I started my role at Social Progress in July 2020, but after 14 months my role as Social Media Account Manager has come to an end, as I return to the full time management of my own business, fairandfunky CIC
I have had time to reflect on all I have learnt here at Social Progress, and as a small independent business owner here’s some of the key things I’ll be putting in to place to make it easier to market my business and to help fairandfunky grow.
Planning Is Key
Now that I have returned to my role with fairandfunky, delivering workshops in schools and with community groups, social media is NOT my full time job – I also have to think about all the other elements that keep the business running, and I’m sure many other small business owners are in the same boat! But that doesn’t mean you have to drop the ball on your social media activity.
At the end of each month I look at the calendar to see what’s ahead, and spend 20 minutes planning out what social media content I have coming up – that might be photos from workshops I am delivering, information about upcoming events, school and community newsletters, selfies with people I’m working with and much more – then all I have to do is fill in the gaps! It makes managing my social media a lot easier, and I can still be confident that I’m marketing my business to the best of my ability!
Scheduling Is Your Friend
With the planning done, I know where the gaps are and what services I want to promote, so then I get scheduling. My favourite tools to use are Creator Studio (for Facebook and Instagram), and the in-built Twitter scheduling (obviously, for Twitter) – they are both very user friendly, and quick to use.
Scheduling some of the social media content in advance has been a real game-changer for me. It means that I don’t have to always be thinking of what to post to promote the business each day, so I can focus on the day-to-day running of the business. It also means that fairandfunky are regularly reaching our audience with targeted, on-brand messages to help us promote the services we offer, and I can also easily identify where the holes in our marketing lie, and consistently build towards a stronger marketing strategy.
Keep It Simple
Nobody knows your business as well as you do, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that. Remember, not everyone will know all of the ins and outs of your business, so it’s important to keep the messages that you’re pushing out simple enough for anyone to understand!
Start with the basics of what you do and build up from there. Once people get to grips with your business, and know what your core values and messages are, then they are more likely to trust and use your services – it’s simple inside and out!
People Love People
This is important: don’t shy away from photos of yourself. People want to see who is behind the brand! Not only do people love people, but people TRUST people, meaning that the more they can see you delivering what you say you deliver then they are more likely to buy in to your business and the services you offer.
And if you really can’t bear to be in front of the camera, then get behind it! Don’t forget, a great way to engage with your audience is posting photos of people using your products and services. Every time I deliver a workshop I make sure to post a photo of children enjoying participating – it’s a simple way to promote what we do, and to show the visible benefits of working with fairandfunky.
It’s Not Easy!
Investing time in social media has certainly helped fairandfunky retain regular customers, and even grow in to new areas, but it’s not easy! Just because the social media platforms themselves are free and open for everyone to use, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will find their own social media easy to handle!
As you can see, a lot goes in to making your social media marketing work for you and your business, but it’s important not to get overwhelmed. If you’re only posting once or twice a week then great! It’s better than not posting at all! But if it’s just not something that’s in your skillset, or doesn’t get your juices flowing, then don’t worry! That’s where Social Progress comes in.
From 1-2-1 training, to managing your social media for your business, or even if you just need a bit of business marketing support, working with Social Progress is like having an extra team member working alongside you, whilst you focus on other elements of your business that drive you! I’d recommend getting in touch with them. After all, they are the experts – I should know…
And if you want to have a gander at what we do, you can follow fairandfunky on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – we’d love to engage with you!