Tag: social media marketing

When most businesses are getting started, they might handle their social media themselves. Or they might simply put off using social media as a marketing medium. The idea of having a full-blown social media team might be a distant thought. 

At this point, they just want to launch and make a splash. What business owners don’t always realize from the get-go, however, is that making a splash requires dedicated social media marketing efforts. 

Social media needs to be included in any kind of marketing strategy. If you put your social media marketing front and center instead of making it an afterthought, you’ll more quickly reach your intended audience. In combination with your other marketing efforts, you can build a customer base.

Rather than put off creating a social media team, make it a priority. At the very least, assume you’ll need one or two people handling your social media posting, review responses, boosting and inbox replies. 

Remember, too, that you can always outsource this function, and many business owners do so in an effort in order to dedicate their resources elsewhere. (More on that later.)

As you’re building your own social media team or looking outside your organization to outsource, there are certain functions to make sure you’ve got covered. To help you put together the best social media team for your business, we’ve compiled this guide to the 5 types of players you need on your social media team. 

There might be one or two people who manage all these different functions. Or you might have a larger social media team with singular roles. Whatever you decide upon, make sure you have the following functions covered.

Read more: Should You Outsource Your Small-Business Social Media? 4 Compelling Reasons It Makes Sense

Every Social Media Team Needs a Good Strategist 

A social media strategist, aka manager, knows your brand inside and out. They’re able to develop goals and strategies that align with your brand. 

In many cases, the strategist is tasked with: 

• Creating engaging, local content
• Communicating and building relationships among various departments
• Analyzing data to make strategy recommendations
• Boosting ads and determining how to allocate an ad budget
• Handling customer questions and support requests
• Responding to online reviews and mitigating the impact of any negative reviews
• Engaging with a page’s followers 

If you can only have one person on your social media team, this is the person you need. As you can see, it’s a long list of responsibilities that are not best handled by the owner of a business, who already has plenty to do.

If you decide to distribute the functions above among a social media team, you can break down the roles even further. Read on.

The Content Creator

The content creator is the person who brings your page to life. They’re the ones dreaming up what to post, creating a piece of content and publishing it. 

Whether it’s a photo or a video, they make sure a post is engaging, never boring, and always going the extra mile in terms of the number of eyeballs seeing your content.

The content creator knows the latest trends in social media and pop culture. They’re able to skillfully translate these trends into meaningful posts that resonate with your audience. 

In a nutshell, the content creator is a major asset to your social media team. You can’t do social media without them. Without great content, your page won’t be able to attract and keep its followers.

The Community Manager

A close cousin of the strategist is the community manager. This is the person monitoring, listening to and responding to social engagements — creating a personal connection between the brand and the audience.

The community manager role is crucial to building the community and establishing the brand’s reputation. 

You can’t simply drop content and run, hoping for the best. You’ve got to interact with the community you’re trying to build as they start engaging with your content. 

If you’re doing the work to produce local content and boost it, you have to expect there will be a greater need for a community manager. Not only are they replying to comments and questions, but they’re also responsible for any customer support issues and review responses. 

Your community manager needs to be friendly, proactive, engaging and patient. They should be comfortable with being a liaison between customers and business owners, or tech support or other functions when needed.

The community manager is responsible for your brand loyalty. And that loyalty is everything as far as retention and lead conversion.

The Data Analyst

Working together with the content creator, the data analyst helps to inform the content strategy. 

As the content creator produces content, the data analyst works behind the scenes to gain audience insights. Essentially, they’re examining the who, what, when, where, why and how of the ways in which the audience interacts with content.

The data analyst can then turn this information into actionable insights, for both the social media channel and the content strategy. They can advise on whether a strategy is on track or if some tweaks are needed. 

Read more: 3 Critical Questions to Ask Before Slashing Your Marketing Budget

The Paid Media Specialist

A successful page needs both organic and paid strategies in order to boost brand awareness, gain new followers and attract new leads. Working closely with the data analyst, your paid media specialist creates paid media plans to optimize performance.

While your content creator and community manager are focused on content and community engagement, the paid media specialist is optimizing their organic efforts.

For example, let’s say you have a piece of content that performs well in terms of likes, clicks, comments and shares. The paid media specialist can boost that content for greater reach. With a paid strategy, the organic content gets more mileage.

The paid media specialist also understands how each platform works, what types of content do best, and what budget to set for ads in order to reach different goals.

Additional Tips on Building a Social Media Team

As mentioned above, the social media team may consist of just one or two people performing a hybrid of the roles above. This can be a smart way to optimize resources and avoid employee burnout.

In addition, having the proper technologies in place can help to streamline your processes. The Rallio Dashboard is designed to make the social media team’s lives easier, promote efficiency, and allow for greater organization, insights and tracking.

Now for the shameless plug. Rallio not only has the technology, but also the social media team that you need. Rather than build your own social media team from scratch — and assume the responsibility of managing that team — you can outsource all of the responsibilities above to us.

In short, we provide both the social media team and the technology. You’ll have fewer hats to wear as a business owner. 

And you’ll finally have the time you need to build your business.

If 2020 has taught us anything as social media marketers, it’s adaptability. The plans you had for your 2020 marketing may have had to be adjusted, put on hold or scrapped altogether. Now, as you create a 2021 marketing strategy, you might be wondering how to approach an uncertain future.

Rather than get overwhelmed at the thought of creating a 2021 marketing plan, look to the lessons learned from 2020. The consumer behaviors we’re seeing today on social media provide a good idea of what to expect in 2021 and post-COVID, whenever that day comes.

By looking closely at how consumers are engaging on social media, you can predict how they’ll behave in the coming year. And while we always recommend doing your own research related to your particular industry, the following predictions should serve as a good starting point. Using these predictions, you can begin formulating a 2021 marketing strategy and prepare for whatever lies ahead.

Another caveat: These predictions are always subject to change based on unforeseen circumstances. Keep an eye on the trends as we move into the final days of the election, the colder days of winter and flu season coinciding with COVID, and any local weather events that could impact buying. 

Consumers Are Planning for Better Days Ahead

The panic buying of toilet paper, groceries, hand sanitizer and other essentials we saw early in the pandemic have subsided to a degree. Although we’re still seeing lines to get into some grocery stores and some shelves emptier than others, we’re also seeing the sentiments shift on social media.

People who had to postpone their weddings, travel plans and other events are now thinking beyond the pandemic. Rather than stock up on endless supplies of paper goods, they’re thinking of ways to spend their money on fun.

They’re enjoying staycations and eyeing vacation home rentals and camping excursions to fill their calendars. With time on their hands and a desire to connect with nature, families are hitting the road.

Forbes adds, “An oversupply of oil is slashing gas prices and enticing more travelers to hit the road. Many people, especially families, are also looking toward nature, and some private and public campgrounds have seen an increase in visitors over the past few months.”

2021 marketing strategy: Adjust your messaging to address how you’re helping people make the most of pandemic times or look forward to happier days ahead. Do you own a tire shop? Tell customers you’re ready to help them get on the road. Flower shop? Show customers your beautiful wedding bouquets. Use language that inspires positivity and makes your followers feel optimistic for the future.

Recommended resource: Rallio Local for custom, local content with spot-on messaging

Contactless Is Here to Stay

We’ll continue to see a rise in contact-free options for making reservations, ordering food, checking in, shopping for goods and services, and earning loyalty rewards. By eliminating common touchpoints, businesses are providing a clean, safe, convenient way to carry out tasks that previously required much more hands-on interaction. 

The cost of implementing these new technologies is an upfront expense that may prove to be a burden for some businesses. However, this is a necessary expenditure if you want to survive and thrive in 2021. Consumers now expect there to be contact-free and ecommerce options if they’re going to give you their business.

2021 marketing strategy: Implement touch-free and ecommerce options if you haven’t already. Share what you’re doing on social media to let your followers know how to take advantage of these technologies. 

Recommended resource: The Free Website Guys for a beautifully designed, ecommerce-enabled website built for you totally free — yes, free. No credit card required.

No Moment Is Too Small

While people were watching the moments tick by at home, they also started to make those moments count. From breaking out Halloween decorations early to supporting local bakeries on National Dessert Day, consumers are looking for reasons to celebrate.

2021 marketing strategy: Step up your marketing around everyday celebrations to help your followers find some joy at home. Additionally, dedicate extra planning for the traditional holidays that are coming. People will likely be shopping online in record numbers this holiday season and starting their gift-buying research early. 

NetImperative notes, “July (along with August and September) has one of the highest rates of UGC interaction, highlighting that shoppers are engaging with customer reviews, photos, and questions and answers as they research gifts online.”

Recommended resource: Facebook IQ holiday marketing guide

Read more: Planning for a Christmas like no other

Customer Service Is Paramount

Social media is not only a social platform, but also a customer service channel. People are routinely turning to a brand’s social media pages to air concerns, ask questions and learn more about the business.

2021 marketing strategy: Respond to every review, comment, inbox message and other social interaction. Treat social media as an extension of your customer support team.

Recommended resource: Rallio Local for responding to all of the above on your behalf, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

Read more: Brand Voice: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

Doing Good Translates to Good Business

More than ever, customers are interested in seeing brands participate in initiatives that serve the greater good. From advocating for social justice to providing resources during the pandemic, businesses have stepped in and stepped up — and consumers are taking notice. 

As Inc.com puts it, “Nine in 10 Americans expect companies to do more than make a profit. Is your company taking action to build a more just, sustainable, and prosperous world?”

If you’re shying away from heart-centric endeavors, just remember that your followers may feel differently. Deloitte reports: “Executives also told us they’re prioritizing improving efficiency and productivity over more human-centric initiatives such as strengthening customer engagement and increasing the company’s impact on society. But when we polled consumers, they told us that these are precisely the types of actions they expect from brands. More than a quarter of consumers said they walked away from companies they perceived to be acting self-interestedly.

“The message is clear: Efficiency may be paramount to survival, but at a time when people are demanding more from businesses, marketing post COVID-19 is about creating an authentic human connection.”

2021 marketing strategy: Consider ways you can be a force for good in the coming year. Define how your marketing can communicate your desire to be of service and help others.

Recommended resource: Deloitte’s 2021 Global Marketing Trends

Learn more: Digital Marketing Institute: 16 Brands Doing Corporate Social Responsibility Successfully

Stay Flexible With 2021 Marketing Plans

The past year reminds us that being ready to change on a dime is critical to surviving as a small business. Keep an eye on your own customer base, their likes and dislikes on social media, and their needs and wants going into 2021. Be ready to change course if you’re thrown another curveball.

Oh, and stay positive. Be prepared, but don’t panic. And that, perhaps, is the best advice of all as we round out this strange, chaotic year.

If you’re thinking of slashing your marketing budget right now, you’re not alone. Faced with the pandemic and economic uncertainties, many business owners are looking for ways to trim their expenses.

While there may be certain cost-cutting measures you can take, however, your marketing budget should not be one of them. With internet and social media usage at an all-time high, you have an opportunity to reach customers who otherwise would never find you. 

“During a March 2020 survey of social media users in the United States, 43.1 percent of respondents stated that if confined to their homes during the coronavirus, they would use Instagram more during that period. YouTube and Facebook were also popular social platforms that users were estimating to increase their usage during physical distancing at home.” — Statista

Although the pandemic has brought about challenging times for businesses and consumers alike, now is not the time to reduce marketing spending. In fact, ramping up your marketing budget could be the thing that pushes you ahead of your competition.

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR): “Companies that have bounced back most strongly from previous recessions usually did not cut their marketing spend, and in many cases actually increased it. But they did change what they were spending their marketing budget on and when to reflect the new context in which they operated.”

So rather than cut your marketing budget, ask yourself these three critical questions. You might find that it’s simply a matter of reallocating your marketing dollars in new and better ways.

Read more: The 6 Most Important Social Media Metrics to Track for ROI

Have You Pivoted?

By pivoting, we mean changing course when faced with these types of unprecedented times. (Apologies if you’ve heard that phrase a zillion times by now — it’s just the most accurate description for what we’re all going through.)

Throwing your marketing dollars at the same things you were marketing heavily a year ago just doesn’t make sense. Instead, consider how your business can shift to address the current reality.

By now, many businesses have already figured out how to pivot. There have been entirely new lines of business created, out of necessity. Fitness studios, forced to close their doors due to COVID-19, had to launch virtual classes. Restaurants had to create takeout and delivery options. Retailers had to create ecommerce offerings in place of in-person shopping.

Many of these new additions to businesses are here to stay. And yet … can you do more?

Now is not the time to get comfortable. Keep the things that are working, but keep discovering ways to be better than your competitors, too. 

As HBR puts it: “Research … shows that products launched during a recession have both higher long-term survival chances and higher sales revenues. That’s partly because there are fewer new products to compete with, but it also comes from the fact that companies maintaining R&D have focused the investment on their best prospects — which may explain why products introduced during recessions have been shown to be of higher quality.”

“A new and innovative product engenders hope that the economy is on the mend, and that the consumer may soon be able to afford it,” HBR adds.

It’s not enough to launch new products and services — how are you going to spread the word?

It’s essential that you pair your launches with strategic marketing plans for the greatest impact with your target audience. 

Read more: Lessons Learned From the Pandemic: A Conversation With Franchisees

Are You Satisfied With Your Share of Voice?

Share of voice (SOV) is a metric that describes your share of advertising compared to your competitors. It also includes all forms of measurable brand awareness, such as the number and reach of online mentions, pay per click, website traffic and other factors, says Search Engine Journal (SEJ).

“Basically, share of voice helps you understand how popular your brand is compared to all your competitors,” adds SEJ.

Calculating your SOV requires a detailed explanation that goes beyond the subject matter of this article. The SEJ article referenced above offers a nice breakdown you can use to determine your own SOV. (Feeling acronymed out yet?)

However, the key takeaway is that increasing your advertising is a smart move right now while your competitors are cutting back. Think about it: As they decrease, and you increase, you gain more SOV.

“During recessions, when most firms are cutting back on their brand advertising, a firm’s share of voice increases if it can maintain or increase its advertising budget,” says HBR, citing Reckitt Benckiser, whose family of brands includes Clearasil, Durex, Woolite and, notably during the pandemic, Lysol. 

“In the recession following the 2008 financial crash, the company launched a marketing campaign aimed at persuading its consumers to continue purchasing its more expensive and better performing brands, despite the harsh economic climate,” explains HBR. “Increasing its advertising outlays by 25% in the face of reduced marketing by competitors, Reckitt Benckiser actually grew revenues by 8% and profits by 14%, when most of its rivals were reporting profit declines of 10% or more. They viewed advertising as an investment rather than an expense.”

In today’s climate, gaining SOV means ramping up your marketing budget and advertising via social media and other digital mediums. Your followers need to hear from you, or they’ll forget about you and go elsewhere. 

And even established brands need to work to stay relevant. Just look at big names like Coca Cola in 2020, reminding its customers that the brand “always has been, and always will be there for you, in good times and bad,” notes HBR. (Learn more in this YouTube segment.)

Your followers also need to see that you’re responsive to social media questions, comments, online reviews and other digital engagements. All of these small interactions add up to a greater SOV than the competitor with no social presence, unanswered comments and questions, and sometimes even reviews that haven’t received a response.

In summary, increasing your marketing budget has the potential to give you:

• Not just greater SOV, but also greater market share as a result of increased connections with customers and new prospects. Your social media ad campaigns, boosted posts and related email offers all help you reach your target audience.
• Retention of your core customer base. Staying top of mind means they think of you when they need your products or services. Out of sight means out of mind.
• New customers. How are you going to keep a constantly growing pipeline if you aren’t marketing and advertising yourself?
• A positive online reputation. Having someone dedicated to responding to every single social interaction and review is essential for cultivating credibility and trust with your target audience.

Can You Better Allocate Your Marketing Budget?

So if you aren’t going to cut your marketing budget, it makes sense to look at where you are spending your marketing dollars.

If you take a good look at where you are spending your marketing budget, you might find that you need to make some tweaks. If you’re spending money on pay per click but spending nothing on social media, for instance, you’re missing out on opportunities to reach your customer.

Learn more: 5 Ways to Integrate Email Marketing With Social Media Marketing

What kind of tweaks can you make? 

• Allocate money toward social media. Our research and firsthand experience with clients have demonstrated the value of social media marketing and advertising. Time and time again, we’ve seen that even a modest social media ad budget allows brands to extend their reach and expand their following.
• Ensure your digital platforms are an extension of in-person experiences. Your social media messaging, design, visuals and even the people pictured in your local photos should reflect what you have in-store. Own a restaurant? They should see James, your head chef, and Sally, your hostess with the mostest.
• Provide a seamless shopping experience by aligning your social media with the rest of your marketing. For example, a shopper who shops in your physical store should be able to hop on your social media pages and have a similar experience. A shopper who receives marketing offers via email but isn’t targeted and retargeted via social media is a lost opportunity. 
• Consider whether outsourcing would help you achieve more of your marketing goals with less money. The cost of hiring someone to manage the full-time job of social media marketing is often greater than the cost of outsourcing to an agency and technology partner like Rallio.

Your Business Deserves a Smart Marketing Budget

We understand the current economic climate might make some businesses nervous about spending money on marketing. However, without a dedicated and properly allocated marketing budget, your business will have a tough time getting ahead.

Keep in mind that Rallio offers a variety of different products and services to help with your marketing goals. We’ll make things work for your particular marketing budget — so you can feel good about spending the money. Schedule a no-obligation consultation to find out how we can help.

https://www.rallio.com///get-started/

Certain habits are, arguably, not very productive (say, binge-watching Netflix). Others are the stuff that great businesses are built upon. Successful social media marketers have the good habits figured out — and they’re reaping the rewards.

When you start putting the habits below into practice, you can begin growing your followers, engagements, leads and sales via social media. Hey, you might even have time left over for some of those less-than-productive habits. Let’s dive right in.

1. They Build Relationships, Not Follower Lists

Yes, it’s important to grow your follower list so you have an audience, plus potential reach outside your immediate network. However, the number of followers you have doesn’t mean much if you never engage with those followers.

Successful social media marketers reply to comments and messages in a timely manner, share engaging content, and demonstrate an understanding of the kind of content people want to see. 

How to develop this habit: 

• Check on your social media daily. If you don’t have time to do it, hire someone who does.
• Respond to all questions and comments on your posts, online reviews and direct messages. Even negative comments or reviews need a response.
• Be a real human, not a robot. Take an interest in people. Ask them open-ended questions, just like you would if you met someone in real life

2. They Put People Before Profits

Nobody likes greedy social media marketers. If your posts are consistently promotional and have a “me, me, me” feel to them, your followers will leave. 

On the other hand, if you consistently celebrate and uplift the people who make your business tick, your followers will celebrate, too. 

How to develop this habit:

• Have an attitude of gratitude. Of course you can post customer testimonials, but use them as an opportunity to thank your customers for supporting your business.
• Give your fellow social media marketers and team members props. “Team Member Tuesday” types of posts that spotlight your employees help to build employee morale. In turn, employees will be more likely to share their own positive experiences with your brand.
• Have the majority of your content be non-promotional. This way, when you do have a special offer for your followers, it will feel more like a gift than a sales ploy.

Read more: Top 9 Social Media Questions, Answered

3. They Have a Heart

Successful social media marketers also have a heart. They give back, and they consistently demonstrate that they care.

There’s no one way to “give,” and every brand will be slightly different in terms of their efforts. We’re not here to tell you how to give, but rather simply that it should be considered in your social media marketing plans. Whether you’re taking a stance on diversity, equity and inclusion, or you’re helping people in need during the pandemic, or you’re giving to a certain charity, you’ll want to hammer out the details. 

Forbes reports findings from the American Association of Advertising Agencies that 56% of consumers say they are happy to learn how brands are helping during the pandemic. For example, Audible is offering hundreds of free titles to children. Many big tech companies like Apple and Facebook donated N95 masks to hospitals. Joanne Fabrics gave away supplies and instructions for making cotton face masks. The list goes on.

How to develop this habit:

• Get together with your team and executives to develop a policy. Decide how you want to contribute to something bigger than you. 
• Share the policy with the entire team.
• Create brand guidelines for social media.
• Use your social media pages to share what you’re doing.

4. They Use Multiple Channels 

In addition to posting on the major social media platforms, great social media marketers also ensure their other marketing efforts are aligned with any social campaigns they’re running. With this habit, not only will you be able to reach more customers, but you’ll also present a cohesive brand image.

What sometimes happens in a busy small business is that one or two people are working on sales, and one or two people are working on marketing. Bringing these great minds together will help you move the dial faster on your goals.

How to develop this habit:

• Create monthly, quarterly and yearly goals for your sales and marketing.
• Establish content topics that support your goals and sales objectives.
• Identify distribution channels for your content, including social media, emails, blog articles, your website and digital advertising.

5. They Create Local Content

Great social media marketers have local content at the forefront of their marketing efforts. As we discuss in this article,: “The key element that makes local social media, well, local, is that it shows the real side of your business. These posts are usually snapshots of the owners, employees, customers, product recommendations, how-tos, and other authentic-feeling images and videos.

“It’s the difference between a post with a stock photo or a sales graphic versus a real photo or a video of a team member. When you see it, it’s instantly more relatable and engaging than something that feels like you’re being sold to.”

Having local content on your page improves your engagement rates and reach with your target audience. As you post this content and boost it, you’ll ensure more of your content gets seen than it would with organic reach alone.

How to develop this habit:

• Post real images and videos of your team, your products, your customers and your location.
• Avoid stock photos.
• If you’re a franchisee receiving corporate branded content, be sure you are also posting local content at least three or four times a week.
• Read 31 Days of Social Media Content Ideas for more ideas.

6. They Collaborate 

Trying to manage your social media marketing alone will burn you out. Successful social media marketers know that they need not only a team, but also an extended network of humans who like and support their business. 

This can be employees who post about their jobs and how much they love working for you. It can be customers who love your products and services. It can be an outsourced social media provider like Rallio that’s dedicated to posting for you, replying to engagements and reviews, and boosting content.

How to build this habit:

• Create and formalize an employee advocacy program that encourages employees to post about your business on social media. 
• Be willing to outsource certain tasks to experts. Save your valuable time for running your business.
• Gamify the process with leaderboards and rewards. Rallio has technology and tools to help you with this part.

7. They Continually Assess Results

Social media marketers who assess their results understand what’s working and what’s not. Social media analytics can tell you what kind of followers you have, how they’re engaging with content and how much you’re growing over time. You can also assess your sales results to identify what portion of your leads are coming from social media. 

Assessing your results will help you understand if anything needs to be changed. Or if you should do more of something. 

How to build this habit:

• Study your analytics every week and month.
• Decide if you should tweak anything.
• Be willing to let go of anything that’s not working, and to ramp up efforts for anything that works well.

Successful Social Media Marketers Practice These Habits

Social media marketers who follow these seven habits tend to be more successful than those who approach their social media haphazardly. Remember, we’re here at Rallio to help you develop those positive habits — as well as get the work done within your budget.

The top social media questions can range from technical to tactical when you’re new to the world of social media marketing. Although you might not feel like a master of social media platforms from day one, rest assured you can jump in and start making progress right away.

If you have a long list of social media questions, we’re betting that some of them are included in the list below. We’ve rounded some of the top social media questions and provided answers to all of them. And within the next five to 10 minutes, you can feel more confident navigating any other social media questions you might have.

1. How many people use social media today?

According to DataReportal, more than half the people on the planet use social media, as of July 2020. That’s about 3.96 billion people. In short, more people are on social media than not. 

The numbers are growing. With the pandemic having shifted many operations and activities online, people who didn’t use social media before 2020 have now hopped on board. 

“Adoption is growing rapidly, too,” notes DataReportal. “With more than 376 million new users since July 2019, that translates to almost 12 new users every second, suggesting that user numbers are growing even faster today than they were at the start of 2020.”

2. How many people use Facebook?

Statista reports there were over 2.7 billion active users as of the second quarter of 2020, making it the largest social media network in the world. Active users are those who have logged in to Facebook within the last 30 days. 

Facebook’s other products are popular, too. Statista adds that the company reports 3.14 billion people were using at least one of its core offerings each month. That includes not only Facebook, but also Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp.

3. How often should I post?

There’s no one magic number of posts you should be publishing on a weekly basis, because the success of your posts depends on many different factors. Post frequency isn’t as important as the quality of your posts, whether you’re boosting your content, and whether people are engaging with it, for instance.

That being said, aim to post at least three or four high-quality images per week on Facebook and Instagram. (We’ll get into what “high quality” means in the next question.) That’s your minimum. Additionally, you can sprinkle in your promotional offers, recruiting posts and event posts as they come.

If you use Twitter, there’s no real “cap” on the number of tweets if you’re using the platform to engage in conversations. The platform refreshes continuously, so there are always new tweets appearing at the top of the feeds. Focus on using trending hashtags, replying to tweets and retweeting others’ content.

LinkedIn is a good place to focus on professional relationship building and growing your network. Keep it professional, and limit your posting to two to five times per week.

4. What do I post? 

Of all the social media questions, this is one of the most common — and the one that can feel like the biggest headache. It doesn’t have to be, though, if you have a handy list of content ideas nearby.

For purposes of answering this social media question, we’ll focus on Facebook and Instagram (use the parameters above for guidance on Twitter and LinkedIn). In our article 3 Major Forces Shaping Social Media Marketing for Franchises, we offer several ideas for what to post on social media:

• “Before and after” photos, if it makes sense for your business.
• Team or customer testimonials. Try Canva.com for free graphic design tools.
• Pictures or videos of your product or service in action.
• Partner shoutouts: What partners work with you and why?
• Your work with the local community. Document any photos showing how you support local businesses, nonprofits, schools or other groups.
• How-to videos. What knowledge do you have that your clients do not?
• How does your product or service make your clients feel? How can you show that?
• Networking events, even if virtual.

For busy small-business owners, the thought of snapping all these photos and videos can be overwhelming. To take some of the burden off yourself, you can activate and incentivize employees and customers to post images on your behalf. Rallio has a suite of tools to help you organize these images and videos for use on your pages.

As Smart Insights points out: “According to the Nielsen Consumer Trust Index, 92% of consumers trust organic, user-generated content more than they trust traditional advertising. This is because brands don’t pay for UGC — it is unbiased and created by users because they like the offerings of a business. As a result, UGC is perceived as more authentic and honest.”

5. Why do I need to boost?

Boosting your content allows you to reach more of your audience than organic reach alone. Although your followers may initially see your content after liking your page, they won’t continue to see it as frequently without boosting.

When you boost high-quality images and videos, your followers should start to engage with it via likes, comments and shares. You’ll then start to extend your reach to include friends of your followers and new followers, too. Even with a modest budget of $5 a week or more, boosting allows you to target your local audience and people who aren’t already connected with you.

6. Why do I need to respond to all my reviews?

When you respond to every review, both positive and negative, you build trust with your customers and people who aren’t your customers yet. When someone leaves a positive review on Facebook, Google, Yelp or another review platform, be sure to thank them. If it’s a negative review, be professional and offer to resolve the complaint.

Positive reviews

Imagine Sally leaves a review saying: “I love the customer service here. They carried my bags out to my car and provided contactless payment. The store was clean and employees were wearing masks. I will definitely be returning to this store.” 

While a simple “thank you” is better than nothing, consider going the extra mile. Personalize your response by using names and commenting on something they said. 

Here, you could say: “Sally, we appreciate your taking the time to let us know you enjoyed your shopping experience. The satisfaction and safety of our guests is our top priority. We’re happy to know you’ll be returning in the future, and we look forward to serving you again soon!”

Negative reviews

Now imagine Sally leaves a review saying: “The customer service is horrible here. I felt like I was being ignored. The store was in disarray, and employees were chatting with each other and staring at their phones. I will never come back.”

It’s tempting to get defensive here, especially if you pride yourself on great customer service. Instead of reacting to the negative review, try something along these lines: “Sally, we deeply apologize you had a negative experience shopping with us. Your situation is not the norm at our store, and we will be looking into this matter to ensure these events never happen again. We would love to speak with you to make things right. Please contact us at [email] or [phone number].”

Both responses aim to make your customers happy and bolster your online reputation. In addition, responding to all your online reviews may work in your favor in terms of local SEO. 

Consider using a solution like the Rallio Dashboard to pull in all your reviews in one place. With Rallio, you can respond to Facebook and Google reviews without having to leave the platform and log in somewhere else.

7. Do I have to respond to all my comments and messages, too?

Yes. Respond to all your comments, direct messages and other engagements on your social media pages. Again, you’re handling customer service issues, building trust and confidence in your brand, and taking advantage of opportunities for potential leads and sales. 

Fast response times on your messages and engagements can also work in your favor with the algorithms on social media platforms. For example, have you ever seen a “Very responsive to messages” notice on a Facebook business page? Pages earn this badge of honor by — you guessed it — responding to messages quickly.

8. How do I get started?

Start with your goals for social media marketing, and then develop a strategy and KPIs to support those goals. Define your target audience and how you want to reach them. Create guidelines for posting, especially if you plan to include other team members and influencers in your social media marketing team. And create brand guidelines for visuals, messaging and style.

From there, set up your pages, set up an ad account, and get to posting. Follow the guidelines in previous questions to make sure you’re posting the most relevant, engaging content and getting it in front of your audience.

9. I don’t have time for all this. What do I do?

Many small businesses do not have the time to devote to social media marketing, and understandably so. It’s a full-time job to develop your strategy, post local content, boost it, respond to everything, study your analytics, and stay on top of any changes to social media technology. 

Most people find that to be successful on social media, it takes a team. While you may initially be able to handle some of the tasks yourself, over time and as you grow, you’ll need more help. You can either assign the task to someone on your team, or outsource to a third party like Rallio. 

Got More Social Media Questions? We’re Here to Help

Whether you want to be more hands-off or be actively involved with your social media, we’re here to answer your social media questions and help you find the best solutions. Get in touch with us for a walk-through of your options.

Read more: Should You Outsource Your Small-Business Social Media? 4 Compelling Reasons It Makes Sense

There was a time when all Instagram accounts essentially had the same functionality. There was no “personal” versus “business Instagram.”

Back in the day, everyone had a personal Instagram profile with a name and a bio. At the risk of sounding like your grandparents, we’ve got to tell you: Times have changed.

Today, you have a choice between a personal and business or “creator” Instagram account (which is similar to a business Instagram, with added features designed for influencers, content creators and public figures). 

And the possibilities are now endless.

While many brands and influencers have changed over to a business Instagram, others aren’t so quick to make the switch. What gives?

If you don’t spend a lot of time on Instagram — or if you’re perfectly happy with your personal account — you might not immediately understand the benefits of switching to a business Instagram. However, when you consider the many opportunities available to you as a business account, you might change your mind. 

Whether you’re a startup business or an established brand, a mega corporation or a micro-influencer, there’s much to be gained from a business Instagram account. Take a look at 6 powerful benefits below.

Read more: How to Do a Social Media SWOT Analysis and Amplify Your Results

You Instantly Look More Professional With a Business Instagram Account

If you compare a personal and business Instagram account side-by-side, you’ll notice some key differences right away.

• Personal account: You can display your name, username, website and bio. Other information is private.
• Business Instagram: In addition to the above, you can display public business information such as the business category, additional contact options, and action buttons like “Order Food” and “Gift Cards.”

Having your contact information front and center gives you a more polished look and instills trust in your audience. It also makes it easier for people to get in touch with you — always a good thing in the world of fleeting attention spans on social media.

You Can Access Ad Tools and Analytics

One of the hugest benefits of a business Instagram account is the ability to run ads. (Note that you need to make sure you have a Facebook business page and attach your Instagram to it, because Instagram ads are created through Facebook’s ads manager. We recommend reading through Facebook’s how-to guide, Create an Instagram Business Account, for all the steps needed to get up and running.)

By running paid ads, you’ll be able to grow your following and extend your reach. With ads both within feeds and in Stories, you’ll be able to create highly targeted ads that expose your brand to your desired audience.

When you switch to a business Instagram, you also gain access to insights you wouldn’t have with a personal account. Simply tap on the Insights tab from your account dashboard to view your most recent activity.

From there, you can see how your paid ads are performing and also view post performance, post engagement and audience insights.

With your Rallio Dashboard, you can access even more robust analytics. Go to rallio.com to explore your options.

Read more: Top 5 Reasons Rallio Is a Top Franchise Supplier

You Can Link From Stories

If you have a personal account and want to send your audience to a certain website, you can’t simply type out a tappable URL within a post. Instagram won’t hyperlink to the website the way it would on other social media platforms. To link directly to a post, you would need to add the link to your bio (hence the phrase “link in bio”).

Of course, business Instagram accounts can link to a post this way, too, and it’s not a bad idea to include an important link in your bio. However, your business Instagram gives you other options, too. 

For business accounts with 10,000 followers or more, you gain access to swipe-up options within Instagram Stories. This means users can swipe up within a Story to go directly to a link of your choosing. 

Story links are a great way to send your audience directly to a certain link — such as special promotions or new products. Without it, you risk losing out on link clicks from people who don’t want to take the time to click away from your Story and head over to your bio.

Note: Yet another option for both personal and business Instagram accounts is to use a link collector such as Feedlink or Linktree. These tools help you optimize the one link in your bio by collecting all of your links under one central URL. Each of these tools works slightly differently, so be sure to research your options to see which one may work best for you.

Learn more: 10 of the Best Link in Bio Tools for Instagram

You Can Create Shoppable Posts

With a business Instagram, you can turn your photos and Stories into shoppable posts. This is a huge benefit for product-based businesses. You can either augment your existing ecommerce operations, or set up an entirely Instagram-based shop if you choose.

To get started, click the hamburger-looking icon with three horizontal lines at the top of your profile and go to your Settings. Tap Business and then Shopping. You can then walk through the steps to get approved for Instagram Shopping. (Check out How to Set Up Instagram Shopping for more in-depth instructions.)

From there, you’ll be given the option to set up Instagram Shopping on your account. Once you set up an Instagram shop, you’ll be able to:

• Showcase your products with a customizable storefront on your Instagram profile
• Tag products in your posts and Stories and create shoppable content
• Access insights about your shop such as product views and engagement

Convert to a Business Instagram Today

With so many robust tools available to business Instagram users, it just makes good sense to convert your account. There’s no cost involved other than the advertising costs you incur, which are worth every penny if you set up your ads correctly.

Rallio gives you even more options as a Rallio Local client if you switch to a business Instagram account. From the Rallio Dashboard, you have one login to all your social profiles, one inbox for all your comments and engagements, and additional tools like the ability to respond to comments and reviews.

Our Rallio Local program also pairs you with your own Social Strategist. Consider it your personal teammate who can help you get set up, run ads, handle all your social media engagements and questions, and make sure you’re making the most of your business Instagram.