A Few Social Media Tips

I see so many questions asking for social media tips. Each platform is a bit different and you will have different types of people that use them in different ways. I will outline each one that I use, and give as many tips as possible!

Facebook:

If you’re not already using a Facebook business page, you definitely need to be. This way your business page and your personal page is separate. You can’t really go on and on and wanting people to respect and treat you like a legitimate business if you’re just posting random personal meme’s, pics, and thoughts right along with a business post. I’m not trying to be rude, I’m being honest. Also, having a business page comes with the perk that I’m talking about next.

Use your “Insights” tool! This will help you understand what your audience likes to see, and how they engage with your page. It will look overwhelming when you first start going through it, but you can easily get the hang of it. You will learn what days are the best to post, and even what types of posts your audience enjoys the most.

Post at least once a week. I understand that we all go through slow times, but do a practice set if you have to. You can even pull a picture from awhile back that you really liked and re-post it. The more you post, the more your audience will stay engaged. We’ve all heard “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”, right? If you’re not making any noise, no one is going to notice you!

Here’s my honest advice on the whole “boosting a post” question. Don’t do it! I did it one time just so I could give my personal opinion on why it is or isn’t worth it. I have posts reach so many more people when I have an engaged audience than I did actually paying Facebook to promote my post. These are just the results I got. I do know plenty of people who pay a lot of money to have their posts promoted, I just didn’t think it was worth the money. You also have to look at this from a business point of view. Paying to promote your business adds into overhead costs in your business, which cuts into profit. That’s not something I like to do unless it also converts into more income.

Instagram:

This is a lot like my advice for Facebook, except that Instagram’s audience is a much different audience than Facebook. Think about it, what is Instagram? It’s pictures, short videos, and many, many hashtags. If you’re not putting any attempt into taking a halfway decent picture (or video) of your products, then Instagram is not the place for you. If you need help in the area of taking pictures or videos, here’s a great link to start with!

Again, make sure you have a business page set up! A great perk to this is that you can link it to your Facebook and it will post in both places instead of you having to do the process twice! If you have other social media accounts, those can be linked as well.

Always use hashtags! There’s no need to post 43 hashtags with your products, but definitely find 10 or so that are relevant to you and your product, and use them consistently. I have 4 that go on every post I do, then the few others I add in are more specific to the product.

Instagram is also a great place to find and “follow” other bakers!

To be honest, these are my two main social media accounts that I use for my business. I do have a Pinterest for my blog, but I don’t use one for my business. It just didn’t convert into any sales. Pinterest (for me) is mainly used to get ideas and inspiration. Twitter is something I have, but am not at all consistent on it because I found that also didn’t convert into any sales. I really don’t think it’s necessary to be on every social media platform, but to find one or two that you can work well and convert into sales. I say this about many things: Don’t do everything sub-par, do a few things and do them well!