You've taken the leap and you're in business...now where do you start on social media?!
When you're starting out in business, getting your online presence set up is definitely important. Social media takes time, so the more time you can put under your belt: the better. But where on earth do you start? Here's my workflow that I've developed with clients.
Do a business plan
and/or
Do a marketing plan
Research what social media your competition uses
Research what platforms your target audiences use
Take notes on how your competitors use social media
Decide which platforms you think* you might use
Secure those platforms with the same username on each
Set up each profile
Compare your profiles to other's and fill in any gaps
Post your social media handles on your website
Research hashtags to use on each platform
On one platform (and one platform only):
Connect with and follow people in your industry
Connect with and follow people in your geographic area
Begin posting
Begin engaging with others by liking, commenting and sharing
On the next platform:
Connect with and follow people in your industry
Connect with and follow people in your geographic area
Begin posting
Begin engaging with others by liking, commenting and sharing
On the third and final platform*:
Connect with and follow people in your industry
Connect with and follow people in your geographic area
Begin posting
Review: How do your profiles look compared to competitors?
Begin engaging with others by liking, commenting and sharing
Build the habit of posting all on your social channels consistently
Build the habit of engaging consistently on all your channels
Build the habit of posting and engaging consistently on all channels
Experiment with an ad
Post and engage more frequently as business grows
Post and engage more frequently as following grows
Experiment and play with options
Continue and repeat as necessary
RESEARCH
TESTING
IMPLEMENTATION
MAINTENANCE
An important note: This is a lot of work at first. it gets easier and easier (I swear) until the thing that takes time is posting and engagement. So give yourself time, remember to take baby steps and perspective: this is just social media.