March 1, 2022
As a business owner, having quality social media and web content is more important than ever. The problem is doing it fast enough, hiring someone in times like these and finding time to do it yourself.
I provide 5 tips to improve social media content, engagement and website strategy below. It’s not just about getting quality content, it’s about knowing the ins and outs of digital marketing.
If you need more quality content, or guidance, I can help! My services come with years of experience and are super affordable! I’m here to help local retailers grow and give them the edge they deserve, not to overcharge them.
If you want to know what my 10 years of experience with digital marketing and content creation entails, you can read about it at the end of this post 🙂
Ok, now the good stuff…
Social Media 101 – tips for social media and websites
1. Ensure you have real followers
Remove bot accounts that follow you, or ones that don’t engage with your content (we all get that comment from “x brand manager” for a collab). A lot of people cringe at this since their followers go down, but having more followers doesn’t get you more sales if they’re not the right ones.
It’s quality not quantity (read that again!). Some followers aren’t your target audience and won’t add value, or buy your products. Your engagement percent rate matters (yes, that’s a thing) and that means having real followers (aka customers) that actually engage with your content.
Also, PSA: no one is fooling anyone with fake followers, or fake engagements anymore. Others now have ways of knowing if they’re real or not. Here’s a great link to a talk on this by Steven Bartlett (38:25 seconds in where he gets to this) but first, keep reading for more important tips.
2. High Interaction with your followers, aka customers (on your end, not just theirs)
This is SO important.
Think of it this way, when a customer walks into your store, you talk to and interact with them – online is no different (that’s why it’s called “social” media).
If you don’t engage with your followers, they won’t be as motivated to check out your recent posts and interact with them if they don’t have a relationship with you/your brand. This has nothing to do with the algorithm. You may think this is very time consuming, but I don’t mean taking the time to scroll and like other people’s photos.
There’s SO many fast and easy ways to interact with your customers online to increase engagement on your content, but I can’t give away all my secrets 😛
3. Find your posting balance
Under-sharing is a thing, but so is over-sharing (it’s all about balance).
Let’s say you’re selling products: you should post on your feed at least every second/third day and post stories every day. If not, you’re not staying on your customers’ radar.
But, if you’re posting on your feed more than twice a day, that may not be good either.
You have less than 5 seconds to grab someone’s attention. Regardless if it’s their first or millionth time on Instagram today, they’re not gonna stop and engage with all 3-5 of your posts that day. In fact, they may hide you and find it annoying (and remember, engagement is crucial).
When you over-share you also take away the excitement and exclusivity from your brand. Plus, that’s a lot of content to get – are you really ensuring it’s quality content each time, or just posting to post?
Determining the right balance and posting at the most ideal times is something I regularly work with my clients on.
4. Quality. Content. Only.
First, detail is retail, so taking time to perfect the spacing, straightening, lighting and styling of ALL your photos is key. All your photos make up your entire feed, portray your brand personality and make customers want to “get lost” in your page.
You would never have a messy store, so you should never have a messy page.
A picture is worth 1000 words, so here’s a basic example of what to do and what not to do.
Second, you must have an eye for fashion styling and merchandising. For example, if you’re selling jewelry, knowing how to style it with the right outfit, or background, without taking away emphasis on the subject is key.
Detailing your photos is one thing, but coming up with ideas on how to make them lifestyle and inspirational is another. Your product photos on social media should be lifestyle and inspirational, versus the ones on your website that are more straight forward and focused.
You’re more likely to get someone’s attention with quality and inspiration rather than just posting for the sake of posting.
Here’s another basic example of this:
Getting quality content is time consuming, so I help clients with this in an affordable way!
I also know how to style outfits, merchandise products and can talk to you about reels versus photos, when to post each and help you find the right balance.
5. Have a functioning, pretty website
What’s all this posting for anyway?
Well, your social media should have lifestyle photos that portray your brand personality so customers can relate to it. This inspires them to go to your website and buy your products/services. So, your website should have all the information they need to actually buy those products/services.
Limiting your customers to your store is limiting your business. It’s so important to have a functioning website that reflects your brand personality (I provide tips on this below):
Tips to Improve your Website:
- Shop-able products/services: everything should be on your website (especially what you’re posting on social media).
- Detailed product photos: can you see the back of the dress? The closures? A close up? Details of the material?
- Detailed product descriptions: is there an inspirational description of your product/service that resonates with your customer and inspires them to incorporate it into their lifestyle? Size guides? Dimensions?
- Appearance and aesthetic: your website should look nice, reflect your brand personality and inspire your customers. It shouldn’t be too boring or too busy – this is now your “in-store” experience (except it’s digital).
- Easy to navigate: customers should be able to quickly search and easily find the product/service they’re looking for – no clutter or overly complicated text.
I also write web content, take photos specifically for websites and guide clients in all the above areas.
The reality is, if you’re not online in a strategic way, you’re lightyears behind and not helping your brand. That’s not what I want for local retailers, I want them to thrive in this digital world!
So, I hope these tips for social media and websites help inspire and guide you – all the above is a crucial formula for digital success!
Feel free to check out my services and contact me via Instagram, email or the content form on my website! Even if it’s just for a chat – this is a community of all things style and I love hearing from you 🙂
As promised at the beginning, my experience:
Taking quality photos of your product is one thing but writing good captions, adapting content to your brand, merchandising products to be lifestyle/relatable to customers and transferring it all online…that’s a whole other art. I have over 10 years of direct experience in all these things.
I’ve been working at Aldo head office for 10 years. Currently as a buyer and in marketing and visual before that. In my roles, I took product shots and created various types of content strategies for North American and international markets.
The great thing about working for Aldo is I’ve been exposed to so many great brands and products. Fun facts: Aldo is Canadian, owns other brands and even has a division that helps other companies with their branding and content. So, I’ve worked with everything from footwear and handbags to jewelry and other accessories.
I also worked for local stores and start-up companies while completing a business degree.
Creating content, specifically for retail and branding, online and in-store, is my entire career and something I’m really skilled in and passionate about.
So, I started this business because I want to use my passion, experience and skills to help support local!
Thanks for reading 🙂
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