Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. In today’s highly digitized era, businesses are unlikely to survive without a strong social media presence, and social enterprises are no exception.
Now for the great news. Social enterprises are in a great position to capitalize on the power of social media as consumers increasingly want their buying dollars to make a difference. Many social entrepreneurs might be surprised to learn just how excited the general public will be to get behind, share and promote their worthy cause via popular social media platforms.
The thing is that many social entrepreneurs feel intimidated by the idea of harnessing the power of social media. That said, once they jump in, many will be relieved to find out that there is absolutely no need to be a tech expert in order to establish a highly successful social media presence.
With that in mind, here are some handy tips to ensure that your social enterprise is fully capitalizing on the awesome marketing power of social media.
1. Create Attractive Branding
Social media is all about quick exposure, and the sad truth is that users are likely to brush your account aside if they don’t find the branding to be visually appealing.
If your branding is feeling a little outdated, it might be time to enlist the services of a graphic designer who can give your social enterprise the branding resources it needs to put its best face forward. Once you have created an attention-grabbing look, be sure to apply it consistently across any platform you are using. This way users will have a recognizable and appealing visual ascetic that creates an immediate positive association to your cause.
2. Post Consistently
In order to keep your social media profiles relevant, you absolutely need to be posting on a regular basis. The best way to ensure that you don’t fall behind is to set a concrete posting schedule and stick to it.
Keep in mind that it is better to make one post a daily basis than to post a bunch of content all at once, so make a habit of setting aside a few minutes every day to post fresh content, links, blogs and promotions. You will be surprised how easy it will start to feel.
One of the most important things to keep in mind, especially for social entrepreneurs, is that if you are only posting new content and not engaging with your audience’s comments and feedback, you are missing out on a major opportunity to soak up free input and personalize your brand. By taking the time to jump into the discussion, and maybe even saying thank you now and then, you will not only be solidifying new followers but also showing your market that you actually do care.
3. Post Video Content
The world of social media loves readily packaged snippets of information. This is why posting video content is one of the smartest ways to attract attention. Not only that, but they are easy to share and disseminate, which translates to easy exposure for your cause.
Even better, there is no need to invest a significant amount of resources into producing a video. Videos with a homemade feel actually tend to perform very well as long as their content is authentic and compelling. In fact, video content is likely to be a more powerful tool for social enterprises than it is for a standard business. It provides a stimulating forum to tell a compelling story, and social entrepreneurs will almost always have a touching and inspiring story to tell.
4. Stay on Top of the Latest Trends
Keeping on top of trends may seem like a lot of effort, but it’s really not that difficult if you know where to look.
Following a few highly influential accounts and subscribing to a couple of blogs that regularly dole out handy tips and updates about social media upkeep will usually give social enterprise leaders enough inspiration and resources to keep their social media accounts fresh and relevant.