Managing social media seems like a lot of fun. Endless scrolling through Twitter, discovering your favorite new Instagram filter or dancing along with TikTok trends must be a great way to spend a work day. But managing your business’s social media pages means constant attention to detail, analysis of what is working and relentless pursuit of the next big thing. It’s a tough but rewarding gig.

Here are 10 tips to manage your social media more efficiently and effectively, marketing your business and creating fun content in the process.

10 time-saving social media tips

graphic with social media likes, loves, and reactions

Use these tips to improve social media management and make sure this marketing channel works for your business — so that you can keep growing.

Talk to the experts at LocaliQ

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graphic with social media reactions placed over top

Try social media trends

Sure, social media management involves maintenance, but it also involves testing new trends and channels to discover the next key to success. Most businesses are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. But with billions of users on those platforms, there’s a lot of competition. Sometimes additional channels allow you to stand out and reach more people. For example, TikTok and Snapchat are becoming increasingly popular for small businesses. You can also try the latest social media trends to see what can help your business increase engagement and connect with your audience.

Top Social Media Bussinesses Use

Bar Graph showing the amount of businesses that utilize each social media platform.
Facebook: 93.7%
Twitter: 84.4%
Instagram: 80%
LinkedIn: 70%
YouTube: 60.8%
Pintrest: 28.9%
Whatsapp: 14.5%
IGTV: 11.5%
Snapchat: 8.7%
Twitch: 1.7%
TikTok: 0.8%
Other: 4.1%

Create eye-catching images and videos

No matter the platform, social media is visual. Sharing clean, uncluttered, and professional posts will help you stand out and boost engagement. Words alone aren’t enough anymore. Even on LinkedIn, including an image will double a post’s conversion rate.

Top Social Media Bussinesses Use

Bar graph showing that people who utilize video stories are more likely to stay engaged with the content over image stories.

Source - Socialinsider data August 2018-April 2019

Post at the right times

Schedule posts to go live during peak engagement times on each platform for your industry. Times vary by platform. Facebook skews older and is more of a social platform, so users follow a different schedule than business-oriented LinkedIn (an excellent B2B social media marketing strategy).

Use a tool like SproutSocial to find optimal times to post on social media channels for your industry.

Create a healthy mix of posts

Social media is a form of customer service, so focus on your audience, not the bottom line. Sharing useful, interesting posts will naturally promote your business better than hard selling.

Circle Graph showing 70% informational, 20% emotional, and 10% promotional

Use hashtags strategically

Hashtags have been around since 2007, and thankfully we’ve moved away from spam-like strings of every hashtag that comes to mind. Today, hashtags are used strategically. Research which ones are big in your industry or area. Find out what your competitors are using. Follow trending hashtags to see when your brand should jump in.

Phone image with UI of a faux post utilizing multiple hashtags.

Engage with your audience

Social is a conversation, not a lecture. Engaging with your audience through comments, likes, and shares is key. Start by replying to anyone who responds to your posts. Or try commenting on other business profiles. They’ll likely engage to boost their own posts.

Graphic of icons of a few people with lines going out from this graphic to single people in speech bubbles.

Tailor your content to each platform

This is huge for social media management: Tailor your message to each platform. Copy-and-pasting across networks won’t work because of style, tone, format, and audience expectations. Take the time to edit your posts for each channel to get the most engagement. It’ll be worth it.

For example: • LinkedIn posts are long and lesson-y, often linking to the content in the first comment. • Twitter posts skew shorter, often including open-ended questions and eye-catching, space-saving emojis.

Phone Images with tips on how to write copy for each platform:
LinkedIn: Professional is the name of the game on Linkedin. Let people know how your company can help them professionally.
Twitter: Keep things #short, and to the point. 280 characters max (including #spaces). Utilize #hashtags through your text to increase #noticeability.
Instagram: Keep things bright, fun, positive and outgoing, with explanation of the image if needed. #hashtags also help with visibility.

[and schedule your posts!]

This is one of the best social media tips: Use Google Sheets or a specialized project management tool like Airtable to create a calendar for social posts. Customize it as needed, including info such as blog links, social channel, captions and copy, videos or images, etc. Then, schedule your posts. That way, you can dedicate just a couple of hours a week (or month!) to creating new posts – and reschedule them quickly if plans change. Related: Get our marketing calendar template for easier planning!

Do regular social media audits

Performance audits are critical for improvement. These will show what’s working and what’s not – and identify anything requiring immediate attention.

Most of this can be done within the platform itself or using social media management tools. Then set up an audit report in a spreadsheet and use it to adjust your strategy.

Set your social media goals

Decide what you’re trying to get out of social media. Marketers who set goals are 376% more likely to succeed.

Revisit those goals as your focus shifts. Brand awareness often evolves to engagement as accounts grow and mature.

Source - buffer.com

Follow these simple guidelines to create more visually appealing posts to boost your brand’s perception:

• For posts with links, check that you have a quality featured image uploaded to the page. • For posts without links, share graphics or use emojis to more creatively share information. • Don’t forget your profile and cover photos. Update them as needed, especially as your brand imagery evolves. • Upload videos directly to social media platforms or record live on Facebook or Instagram.

Twitter Engagement Trends

Graph showing the times of each day of the week which people are most likely to be engaging on Twitter. General times are M-F 8-12, and Sat 8-9 (with 5pm being the most prominent), and Sunday 8-5.

Source - SproutSocial

Use the 70-20-10 rule of thumb:

• 70% informational posts that genuinely help your followers. • 20% emotional content that connects your audience with your culture and core values. • 10% promotional content to directly promote your work, products, and services

• Check that all images and bios across your profiles feature the same brand colors, logo, and mission. Alignment across marketing channels will help people remember your company. • Identify each channel’s best-performing posts. Analyze followers, average engagement, and referral traffic to learn what works best for you.

Consider these top social media goals:

1. Increase your reach 2. Gain new followers 3. Increase audience engagement 4. Drive website traffic 5. Generate quality leads

Social Marketers’ Top Goals for Social

Source - SproutSocial