and sometimes overwhelming world of social media and online marketing.