Tag Archives: Tips On Tuesday

Tips on Tuesday

We’ve been discussing the importance of Inclusive Design and how some small changes to your social media posts can make them more accessible to more people.

Emojis are great fun to use, and when used appropriately add a welcome bit of lightheartedness to your posts.  However, text-to-speech software reads out a description for every emoji you use, so be careful with the number you include.

Hearing “one gold star” isn’t terrible, but hearing “one gold star” repeated 10 times throughout a message is not only tiresome, but alters the meaning of the entire post.

Remember, in this case less is certainly more!

Tips on Tuesday

The one size fits all approach never works!

Does your social media plan consider accessibility?

With no such thing as an “average user”, it is vital you ensure your social media strategy covers inclusive design methods.

What is inclusive design? Quite simply inclusive design accounts for diversity—including ability, language, gender, age, and other factors—and enables people to enage in a variety of ways.

Accessibility mattters for social media, because without inclusive design you’re potentially missing out on a large audience.  Did you know 71% of excluded web visitors will simply leave rather than complain?  A survey by Facebook found that more than 30% of people report difficulty with at least one of the following; seeing, hearing, speaking, organizing thoughts, walking, or grasping with their hands.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to help you make your social media inclusive and diverse.  After all what is better than creating great, accessible experiences for everyone in your audience?!

Tips on Tuesday

Have you thought about helping your followers get to know you better?

“Behind the scenes” footage, whether in the form of images or video can be a really valuable type of content for your social media feeds.  Why not share where the magic happens; the stockroom, the factory floor, even your own desk!

Whilst you must be careful not to share anything sensitive or confidential, sharing where and how you work can be a really valuable way of your followers getting to know what is behind the business!

Tips on Tuesday

We’re often asked by clients about the use of scheduling tools such as Hootsuite or indeed Meta’s own scheduling software for social media posts and whether they’re a good idea. 

Our feeling is that they can be a very useful tool IF you don’t rely solely on them.  They’re very useful for standard messages but the beauty of social media is its spontaneity and you can risk losing the power to tap into breaking stories if you don’t check your social media feeds personally.

There is, of course, also the risk of scheduled messages being inappropriate in light of wider world events. So we would say possibly discretion is the better part of valour and it may be wise to turn off scheduled posts if something major happens.  At the end of the day whether you agree or not, you don’t want to be the subject of a social media rant about insensitivity, your social media profile has to be impeccable.

So in conclusion? Yes, a scheduling tool can be a useful asset.  But don’t rely on them and don’t lose that personal touch!

Tips on Tuesday

So we’ve all pretty much got that “back to school” feeling.

Back to school we go!

September is a great time to ensure your skills are up to date, you’re aware of any changes to the algorithms for your social media channels and you’re using the most current version.

It can also be a great time to think about developing your skills. If you feel like you would like to improve your skills, there are plenty of online courses (both free and otherwise!) that do just that.

Remember, back to school isn’t just the literal – it is a metaphor for getting back into the swing of things. And whether that is simply returning to the office after a holiday, or making any internal changes, it will take time to settle!

Good luck to you all!

Tips on Tuesday

When making a post on any of your social media channels it is important to get a good balance of content.

That means not making it all about you!

Make sure your posts are a decent mix of your news together with posts that add value for people reading, sharing interesting content and simply interacting with other people.  There is nothing more likely to make followers hit the big “unfollow” button than a social media feed that contains nothing but posts on what you’re selling.

Be creative, be innovative and share well!

Tips on Tuesday

It is no secret times are hard, so here are some easy ways you can help small businesses on social media: –

Growth
  1. Give them a follow/like.  A very easy one but important.
  2. Share their content.  If you see something you think your friends might be interested in, share the love!
  3. If you’ve bought a product or used a service, why not tell people? Leaving a review takes very little time but means the world!
  4. If you see something that interests you on their timeline, comment on the post and tell them so!
  5. Check in to their premises.  People will remember where you’ve been!
  6. If you’re a member of a local group on social media, people often ask for recommendations; word of mouth is still so important!

Give it a try and spread the love; who will you help out today?

Tips on Tuesday

Admit it, we’ve all had a sneaky look at who is following us. And discovered that people have unfollowed us and felt rather affronted!

Try and remember that your followers list will be an ever-changing landscape and this is positive!  Don’t be tempted to ask people why they’ve unfollowed you and give ideas to other people! 

Continue to post regularly, add value and interact with the people who DO follow you.  For every follower you lose, you will gain new followers to interact with.

Tips on Tuesday

Only a short one today, but vitally important.

Do make sure that any and every link you have on your website opens in a new window!

Such a small thing, but often overlooked.  If you add a link and it opens in the window you’re currently in all you’re doing is directing your traffic AWAY from you and elsewhere.  By opening in a new window, you do at least keep your web visitors on your page whilst adding further offerings for them!

Tips on Tuesday

Remember to make use of all the tools social media platforms offer you for making the most of your experience!

One of our favourites is the option on Facebook to view your page as a visitor.

This gives you the opportunity to take an objective look at your page to ensure you have completed it as fully as possible and that you’re getting across the information you want.  It is always a good idea to regularly check your profile in this manner to make sure your Call to Action buttons are working, your messenger options are working and that your posts work well on a timeline.

You can find the option by navigating to your business page, clicking the button marked with three dots in the menu bar under the cover photo and selecting  the “view as page visitor” option.