Working with social media over the past few years has really been a huge learning experience and an amazing tool we are continuously working with, both for ourselves and for our clients! Social media can be a really valuable tool for any new business (big or small), solo-preneur, blogger, influencer or creative. It can help anyone to promote what they do, get more attention and of course connect with an engaging community of like-minded folks and potential clients or collaborators.

With all the knowledge we have gathered, I thought: why not share some of those helpful tips with you guys?

I decided to start this series of posts with facebook! Why? Because although there are some people out there claiming that facebook is going “down”, I still believe it’s an awesome tool for any emerging business. In fact, it’s the first social network we ever used, (and it’s where David and I met, but that’s another story isn’t it? haha!). Jokes aside, I believe that facebook is especially interesting if your business is local or you want to engage with a local network. Simply because facebook works with people who see the activity within their network of friends, it’s a perfect place for spreading the word if you clearly have a certain local network to be active with. Since I have so many tips to share, I will divide this post into two. The next one will be posted on friday, so stay tuned!

Invite your folks!

Are you a beginner and looking to grow your facebook audience? Never underestimate the power of simply inviting people to “like” your page. It sounds obvious to me, but I often realize not everyone has this reflex. Invite everyone in your contacts to like your page – no, it’s not spam! If it’s about your beloved activity or business, then of course your facebook friends will be happy to support you. And guess what? If they liked your page, then it’s more likely their friends will like it too, and so will the friends of their friends. So go ahead and make that little snowball effect happen.

A little extra tip: So you posted something on your page and you got several “likes”. But have these people actually “liked” your page? If not, then they will not be able to follow up with what you post. What to do? Invite them to like your page! Click on the “likes” below the post and see who of these people you can “invite”, I’m sure there will be a few. It happens to us very often that external people like our posts, so of course they’re happy to be reminded to like our page as well!

The art of the facebook like

Facebook is a great place to connect with like-minded people. Find people, activities or businesses you like to follow and “like” their pages with your own page. Maybe they’ll like yours in return. If you’re not sure how to do this, check out this link!

And if you love what they post, be active: like & comment on their activity! You will get their attention, the attention of their audience, and you’ll maybe even score a nice collaboration opportunity (which is especially nice for bloggers!)

Stick with your brand

As you might have guessed, it’s very important to stay consistent with your brand – not just on your business cards and your website, but also on your social media! Facebook is a great place to post your images as well as some exclusive graphics for special occasions & announcements, but make sure that everything you post is in line with your brand. If posting images, make sure they fit with your personal brand ambiance. If posting graphics, use your personal brand font(s) & colors to stay recognisable. When we design for our clients, we always make sure to give them special graphics that they can use on facebook, and we also create templates for their announcements!

Make your “copy” engage with your audience.

Nowadays, every single person and every single business has a facebook page. Or most, at least. But the key to using it right is to be interesting to your public and not everyone does that! What makes the difference? Paying attention to the copy of your posts, which is the description “text” that comes along with what you post (whether it’s a link, a video or a photograph). You have to keep in mind that people do read it and this contributes hugely on whether or not what you post will be engaging. So try not to bore anyone! If you are sharing a new product from your e-shop, don’t just write a soulless description such as  “new product online” along with a photo. Give it some love and enthusiasm, like “It’s summer time and we’re excited to announce that our beautiful handcrafted beach bags are now online!“. Now that sounds a little more interesting, doesn’t it? And if you’re feeling daring, feel free to add in a public question, like “where will you be heading for your beach holiday this year?“. If you got a bunch of people liking your facebook page, that’s great. But those little details can ensure your audience will truly engage with your page and maybe even leave you a couple of comments or reactions. On facebook, more reactions definitely mean more visibility!

Be reactive

Part of owning a facebook page is about interacting with your audience. So you’re posting great things, you’re getting cool reactions from your audience, but are you actually interacting with them? Show your audience that you are available and that you’re grateful for their support. If someone has commented on one of your posts, then reply to their comment, even just to say “thank you” – it’s just such a nice thing to do! And of course, reactivity is also very important when it comes to messages. If you received a message on your facebook page, you will get a better rating for being reactive and answering it.

While not all of us want to spend our lives on facebook, just a bit of time spent on it and a little personal consistent strategy will make all the difference to your business or activity. If you use it right, then it can possibly be the only social network you’ll ever need.

I’m also going to use this post as an opportunity to say that we offer one-on-one social media consulting, so if you feel like yours needs a little boost, or a proper custom strategy to begin with, let us help you reach your goals – email us at hello@kinlake.com 🙂

Got any burning questions you want to ask, or think I forgot anything so far? Let me know in the comments! …and stay tuned for post n°2 which will be posted on friday and will contain more in-depth & advanced tips!