Listen, I want to provide value for you. And I don’t believe that you need to pay for everything. So here is a gift of a few social media best practices which I believe translate across any brand, organization, or individual:

1. Tell their story too. Be a brand or individual that elevates the stories of your audience. People enjoy seeing themselves in the fabric of your brand identity. Tell someone’s story, with gratitude, acknowledging them as if your brand wouldn’t thrive without them (because it wouldn’t).

2. Consistency matters. Social media growth is more successful when you follow a strategy over a chasing a trend. Consistency yields greater dividends over a longer dedicated time. Don’t feel defeated if you aren’t growing as fast as others.

3. Paid social can become a crutch for mediocre content. Producing great content is crucial. There are so many ads created with the same copy, stock images and video, and animated slideshow transitions *yawn*. Don’t take the short cut for easy conversions. Create great engaging content that converts lifelong fans.

4. Provide value. You shouldn’t use social to broadcast every single update and announcement (not to say that you should never but you need to know your audience, and proper platform). Attention spans are short. You are destined to be skipped over, unfollowed, or muted if you aren’t giving a user a good enough reason to stay interested.

5. Video is the premiere content type. Video isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, they’re being elevated across new emerging platforms *TikTok cough, cough*. Overall still images and graphics rank lower than video content on most popular social media algorithms. Experiment with creating high-impact short-form video content.

6. #Help. Hashtags don’t translate to virality anymore. But, you can use them to curate great User Generated Content (see tip #1) and enhance your community management strategy.

7. Social media is social. A no-brainer, right? Build quality and authentic relationships with your audience. If you can’t do this well, no social media strategy will be effective for you.

Now I will disclose that the digital landscape of social media changes every day, sometimes even by the hour. In no way would I consider my an expert. I actually love to identify as an everlasting student. I would caution you to trust any self-proclaimed “expert” with any magical formula. Things are always evolving and it’s nearly impossible to know everything.

On that note, if you like what I’m all about or would like more advice, consider hiring me.