What is it about social media that can make a small business owner feel overwhelm just at the mention of it? Yesterday I was speaking with a friend about how much I’m loving using Snapchat. Although we were talking over the phone, I could tell what she was thinking and I could feel her stress building up a little as she thought about her business.
“Is that going to work for my market? I’m juggling Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, I don’t think I can add another one!” Can you relate? Should you sign up for another social media platform? And where do you find the time for all them all?
Pre-planning
Just for a moment, set aside your thoughts of what social media you want be on, and sign up for new social platforms when they emerge, even if you’re not interested in that particular platform right now. This is so you can secure your name. Whether it’s your company name or your personal name if you’re branding yourself, you want to match your website and social media platforms to create a consistent brand. You might have no desire to be on the latest social media platform, but it’s a good idea to register for it now before it gets mainstream. This avoids the issue of having to settle for JaneSmith876 rather than ‘Jane Smith’ if you change your mind later and want to have a presence there.
Which social media platforms should I be on?
You often hear that you should look at what makes sense for the product or service you’re selling. Is your product visual? Go for Instagram. Are you selling services B2B (business to business)? Go for LinkedIn or Twitter. However it’s also a good idea to look at where your customers hang out and what makes sense for you. Although I don’t have a physical product to show off in a visually appealing way, I love using Instagram and my ideal client hangs out there, so I make it work for me.
Find the happy medium between what works for your product/service, what you enjoy doing, and where your current and ideal customers hang out. If you enjoy your social media platform, you’ll naturally be more active and consistent with it. You’ll also be able to get your message across in a more authentic way which will resonate with your customers. Consistency and authenticity equals win/win in social media, for both you and your followers.
Juggling a number of different social media platforms
Before you start on your path with your new social media platform, you’ll want to get into a good rhythm and be consistent with the platforms you’re on at the moment, especially if those platforms are working well for you.
Once you feel like you have that first, or first couple of platforms running smoothly, you can add another platform. To build your presence on your new account, start promoting it from your already established social media. Begin with your strongest presence and promote it from there and so on down the line. For example, if your Facebook business page is active and doing well, let your Facebook fans know that you’re also on Instagram. Then let your Instagram followers know that you’re also on Snapchat and so on, so that each social media platform is feeding into the other, and helping each other grow.
Software for Scheduling your Social Media
So now juggling it all. Of course you don’t want to be tied to your laptop and phone 24/7, trying to remember what you’re going to post where and when. You can save a massive amount of time and take the burden off your brain, by using social media scheduling software or an app. There’s a variety of different options to either post for you or alert you when to post. Some of these include Plann (awesome for planning your Instagram gallery), Tailwind, Buffer, Meet Edgar and Zoho. Some of the software platforms offer a free trial, my suggestion is take full advantage of the free trials so you can see if the software suits you before you commit to it. Remember also that Facebook has it’s own scheduler that you can also use. It’s not as fancy as the paid software that does this but it’s free and it works great.
Have any questions on juggling your social media? Ask away, I’d love to hear from you.
Hi Angela,
Great information. I love using FB and Instagram, but I know my ideal client is on Pinterest. I have a Pinterest account but I don’t use it as much. Now that I am niching down to Honeymoons and Destination Weddings I will have to revamp my Pinterest account because I really feel like that will help me build my client list. Thanks for the tips!
Beth
Awesome! Thanks so much for your comment Beth. Yes totally agree that Pinterest would be awesome for your business. Will be happy to give you some tips on using Pinterest.
This is so helpful to entrepreneurs like me! The advice to stick with social media platforms you like the most makes so much sense. Naturally one would be better on that, because one already enjoys it. I also like the point of Consistency and Authenticity equals a win/win! Thanks so much Angela!
Thanks so much for your comment Jul’s! So happy my blog post was helpful for you 🙂
Hi, Angela
Thanks for this article!
I was wondering what you think about Hootsuite.
Thanks lots,
Llyane
Thanks Llyane. Hootsuite is awesome. It’s a really robust system and pretty much does everything. It saves you time by having everything in the one place, even goes as far as suggesting topics for you to retweet or re-post according to your topic of interest. However there are hidden costs for certain analytics and some may find the dashboard a little overwhelming and not as ‘pretty’ as other companies. Overall I think the pros outweigh the cons, but it really depends on what you’re looking for. Hope that helps 🙂
Excellent advice, Angela – especially about securing your name even if you won’t be using the platform. We never know what the next big thing is going to be!
Thanks Susan! I appreciate your comment. Yes, may as well have it sitting there 🙂
Very helpful advice – especially to register to those new platforms early! I tend to use IG, Twitter and FB the most.. and LinkedIn I have started to use more… I have a Snapchat account because that is all the rage, but to be honest, I do not really use it, but a lot of my clients do.. Would you suggest that something like SnapChat is good for business, or is it just purely a social tool?
Hi Pam, thanks for your comment. Yes! I love Snapchat for business. I see it as a no-pressure place to speak to your audience whenever you get a chance. People love to see a bit of ‘behind the scenes’ and it helps them feel more connected to you.
Wow thanks Angela 🙂 Being a newbie to the social media business marketing side of things I found this blog really helpful and I have subscribed and downloaded your free article. Thankyou
Hi Angela! (nice name 😉 ) So happy that you found my blog post helpful. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask.
really great advice, angela. thank you! this in particular resonated with me: “if you enjoy your social media platform, you’ll naturally be more active and consistent with it. you’ll also be able to get your message across in a more authentic way which will resonate with your customers.” i love facebook and i love sharing the real me. lately this has consisted of raw and honest posts about how i’m feeling following a recent big move. and i’ve seen a huge increase in the response (and in my following) as a result. since i’ve also been thinking about doing more on instagram (i have an account but rarely utilize it), this seems like a good time (“begin with your strongest presence and promote it from there and so on down the line”).
Hi April, fabulous! Great work on your Facebook page 🙂 And good plan to get onto Instagram now – definitely let your Facebook followers know your Instagram handle so they can follow you there too. Thanks so much for your comment and I’m delighted that you enjoyed it.
I love the information about securing your name just in case. Great advice. Thanks Angela.
Thanks for your comment Melanie! So glad you loved my tip.
Thanks for this! Question: I’ve heard it’s best to use the facebook scheduler rather than a third party scheduler for facebook posts, like MeetEdgar or HooteSuite. Is t true facebook penalizes thirst party scheduled posts and shows them to less people?
Hi Jen! Thanks for your comment and question. Personally, I use a scheduler for Twitter (which I love) but I am now using Facebook’s own scheduler for Facebook. I’ve tested it for myself and for me I find I get a better response by using Facebook itself.
While there are many articles saying that you’re not penalised by using a 3rd party app, I would test it for yourself to see what you find. You can do this by posting for a week from your 3rd party scheduler, then a week with Facebook and then check your analytics to see if you notice a difference. Hope that helps 🙂
I really can’t wait to check out Plann. I tried to batch all of my social media posts for December today. What a relief! I think a tool like Plann may help me to see it more visually. Thanks for sharing!
You’re going to love Plann! Seeing what your Instagram account is going to look like ahead of time is fabulous. Well done on batching all your social posts for the month! That’s a huge thing out of the way.
Angela, what a boatload of wonderful information you share in this. I have battled this demon so many times, and you validated my choices, so thank you!! I love the tools you shared too, and will be checking some of these out. Really valuable info, thanks again!!
Oh fabulous April! So happy you found my blog post valuable 🙂 Thanks for your comment.