5 Best Practices for Client Social Media
Social media marketing has changed a lot since I started working in this field about ten years ago. Back in the dark ages, video wasn’t available on most platforms, chat and messenger tools didn’t exist, and analytics were simple and uninformative.
It’s a whole other ballgame now. But you know what hasn’t changed? The core principles of best practices. These aren’t new tactics; they’re tried and true principles that didn’t start with social media marketing, but they certainly do apply.
So yes, use the right media for your audience, tweak your messaging, and adjust your content to provide value to your dream clients. Here are five best practices that have withstood the test of time that you should be doing for your target market right now.
1.START WITH WIIFM
How long has your client been in business? What’s their specialty? What are they passionate about? Here’s a secret: none of this matters until you tie it back to their customers.
What is their experience? What do they invest time and resources in? The services do they leverage to make their clients’ lives better? They most certainly matter, but it’s relative to what it means for their target market. It’s all about the reframe here.
2. FEATURE PEOPLE
There’s an age-old saying, but it bears repeating: people buy from people they like. So if you want your clients to sell more, help them feature the people that work for their business that need to start those relationships. You might get some resistance to this, but time and time again, the best-performing posts are focused on the team.
3. ALIGN WITH YOUR OTHER ACTIVITIES
I never recommend social media as a solo marketing activity. It’s a great enhancement activity, though. It’s the perfect enhancement for other activities and campaigns you’re running. Make it the resource that supplements your emails, paid promo, and direct sales. It’s a great way for your team to connect with prospects and for your prospects to research your business before they make a connection.
4. GET YOUR PARTNERS IN ON THE ACTION
If you work with other businesses, manufacturers, associations, or groups, engage with them on social. Think about it: you’re aligning your audience with theirs. Sharing their content generates goodwill and mega brownie points, and you get to communicate your expertise in your industry through their content. It’s win-win-win.
5. GET THE RIGHT MIX
Shake it up! Don’t post the same kind of thing day in and day out. Yes, having a consistent presence is a great idea. But it’s also wise to vary the medium you’re using, your graphic style, calls to action, types of content, and delivery method. Test out a ton of things and see what your clients’ audiences respond to, and even then, mix it up often to stop the scroll.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ISN’T FOR EVERYONE
Managing clients’ social media can be a LOT. It’s a lot of creative power, and frankly many agencies don’t have the staff or bandwidth to do one more thing, right? That’s okay. But it might be a good idea to think about bringing in support for that piece of your operations. Someone who will follow these best practices for your clients so you don’t have to manage your clients’ social media.
