Social Media made simple

Many people would have you believe that social media is too difficult to learn, and that paying for advertising is the only way to be seen online. Here, at Cotswold Connected, I disagree. On Wednesday 10 August I am pleased to be presenting Venture House’s Donut Time where I will be covering some simple, yet effective, ways to be seen… for FREE!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of my top tips…

Which platform should I use for my business?

Each social media platform is different and therefore has different audience demographics. Here are the UK stats:

Snapchat – 57% of users are female. Most popular with 13-24 year olds
Tik Tok – 61% of users are female. Most popular with 18-24 year olds
Twitter – 60% of users are male. Most popular with 18-29 year olds
Instagram – 54% of users are female. Most popular with 18-34 year olds
Pinterest – 72% of users are female. Most popular with 25-35 year olds
Facebook – 52% of users are male. Most popular with 25-54 year olds
LinkedIn – 57% of users are male. Most popular with 30-49 year olds

What is a good social media strategy?

Every business will have a unique strategy specific to their ideal customer. This can take some trial and error before getting the perfect recipe, however content pillars help make the process easier.

Content pillars are a set of 3-5 topics your content will relate to. They help your feed stay focused. Once you have selected your topic areas you can then rotate them to give a varied profile. Many accounts use the following four content pillars – Engage, Educate, Inspire and Promote.

Other more specific suggestions include:
– Reviews / Testimonials
– This or That / Before and After
– Challenges / Competitions
– Entertain – funny and relatable content
– Did you know questions / Ask the audience

Above all else remember that even if your customers aren’t purchasing through your social media channels, it is effectively your shop window. To make customers stop scrolling it needs to add value and be authentic!

Some social media myths for you

1. Put hashtags in the first comment on Instagram

Sorry to bust this myth but it won’t help at all. Instagram’s Creators account (@creators) and Head of Instagram (@mosseri) have both said you should use hashtags in the caption and “NOT” the comments.

2. Don’t use emoji’s

Emoji’s are a hugely undervalued tool and they can really help engagement rates. Just be sensible with the ones you choose…
Research has shown that using an emoji in a tweet can increase engagement by 25% compared to without. In a Facebook post, you can see shares increase by 33% and interactions by 57%. For Instagram posts, engagement can go up by 48%!!

3. Add links to social media posts

Social media platforms want to keep you on their app so they actually suppress any posts with links. Sometimes people try to put the link in the comments but this also isn’t ideal. This is the reason you will notice accounts saying “link in bio”.

So that you aren’t having to alter the web link in your bio constantly I recommend setting up a free LinkTree account. You can then easily add all relevant links on your LinkTree as well as still having your basic contact information and website details. You just add the LinkTree web address where you previously had your website information. Please refer to my Instagram account (@cotswoldconnected) to see an example of this and why not give me a follow to stay up to date while you’re there.

4. The bigger the hashtag the better

Quite the opposite in fact! If you are using hashtags with millions of tags your content is far less likely to be seen than a hashtag with a few thousand. It is common for individuals and businesses to follow hashtags, however you will not be shown every post that then uses that #. You will only be shown the top (aka most reacted to and popular) posts within their feed, and, even then, it’s only a small selection.

Here is an example – If you look up #socialmediamanager this has 3.1million posts whereas #instagramexpert has 246k posts. Though both numbers are still high you are far more likely to succeed with the 246k hashtag than the 3.1M. Even better, find ones such as #marketinghack with only 5000+ posts!!

5. Always put a call to action

Yes and no. Adding a call to action within your post caption can be a really good thing for boosting engagement and post reach, however you have to be careful. The last thing you want is for your audience to unfollow because they feel used or ordered to do something e.g. “Buy now”.

6. Buying followers is a good idea

Please don’t!! I have helped so many accounts where the owner has previously bought followers and this is honestly one of the worst things you could do. Social media platforms can spot fake accounts and over time they not only close them down but mark accounts associated with them as spam!

As a customer or a competitor it is also pretty easy to spot. If a page has 10k followers but their posts only get 5 or so reactions the likelihood is they’ve bought followers.

What does Cotswold Connected do?

With over nine years social media experience I’m passionate about using my expertise to help businesses grow – both their online accounts and their actual business profits! With over 80% of people now buying online and 85% using social media it’s crucial your business is visible.

Many find social media stressful or too time consuming while they are focusing on their business. Cotswold Connected takes away that stress and time constraint by managing your accounts, creating content and boosting your brands visibility all in one. I maximise your company’s reach while focusing on organic social growth.

If you’re not in a position to have social media management just yet, I also offer 1:1 lessons and power hours. Ensure your business is on the correct track with Cotswold Connected.

Why not get in touch or follow me on social media?

Written by Katie Wilber of Cotswold Connected
07582 248 380
info@cotswoldconnected.com
www.cotswoldconnected.com
Instagram & Facebook @cotswoldconnected