6 Social Media Marketing Tips Your Followers Will Love

 

1.Plan for each channel

Create a plan for each social media channel. The first questions you need to ask yourself when devising a social media marketing plan is, “Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat?” We recommend creating shop-only accounts on Facebook and Instagram. According to Social Media Today, Facebook currently has more traffic than any other website in the world. Think about the things you see on your personal Facebook: photos of adorable puppies, heart-wrenching videos of familial struggles and triumphs, cats on Roomba® robot vacuums. The idea is to post highly shareable content that gets a reaction from your audience. Just ensure that the reaction is a positive one!

According to Jonathan Long over at Entrepreneur Magazine, Instagram has over 500 million users — and is growing. With its highly visual style, Instagram is a playground for all things creative. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box here — think arranging your products in a colorful, eye-catching grid or shooting your models in a nearby ice cream shop instead of in the studio. And if you have an awesome photo, don’t be afraid to cross- post content or recycle content from one social media platform. Check out our blog post for more ways to utilize Instagram to showcase your brand.

2. Set a budget

As you plan out your social media strategy, you’ll need to create a social media marketing budget. You don’t have to break the bank on social media marketing, but it really does help your marketing efforts to figure out a budget and invest in your store in this way.

3. Hone your brand tone

After you’ve decided which channels you plan to utilize, now it’s time to decide the tone of your images and copywriting. (Pro tip: This tone should also harmonize with your website copy, in-store signage, etc.!) Don’t be afraid to spend a little cash hiring copywriters and graphic designers who can carry your brand throughout all of your online and in-store marketing materials.

And even more importantly, your brand’s personality should match your merchandise! If you’re carrying graphic tees, crop tops and cut-up denim, you may want your brand tone to be hip and millennial-focused like anese and Brit + Co. If your inventory is brimming with work-ready blouses, maxi dresses and pricey booties, you may be envisioning an elevated tone, like Nordstrom and J.Crew.

4. Be consistent

You don’t always need to post in a cadence (i.e. always on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1pm), but consistently giving your followers high-quality content is key in creating a memorable brand with an easy-to-see identity. You want to post original, relevant content to keep your audience engaged, but not post so much that you overwhelm them. It’s a sweet spot and there’s no formula, so you’ll have to test posting times, amounts and types of content (like photos vs. text) to see what resonates with your customers.

5. Be picky about what you post

Monica Carvalho at Medium.com shares with us that videos show the most engagement from Facebook audiences. It’s not surprising. Videos tantalize both our visual and auditory senses, making them great for grabbing attention, keeping it and delivering a message. And it’s no secret that people remember and retain what they see much better than what they read. With that being said, not all your posts need to be video. Sprinkle in photos and text-only posts as well for variety and ultimately maximum engagement.

6. Engage with your audience

In order to capture an audience, content must be engaging. When trying to decide if you should post or share a photo or blurb on your business’ Facebook account, ask yourself if it is… – Relevant to your audience – Helpful or informative – Entertaining