Social media is constantly changing and trying to keep up can sometimes feel overwhelming. As a business owner, it may seem difficult to decide where to focus your efforts when approaching social media marketing. Oftentimes, business owners spend too much time focusing on things that don’t really matter. Here are some tips to maximize your efforts and see the best results, so that you can organically grow your presence online. 

The Dos

Do post consistently

When using social media as a marketing tool, it is important to post regularly. This helps to keep your followers interested in your business and also keeps you top of mind. Furthermore, posting consistently helps to build a relationship with your audience – it shows that you are dependable and builds trust with your audience. 

Do engage with both current and potential followers

Social media is all about building relationships. Therefore, engagement is key when trying to grow your social media account and your business. Engagement can be done by commenting on others’ posts, responding to comments on your own posts, responding to your direct messages regularly, and using polls and other conversation starters on Stories. Engaging with accounts with similar values and goals can connect you to a vast number of potential followers and clients. While it is important to gain new followers and grow your business, make sure to engage with current followers to show that your business values them. 

Do diversify your content  

Diversifying your content will make your profile more intriguing and inviting to other users. While we understand that sales posts are important for your business, too many can be off-putting and make your followers lose interest. Adding other types of content, such as educational posts, aspirational posts, and social proof, will build trust with your audience and make your profile more authentic. And remember to take advantage of all the creative tools inside the Instagram app! 

The Don’ts

Don’t stress follower count

With Reels becoming favored over regular posts, users aren’t stopping to read captions, like, or follow the way they used to. Therefore, even though your follower count may not be growing, more people are seeing your Reels and learning about your brand. That is why consistency is very important. The more you post, the more you will appear on users’ feeds. 

Don’t expect instant results

Patience is key with social media. Many people feel discouraged when their Reels don’t produce thousands of likes and followers. But as long as you post consistently and engage with your audience, you will see growth over time. And don’t buy followers! 

Don’t steal images

While it can be very easy to copy and paste the perfect image for your post from the internet, you need to make sure you have permission to use the photo. Most images found online aren’t available for use without direct permission from the creator. Fortunately, there are websites that offer freely usable images. Our team likes to use Unsplash, Pexels, and Canva for royalty-free stock images when creating content for ourselves and our clients. 

— Sydney Sinins, MFBS Intern