SOCIAL MEDIA CLEAN UP
10 Social Media Tips To Easily Improve Your Accounts In 1 Hour
Social media tips – do you really need them, or perhaps you think you don’t have time for them? We live in busy times, lead busy lives and often have little time for the details. Especially when it comes to social media accounts, because after all if your mum (or nan!) can own and manage a Facebook account, how hard can it be? Well, it can become difficult to run a professional social media presence, and in today’s society, if your target market can’t find your Instagram account or LinkedIn profile, do you even exist?
But again, you are busy, you don’t have time to sort out the complex web of accounts you’ve accumulated. Well, this is the guide for you. With these 10 easy social media tips, you can clean up all your accounts in less than one hour.
Social Media Tip 1
Use the right size images
The image you put out there of yourself or your business is one of the first ways your audience will meet you. It’s important to make sure that your viewers see you exactly the way you want them to. This means making sure your image is formatted in the size you want, doesn’t get stretched or pixelated. Ultimately, you want to look professional. There are so many ways to share visual content, so I’ve kept it simple here, but to see a more detailed list, check out this great article from HootSuite.
- Facebook profile picture: 170 X 170 pixels
- Facebook cover photo: 828 X 465 pixels
- Twitter profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels
- Twitter header image: 1,500 X 500 pixels
- Google+ profile picture: 250 X 250 pixels (minimum)
- Google+ cover photo: 1080 X 608 pixels
- LinkedIn profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels (minimum)
- LinkedIn custom background: 1584 X 396
- LinkedIn cover photo: 974 X 330 pixels
- LinkedIn banner image: 646 X 220 pixels
- Instagram profile picture: 110 X 110 pixels
- Pinterest profile picture: 150 X 150 pixels
- YouTube profile picture: 800 X 800 pixels
- YouTube cover photo: 2,560 X 1,440 pixels on desktop
Social Media Tip 2
Use the same profile image on each platform
The repetition of an image is a constant reminder of who you are to your audience. Using the same image across multiple platforms reinforces that message each time they see it.
Often, a big question is whether you should use an image of yourself or a logo. It’s up to you. Suppose you are building a personality or a community around your service. It can help to put a face to the person ‘behind the screen.’ If you work alone and your clients will be interacting with you directly, use a picture of yourself. Keep the background clean and uncluttered so people can see your face.
If you are a more extensive operation with multiple people, you might choose to use a logo. If you are using a logo, make sure you design it for the classic circle profile photo. If not, redesign/reshape it (see above).
A nice balance can be to use a logo plus a team photo on platforms where a banner image is also available.
Want More Information Like This?
Social Media Tip 3
Make sure handles are consistent
Aim to make it easy for people to find you by keeping things consistent across all your platforms. It’s for the same reasons as above for your image. Digital audiences are more and more sophisticated, but they shouldn’t have to search for you amongst many similar handles. Keep it clean and straightforward.
Social Media Tip 4
Untag yourself from “bad” photos
Why? Tags are a digital form of word of mouth. So when someone tags you in a post, e.g., #JenTsangMarketing, it’s like someone shouting your name: “Hey everyone! Come see how good/bad this thing is from @JenTsangMarketing!”
Your job is to moderate the tags and make sure the GOOD experiences attract other people and initiate conversations. But don’t ignore any “BAD” tags. You need to deal with them appropriately according to your social media strategy.
Check photo tag settings on each channel. Depending on each platform, you can choose to allow tags to show automatically or have to approve tags before they are visible to the public.
Review your tags regularly and keep an eye on each social media platform as their rules change periodically and you want to keep up to speed.
Read my post on hashtag strategy to understand this more.
Social Media Tip 5
Be discoverable in searches
Your social profile should be a mini ‘Call To Action,’ i.e., give your audience a reason to follow.
Make sure you are using the right keywords in your bio’s and profiles to make sure that you can be found within your industry.
Take some time to do some keyword research to identify the right words and phrases. Some good tools to use for this are SEMrush or Google Keyword Planner.
Make sure your write content naturally and you use these words organically; don’t force it.
Social Media Tip 6
Fill in all the available fields
Why? So you seem professional and not lazy!
Written content and descriptions don’t have to belong. Instead, keep content clear and relevant, i.e., valuable for your audience.
Plus, once you have created this content, keep reusing it for other social platforms, and website content, and reintroduce yourself occasionally on your media.
Social Media Tip 7
Cross-promote all your channels
Most platforms have fields for you to list your website and/or other social media channels. But, read the next step to ensure that all your platforms are working together and you are making the most of this cross-channel promotion.
Social Media Tip 8
Test your links are working
It’s easy to typo a URL when uploading them to different profiles and platforms. So sense-check them, click on them and make sure they work. Ask friends or family to try them out as well and get some feedback.
Again, the point is to be professional! If your reader clicks on your link, only to find it takes you to an irrelevant page – or worse, it’s broken! – you are going to seem unprofessional to your audience, and you will lose them.
Social Media Tip 9
Get some “Social Proof”
Wait… what?! Don’t worry. We’re talking about customer reviews!
Reach out to clients past and current. Ask them for some reviews. This is always something small businesses aren’t great at. We are good at promoting our services or products and talking about their value, but we often forget to ask for feedback after a sale. Just do it! If it’s negative, learn, deal with it and move on. If it’s positive, SHOUT about it!
Feedback and reviews like this build trust in your product/service. Posts like this build your credibility in a way other posts and paid ads cannot. If you follow only one of my social media tips, make it asking for feedback and reviews after your service is provided or product is sold.
Make it part of your ongoing communication with your clients. Direct them to the places you collect feedback – FaceBook or Google Business etc. in emails, newsletters, and display them on your web pages.
Hey – if you like these social media tips, then head to my Google Business Page and leave me a nice review! 😁
Final Tip 10
Highlight your best content
This is your opportunity to control the conversation. Show off your best content! You earned it! You might have a stunning image that received lots of comments. Or interaction with a client that received great feedback. Your audience should be able to see it easily.
Make sure the message is on point, and don’t forget to change it up and keep it up to date. There is no point in having something pinned to the top of your wall from 5 years ago.
Aaaand that's it!
Did you get all my social media tips done? Did it take you an hour? I’d love to hear about it – send me some before and after photos of your accounts!
YOU CAN FIND QUICK LINKS HERE TO ALL MY TOP SKI INDUSTRY MARKETING ADVICE
JTM Monthly Newsletter
Monthly ski industry and social media marketing news - NO FLUFF!
FREE Social Media Content Planner
Daily tried & tested content ideas PLUS monthly blog topic ideas
Alpine Content Club
Done for you monthly content club. Templates, written captions, trending audios, hashtag research and more.
Marketing & Ski Blog
Weekly social media and digital marketing advice. Plus ski industry content and topics to talk about with your audience.
JTM Digital Services
Find all my digital marketing services here. From Social Media Management to audits, content creation and more.
Pingback: 12 Simple Tips To Help You Be More Productive - Jen Tsang
Absolutely put that phone on silent! It’s the only way for me to work without being distracted by the seemingly constant updates!