I get asked this a lot: “What Should I post on my Business Facebook page?” And similar for Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Business owners are often too busy to plan at this level; they just want things taken care of, or a source of ideas. So, here goes, my list of 20 ideas for great social media posts – which were actually written while waiting to interview with a prospective new client!
Ideas on what to post on your business Facebook page (or other business-related social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+):
And yes! You should be doing all of these. And Instagram or Pinterest if they match your business target market…
And one more tip: aim for posting 2x a week if that’s all you can manage. No need to do it daily. That’s for larger companies that have full time people doing this.
- Seasonal Topics – Valentine’s, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Xmas, Holidays, Black Friday – anything related to seasons and your business – eg. physios reminding people to get fit for ski season, Best Exercises for Ski Season, reminding about timely fitness for say your city’s big 10K or community run; a spa would focus on gift giving times of year/Mother’s Day/Valentine’s Day/change in weather/back to school (teen-something or other…)/Father’s Day/Summer Holidays
- Business Cycle Topics – an accounting firm could post on tax season, budget season (not for profits and big corps = October); a web designer could post about including $ for WordPress updates in their clients annual budgets…
- New Year’s Resolutions – similar to above and I know you can all think of something! An IT support company could post on people doing those backups and upgrades or off-site backups or clean ups or even crumb-cleaning the keyboard.
- New Technology/Developments/Treatments in your business area or industry – highlight your awareness and expertise!
- New Services/Products you offer – you’re allowed to mention! Social media is now an essential method of communicating to your people (your customers, your staff, your circle of influence) – just keep the ratio of 4:1 in mind – as in, 4 pieces of valuable non-sales information to 1 blatant plug for yourself.
- Client Stories – Case Studies – whatever you call them, get some written! We want testimonials, we want lives transformed! Injuries healed, ageing diminished, relationships restored, computers restored, landscapes transformed… these posts (and the blog posts you should also be doing) are some of most powerful pieces for converting warm leads into clients.
- Why We Work Here – build your reputation as a great place to work! Images of your team, testimonials, convey how happy your staff are, which helps build your company’s reputation and your customers’ loyalty (who wants to be loyal to a mean-spirited employer?) – you may get some great candidates as a result!
- Giving Back – spread the word about what you’re doing in the area of social responsibility. (Hmmmm….I could post about how I wash all plastic bags out, reuse them, or return them all to Safeway… or how I donated time and gifts for silent auction to my friend’s Cops for Cancer fundraiser…) – get photos of your team in action at events, corporate fundraisers, volunteering, even recycling/being green.
- New Clients – we all want to align ourselves with growing companies, not sinking ships… so, if you get a notable or unique new client (and they’re ok with it!) make a post on your social media. This type of post could inspire a tardy client to up their spend with you, or get ideas of how to use your services that they hadn’t thought of yet.
- Stories from the Trenches – everyone loves to hear about struggle, challenge, and then a successful outcome – whether it’s the big server your IT team fixed, the building you saved, the scars you removed, the ankle or pelvic floor you fixed, the date night you facilitated, the domain ownership you saved from certain doom (yeah, me!) these types of posts are sure to get LIKES and SHARES. As always, include photos!
- Tips for Self Care – this can apply to every business! Can’t think of how? Ask me!
- Benefits of Using Us – OK, you’re going to have to reword this a little to be less show-off-y, but, yes, know what the THREE MOST IMPORTANT BENEFITS of using your product or service are for your various target market groups and *mention them* at least 3 x a year each. Benefits of using a super agile IT company: Save time, Save money, Improve/Sustain Productivity. Benefits of visiting a great day spa for a quarterly facial: Less Breakouts, Look Younger, Feel More Beautiful (and the world is yours!) – if you can, throw in some details from other successful clients and the benefits they’ve received.
- Staff Profiles – put some faces to the names! Brag a bit about your team’s accomplishments. Make connections between client and team, and build community. That is what social media is for!
- Challenges – start a challenge. This could bring your followers together and sharing their steps/accomplishments (and keeps them centered around you)… my friend and client Darnelle (fitness studio Eastside Fitness in East Vancouver) has a great Commit to Fit challenge going right now where a FB group of her clients are walking/jogging/sharing every day on a 40 day challenge for points (= 30 min segments in a calorie burning zone). The women are getting competitive (in a friendly way) but all are getting in the process and sticking with it b/c (among other reasons) it’s all being shared on FB.
- Referral Program – you have one, right? You should. So, make one, and mention it 3-4x a year (Hootsuite is great for scheduling this stuff….) – certain kinds of people love a deal or a referral kickback (I do!) – so make it easy for them by mentioning it and keeping your ‘sales team’ working for you.
- Rewards Program – similar to above. “What’s in Your Pocket?” – my reward card! I’d maybe mention this 2 x a year. Or whatever you do for Client Appreciation. I suggest a big party once a year!
- Throw Back Thursday – after kitten videos and images with snarky sayings on them involving wine, “Throw Back Thursday” photos are probably some of the most enjoyed social media content. Whether it’s a throwback to past technology, the history of your industry, or images of your first staff party, put something out there on a Thursday every now and again. (Probably avoid the kitten videos and wine for the Business FB unless it applies to your target market!)
- Partners – “Share the love and they’ll share it back” – schedule in a few posts highlighting your business partners. As a web design firm, I often refer out to logo designers and photographers. Doing posts on my partners keeps these extra services top of mind with my followers, which means the followers could buy from my partners/through me because of the reminder, or my posts about my partners could be shared by my followers among their circle of influence. You never know!
- Hot Topics – hot topic in your industry? Put a post together demonstrating your awareness of what’s current. Great idea for a blog post on your website too.
- Thank You – hey, thank your followers now and again! Everyone wants to be appreciated. If you’ve been voted best dentist/lawyer/caterer/spa, THANK the people that voted for you.
Lots of ideas here, certainly enough to get you going!
Too busy to fit in this type of posting and image hunting/cropping and writing for your small business? Let us take care of it for you! From $600 + GST per month, you can spend your time delivering great customer service, while we take care of this (sometimes fiddly!) digital marketing and social media stuff!