As a microbusiness or someone who is self-employed, managing social media can seem like a daunting task. Most of us wear all the hats in our business anyway and social media, especially, seems like a massive time suck that’s impossible to keep up with.

It is.

☛ Ideally, if you are serious about having a superb social media presence, the best tip I can give you is this: HIRE SOMEONE.

Yep. Social Media is like a newborn baby and it needs constant attention and regular feedings. Ideally, you need help. However, there are ways to do this on your own, but as a fellow microbusiness owner, I know you, we’re already trying to do it all. (Am I right?)

(Resource: Elizabeth Chambers, Virtual Assistant )

If you’re not at the point where you can hire anyone, or you’re a determined DIY-entrepreneur, then keep on reading for a couple of tips to at least help you get started. This is VERY basic, but you have to start somewhere.

Before you go through the list of tips, the best advice I can give is this: DON’T COMPARE yourself to the internet stars out there. They have a huge team of people that are managing every little aspect of social media. Until you have a team, your social media channels are not going to look like that. (Just setting expectations here.)

10 TIPS FOR MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA BY YOURSELF

1. Make A Plan. Don’t just throw something out there for the sake of having content. That’s so easy to do (trust me, I still fall into that temptation). Figure out what you want to communicate overall and how you want to relate to the people who see your posts.
2. Decide which channels are best for you. If you are a baker, photographer, or have some type of product you MUST be on Instagram and/or Pinterest. Offer a local service? Facebook is your place!
3. Be you. Be relatable.
4. Consistency. You’ll need to post about 2x a day at first. Use a scheduling app like TailwindApp (Pinterest) or the built-in Facebook Scheduler. As of October 2019, Facebook has launched the Creator Studio which allows you to manage and schedule posts for BOTH Facebook and Instagram (win!win!) Set aside a chunk of time, like an hour or two, and schedule out your posts a week or more ahead of time. That way, you don’t have to think about it. Your posts go out automatically.
5. Be Interesting, promote less. Create posts that will interest your target market or provide useful tips. Less than 50% of your posts should be selling your product or service. (more like 25%)
6. Start with one Social Media platform before tackling another one. Most of us assume we have to do it all, all at once. Start with Facebook or Instagram. (They can actually be connected). Get good at one before tackling another.
7. Create posts that people will want to SHARE. (see tip #5)
8. Share/promote posts from other businesses or people. It goes both ways. If you want people to engage with and share your posts, YOU have to engage and share as well.
9. Have consistent user names. Try to keep user names across different accounts the same or similar.
10. Make sure to link everything you do to your social media accounts. Websites, posts, marketing materials, etc…they need to be connected together. They should all link back and forth. Ultimately, your social media should be part of a greater SEO strategy. (For local businesses, I recommend following Hack Local Search for more information on this).

UTILIZE KEYWORDS IN YOUR STRATEGY

Obviously, there is so much more to managing social media than this, but for many micro and small businesses, this is a good starting point. If you really want to do it well, start with an SEO strategy and then work your social media into it.

(Resource: I recommend Rachel Miller for in-depth Facebook training. It’s pricey, but if you’re serious about scaling your business through social media, it’s worth it.)

A final tip that you can start to apply today: capitalize on the keywords you have identified for your business. To do this, create usernames that incorporate a keyword. Also, plan posts based on your top keywords.

For example, I cater to microbusinesses. That’s why the USER NAME for my Facebook page is @microbusinessmentor. I could easily change the TITLE of my page if I want to, but it’s my username that will show up in search engine results. Either way, I want the main keyword I’ve identified for my business to be in my username on all my social media channels.

Here’s another example: I have a typewriter business. My page username is @vintagetypewriters, but my page name is Jot + Tittle Vintage Typewriters.

Additionally, I have a separate business page titled, @vintagetypewriterrepair. This highlights the service side of my business using the search terms I think people will use. Both of these pages link to my website.

The point is, make your username a word or phrase that utilizes your top keywords for your business!

I hope these tips help you get started or inspire you to make little changes to managing social media for your business. There’s so much to learn, but take one step at a time. Be sure to join groups or experts in your preferred platforms in order to stay on top of the ever-evolving world of social media!