Social media can seem like a daunting task given the number of platforms and new trends on how to use your accounts effectively.When starting out on social media, it’s important that you post consistently. If you can commit to just 15 minutes a day to your social media accounts, it will go a long way in helping establish your presence online. Below are some tips on how to best use your time. We’ll be focusing on Facebook and Twitter but many of the best practices also apply if you’re on other online platforms such as LinkedIn.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
Look at your calendar and ask yourself, when can I dedicate my 15 minutes to social media? Schedules change but finding a consistent time to post and marking it on your calendar will help form a habit that sticks! Our recommendation is to try to tackle social media first thing in the morning before you start checking emails or returning those important phone calls.
RESEARCH (5 minutes)
Is there any new and interesting content that you can post online today that’s either relevant to your digital presence or is part of a conversation that you might be able to join in on? Before you begin posting, check to see:
- If any relevant news has been published online about your organization or topics related to your interests. The easiest way to keep track of relevant news and articles is to set up Google Alerts. Google Alerts will send you daily emails of articles based on the keywords you choose. Set up is easy-- click here to learn how to get started.
- What’s on your organization’s internal calendar? Is there an event coming up next week that needs to get promoted? Do you have a report that is being published today? Is it the anniversary of the inception or your organization this month? Make sure you’re posting about those important events in real time.
- Browse your Facebook and Twitter feeds to see if any of your followers posted relevant content that you might be able to retweet and share. You can add your own commentary but often just sharing other posts is good enough. Are like-minded organizations and thought leaders on social media using specific hashtags that you can use? Make sure to include them in your posts if it’s a conversation your organization can contribute to.
FACEBOOK (5 minutes)
Post new content: This can be an original post or a shared post from another organization on Facebook. If possible, try to find photos or multimedia content to post since those kinds of posts usually have more views.
Schedule a post: Make it a point to schedule another post for later in the day (or even after work hours when folks are more likely to check Facebook). Don’t know how to schedule a post? You can learn here.
Engage: Did someone leave you a message on Facebook? Did a user respond to a comment that you can weigh in on? Is there a post on another organization’s Facebook page that you can “ like”? Even engaging with one or two followers shows a level of transparency and accessibility that is crucial in building a following.
TWITTER (5 minutes)
Post new content: New content often will be a retweet from another user on Twitter. Feel free to add a few lines of commentary or use one of those hashtags that is currently trending in your community. If you come across an especially compelling story or have important information to share with your followers, feel free to cross post this information on Facebook and Twitter. Like Facebook, images have a higher rate of being shared so if there’s an infographic that you have on hand or a photo from an event, share it!
Engage: Engagement on Twitter is king. Make it a point to tweet at thought leaders, engage in Twitter conversations and check to see if there any new organizations or individuals you can follow (and make the direct ask for them to follow you back). Engaging with at least three other users on Twitter per day is a great place to start.
There is no magic number when it comes to posting on social media. There will be days where you want to spend more time engaging and posting and other days where you can only post on one platform. That’s ok! The point is that if you’re posting consistently and making the time to commit to your social media accounts, your digital presence will evolve and grow!
Resources
41 Resources for Beginners: Hubspot
Free Social Media Class for Beginners: Udemy
