As you explore what social outlets you should be using for your brand, you should always start with Facebook.  That is still the largest, most powerful outlet.
That being said, the ad platform Facebook uses is still powerful and generate results.

You can choose a few different options to promote your brand -
Try to build you page so more eyeballs see your content
Boost a specific post so more eyeballs see exactly what you are saying
Let Facebook decide - they actually do a good job making sure you get a high number of eyeballs.

A lot of people are worried and nervous when you talk about Facebook ads.   They can be overwhelming at first, but are very simple to use.

A big question I always hear is - how much do I have to spend?
Well, that answer is seriously - whatever you want.

I always recommend starting at $50 a month, hopefully jumping to $100 quickly.

What are the expected results?  Well Facebook shows you before you hit submit.

Who do we reach?  Well, Facebook again does a great job with your demo.  You can choose sex, age, location, keywords, etc... a lot of options.

Put the length of your ad, type of ad, spend, and demographics together and boom - you get your expected results.
Not what you would like - do you think you aren't reaching as many folks as you should?  Adjust one of the variables above.

At the end of the day, Facebook still has the most users and their platform is nice and easy to use - and produces results.

I always ask - how do you think Zuck became a Millionaire?  It starts with Facebook ads!

A lot of marketers look at the trending memes, topics, and videos and think "I gotta do that."

That is one way of thinking, and technically, it isn't wrong.  We have discussed how important it is to see what is trending and see if you can jump in the conversation...when it makes sense.

A lot of businesses are looking for that shock value, rather than telling their story.

There are a ton of funny video memes, so many include the Office, or Comics, with a funny picture behind them - bam, a 10 second funny video that you hope goes viral.

But, does that help your business at all?  If it has a direct line to your business, the sure - go for it.  But if it doesn't - why do it?

Entertainment?  Sure.  But don't do it a lot...

Another thing businesses are doing, especially mid size that are struggling to find their voice, is something everyone else is doing.
Again - it could be a meme, or a funny post, etc....but if every single business is doing something that is trending - why are you doing it?  
The only way to jump in and be part of the fad is to do it better than your competition

Is your video funnier?  If your meme one that is more broad?

So many marketers get lazy and just do the same thing that almost everyone is doing.  Sure, look at the trending topics, but don't fall in love with copying everyone.

Be yourself.  Tell your story.  If you have a good plan and a good product, you should easily be able to mix your content with what is trending.

A fun way to increase engagement and interactions on your social channels is to have a giveaway.

Make it easy to enter, quick to complete and also, have a good prize at the end.  No one wants to go through a long list of completing questions and giving opinions that takes 30 minutes for a $1.  

A good idea is to post a picture, have your audience like and comment, and maybe even tag a friend of 2.  Make it foolproof to be part of the contest.
Give it a day or 2, maybe even a week, then pick a winner. 

One thing to put in the fine print - make sure the winner follows your page.  So often a big company has a company and has thousands of people enter and maybe 1/4 of them actually follow the page.  

Why do this?  Well, you can show you truly value your audience by giving them something, you can hopefully increase your reach and numbers by allows new users to see the post, and with that, you can hopefully even add new followers.

Don't run too many contests, but one a month would be a good, good start.

Just like a youth sports team, your business should celebrate success.

Don't be afraid to show off a little.  Tell your audience what you are working on, or if there was a big accomplishment reached.  
An anniversary of an employee - share it!
New employee you are excited to fill a newly created roll - share it!

A lot of businesses are afraid to show off their success....why?
It doesn't come across cocky or rude if you do it correctly.

State the facts, share a picture and tell us WHY this is a success that means a lot to your business.

I work a lot in Real Estate and some agents are scared to show when a home has an accepted offer or goes pending.  WHY??  If you are trying to show people you are the person to sell their home, it might be a good idea to show off a home that you recently sold!

That is for every industry.  Each and every industry can show off employees, new products or any other success.

Today, find a success you have recently had and share it!

Social media trends are important, but so is what your competition is doing.

Both need to be at the top of your mind as you create your social plan.

Trends are legit.  They show the hottest topics, ideas and even content creators.  It should not change the center of your marketing plans, but it should be something you look at to see if you can jump on any of the latest trends.
If there is a new TikTok dance, and you think it would be funny if your crew in the shop does the dance - then do it!  If there is a trend that is not a fit - then don't do it!
That simple.  Don't jump on a trend, or write a blog article about a trending topic if it is forced and has nothing to do with your business.

As far as your competition - check them out.  See what they are doing.  What platforms are they on?  How frequently are they posting?  Do they have funny, interesting posts?
Don't steal ideas, don't do exactly what they do, but you might find an idea you can implement into your own.
Hopefully, if you are doing social correctly, you will look at your competition and immediately see you are doing a better job.  That is the goal!

Today I urge you to do some homework.  Spend some time to see what is trending and see what your competition is doing.  Every little new idea or thought might pay off in a big way!

Many marketing mangers will argue with what we will talk about today.
They believe you should tell your story, share links back to your website, share what you do - 100% of the time.

Well, that is a good idea.  You do want people to know who you are, why you are the best and how you can help them.
But, if you share link after link and come across like you are salesy, people will tune you out. 

Think of who you follow.  If they share the same link over and over, you will unfollow.  It is annoying. You follow brands for specific reasons.  Some of them do show off product after product, but most of them do that and more.

The real reason to have social media is education and entertainment, and that is done by not only educating why you are the best, but also entertaining with links and shares.  I am not talking Michael Scott email forwards, I am talking good, quality content.
If you share things from your industry, community, and they are interesting, then your followers will continue to tune in to what you are doing.

Today's tip - share.  Share frequently,   Share from trustworthy outlets and businesses and provide more to your followers than your normal sales pitch.

So many companies brag that you can find them on every social outlet.  The OG's that everyone should be on, the newer outlets that are making moves or the flavor of the month that won't be around in a week.

That is well and good if businesses want to stay ahead of the trends and hit a wide, wide audience.  Good and frankly, that is part of what makes social media fun.

But, for your business - is it needed?

Most of the time, the answer is no.  

Each social media platform has their core audience, and with that, demographics that are pretty easy to find.

If you are trying to reach 50+, there is not much of a point to be on TikTok and Snap and a few others.  Facebook, LinkedIN and Instagram are where you need to be.
If you are trying to hit the college audience, it is almost the opposite.

The point today is - find a few outlets that will hit your audience and go dominate.  Don't worry if a competitor is on a new outlet.  Do you research to see why, and if you need to think about joining, but you need to find your target audience and reach who you WANT to reach.

Don't compare to the others.  Work your plan, tell your story, reach your audience.

Social media is very powerful, but at the end of the day, the goal of your entire marketing campaign is to raise awareness, reach new customers and in turn - increase profits.

That is the goal of any business.

How you get there can sometimes be a winding road.

Using social media marketing helps, but you need to remember what you are trying to accomplish.  
As we have talked about - education and entertainment - that is why we post.  But we also post to make sure you clients know what we do, why we are the best and where they can go to get our services.

The core of your entire business should start with your website.  It should be your host, your hub, your business card.
It must be current and quick to load, easy to use and show off what you do in a quick manner.

I am not suggesting you push your clients back to the website back every single day, but at least a few times a week, you must give them an easy way to purchase your services.

Spend some time to work on your website.  Make it current.  Have friends and family review to see if it works easily.  
Many businesses publish a website and forget about it.  We are there, no need to update, no need to touch it.  False.  Your website is something that needs your work often.  

Once your website is where you want it, then you can start to push to your customers.  If you use social media properly, you should see an increase in traffic and sales.  After all, that is what we are all looking for!

AI is here, and it may be annoying to some, but it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
And with all industries, it is all over social media.

Some brands are relying on AI to do everything - create their posts, handle comments and even generate images.

That may seem like a good idea, but it can be very dangerous.

Each AI post is unique and original, but does it represent the voice of your brand?
You might read that and say, so what - well, it is important.

If your brand does not use emojis, then all of a sudden a pure AI content catalog will raise som eyebrows.  If you haven't noticed, AI LOVES emojis.

Can you use AI in your marketing and social media?  Sure - it is quite a powerful tool.

Use AI to rewrite older posts, use AI to help fill in some missing spots on a blog post, even use AI to help generate some topics for your content.  All those are powerful and can add true impact to your social strategy.

But, again, use caution.

You need to read what they generate.  Adjust and edit as needed.  Don't use AI blind,  Be sure what they generate fits your voice and campaign.
There is nothing worse than looking at a post and knowing that it was all AI.  Add some personality, add some of your own voice, add your own tone.

AI is powerful, but use it carefully and if you get stuck, always go back to creating your own content.

A big part of social media marketing is being active.  Posting consistency.  Don't forget to post, or worse, lay in bed at night and scramble to post just to post...because you think you need to.

Be active, but only if you have a purpose.

If you have something to say, or want to share a good, quality article - post it.
If you are sitting there with no ideas, then pass.  

Don't post just to post.

Every post should be under 1 of 2 umbrellas (or both) -
Education and Entertainment.

If your post doesn't fall under one of these, then don't post it and go back to the drawing board.

We all follow brands that think their goal is to get as much content out as possible.  We have to post 4 times a day, regardless if we are saying the same thing or if we are passing along crappy content.  We must do it!

How do you view those brands?  Annoying and insecure, that is how I see them.

Make a plan, stick to it and if you don't feel right with what you are posting, then skip it.

Now, don't get in a habit of skipping too much - you need to be active, but again, have a purpose.

How active is too active?  4-5 posts a week is plenty.  If your business doesn't do much on the weekends, skip it.  If you are more of a Thursday-Sunday brand, then skip the start of the week.  You know your business, and customers, better than anyone - post accordingly!

A lot of social channels do a great job being part of the community, showing off their employees and even share why they are the best at what they do.

One thing the often forget?  Telling their audience WHAT they do.

It might be obvious, but even if it is, you need to continue to remind your audience what exactly you can do for them (and what services you provide).

Don't fall into the trap of being too salesy, but you need to make sure you are capitalizing on the audience you build.

The goal should be to give your audience the education and entertainment they are looking for, but then be the first ask when they are looking for services in your field.  By posting and being consistent, you should be at the top of their feed and continue to be a source they looking for each and every day.

Everyone has resolutions when a New Year starts, and most of those fall by the wayside after a few days or weeks.

Everyone has the goal to find something they can stick with to make a change in their life.

You might see many businesses do this over the next few days.  Mention a few things they are changing in process, or operations or maybe some goals for employees.  All legit, good, solid things to focus on.

One thing that might be forgotten about is the ease that you can adjust your social media strategy.

There are no rules with social media.  There are guidelines, sure, but no books that say this will 100% work and this will help you accomplish your goals.
Social media is a lot of trial and error, trying different things and watching what the world is consuming.

With all that being said, 1 small social media adjustment per day might let your business find the new customers that take you to the next level.  It might allow you to expand your reach to attract the newest rising star in your field.

It is a challenge I urge you to take on in 2024.  One small adjustment per day.  Follow 1 tip, add a new idea or process, and see where you are in 365 days.

The adjustment for today - prepare.  Get ready to be active on all the social channels you need.
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIN, X, YouTube, TikTok.

Decide which outlet you are going to be active in and make sure your channels are created properly. 
Similar usernames, profile pictures and bios. 

Use today to prepare and get ready to be very active in 2024.