📣 Get Social Media Advice for your Business

[DinaLRosenberg]

Hey Square Readers,

We’re almost at the end of Day Trading Attention by Gary Vaynerchuk, and so far we’ve talked about your business’ use of social media, covered the basics of why attention matters, went through The Modern Advertising Framework, and did an overview of the current Social Media Platforms.

Now we’re going to do something different: we’ll help each other out and play Social Media Consultants to give each other advice on what kind of content would be most effective to post. 

Get Social Media Advice

Sometimes an outside perspective is really helpful, so let’s all help each other with this. Let’s use this as an opportunity to brainstorm different content ideas we can use across platforms, and give each other suggestions. 

Share your social media handles & links, and give a description of your business, in the comments below. 

I’ll look through your social media channels and give some advice, and I hope you join me in helping others too. 

Jump into the comments below to:

• Post your social media handles & links.
• Describe your business and what ideas you’ve had so far.
• Take a look at others’ answers and jump in and share your tips, too!

Don’t forget to:

• View and Subscribe to all threads about this book

• RSVP to our Live Discussion – Tactic Talk: Social Media

Happy reading!

Dina

[CrismarChandler]

Thank you so much for the feedback! You have brought up some interesting points and ideas that I can't wait to try. I truly appreciate your assistance.

Thank you,

Shamarr

[CareyJo]

I loved @DinaLRosenberg's suggestions but I would add to it that I've looked at your website and the pictures of the candles have no background.  If you're using these same photos for your SM channels, I would recommend changing them up.  They're not inviting.  It needs to be dressed up, like a store display.  Surrounded by things that invoke the scent.  Flowers, leaves, lemons, etc.  I would even add nicknacks where appropriate and have them lit.  You want the photos to make an emotional connection with the viewer.

The next thing I would do is trivia or history.  I would either do reels or posts (with pics of course) and talk about candles.  How they're made, what they're made of, where they came from, how to care for them, etc.  But I would do each tidbit in a separate post.  Make them come back for more.  Don't give it all to them at once and space them out, like once a week.  I've been a candle user for decades.  Most people don't know you're supposed to trim the wick to 1/4" inch.  You should also use a snuffer so you don't blow wax when you blow out the flame.  If you don't have a line of snuffers to sell with your products, maybe you could add a couple to your line and see how well they do.  You can also encourage customers to use a candle safe pad underneath, to prevent burning of the furniture when the wax gets low.  Once mine start getting to 1/2" of wax in the bottom, I let them burn for a shorter time so they don't melt all the way through, but I also have them on pads.  You could point out that once a candle gets down to 1/4" of wax, it can be hard to keep the wicked weighted down and upright to burn, which can be a hazard.

Hope this helps! 

[DinaLRosenberg]

this is GREAT advice!!!!

I agree- some new photos would go a long way.

[GoalGetter]

I agree with @CareyJo on editing your photos to reflect the scents. If you don't have nice backgrounds, you can also edit your photos in CANVA or some other photo editing platform. Even if it is just a white background, the candle and a piece of fruit indicate the scent. 

Also, I think if you make some videos of the process of making the candles, that would be interesting to see. 

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing @CrismarChandler , and for all of the great advice, @GoalGetter , @CareyJo , and @DinaLRosenberg !

I definitely agree that some picture of your candles surrounded by the real things that the scents are inspired by would be amazing. Also 100% think that some videos of the candles being poured would be incredible and soooo satisfying -- which is a big niche on social media. Also some videos of you with one of the candles burning, explaining the scents would be great. 

Depending on how many total scents you have, you can make a photo post each week, each with a similar style, of one candle scent. This way you can make a sort of formula and batch the creation of your posts. 

I highly recommend that in the written descriptions, you dive into the feeling that the candles can create in a person who buys them, the atmosphere that they can create, and memories they evoke. Drive that emotion!

[GoalGetter]

I've just started the book, but love what I'm learning so far!

I sell children's books via vendor events, book fairs, and virtual parties. I haven't done much with social media. This month is Hispanic Heritage Month, so I'm posting a quote a day from someone with Hispanic Heritage. If I have the "time" I'll take a look at the National Calendar and post books related to the day with tips on how to incorporate them in celebrating fun days like National Walk to a Park Day! I know I need to be more consistent with that, but again I don't get much involvement, so it's not a priority.

https://paperpie.com/brandpartner/SC1971

FB: https://www.facebook.com/FunBooks4Kidz

IG: @4_iola

[Pesso]

Thanks for jumping in, @GoalGetter ! I'm glad you're loving the book so far, and we'd love to hear your thoughts on the rest of the book in our other discussion threads too-

I love that idea of doing a campaign like that around holidays and special days & months. To get more involvement in some of them, maybe putting in a CTA (Call to Action) asking folks to answer in the comments their favorite book about the same topic. I think you could also make those posts a bit more engaging by showcasing a picture of the book itself, rather than just the frame -- this way the posts stand out more and look different.When all of the posts look similar, folks are less likely to look at them, since they won't know which they've seen before at a quick glance. So maybe instead of a full image like you have now, make a banner that can go over a picture of the book, with the headline and quote that you select. 

Overall I think more real pictures of the books, even pictures of lines highlighted/in-focus within the real book, rather than a created image, will do really well!

I think maybe doing some 30 second video reviews of books would do really well too! You talking to camera, holding the book, giving a quick synopsis -- and you can do one a week or something like that. 

I would also recommend name & brand consistency for your handles and names across all of your platforms if possible, this way your followers can recognize you everywhere. On instagram it just says "4_iola" while your facebook is Fun Bookz 4 Kids, and I'm not sure what the paperpie.com site is. 

Hopefully we can get some suggestions from @DinaLRosenberg & @CareyJo & @bonny & @CrismarChandler for you too!

[DinaLRosenberg]

It's a chicken-egg scenario. If you don't post, you won't get engagement but it is de-motivating when you don't get engagement.. I get it.

[Pesso]

This is so true! The first bit of engagement is always the hardest, and hopefully it's an upward cycle from there! 

[bonny]

When I look at your social media and website, I can't tell "who" you are.  My guess is you are a rep for author/s and perhaps educational manufacturers but it's only a guess because it's not clear.  I am confused with the different identities on the different site links you provided.  How do they tie together?  Maybe they are intended for non-related customer bases.  

[CareyJo]

Sorry I'm slow to reply.  I was out of state for a conference and I'm a little behind.

It sounds to me like you're a company rep on a direct sales plan or home party plan, like DK Books or Usborne Books.  Paperpie's website runs very slowly and I got tired of waiting for it to load.

You are on the right track with posting content for each fun holiday of the day.  I do the same thing on our company page.  There are several tricks to making the response better.

1.  Share your posts in applicable groups in your local area.  Mom's groups.  Kid groups, etc.

2.  Support things that are related to you.  Supporting your local library(s) can go a long way.  You can share their happenings on your page even though it's not going to encourage customers to purchase from you.  People want to see community and they want to see local businesses supporting their community.

3.  If you're not already a member, join your local chamber.  Start showing up to their events and showcasing them on your page.  Giving them free advertising gives you free advertising and as a member they will advertise you.  Network.

4.  On your page, when you post content, make sure you're using photos on every post.  No exceptions.  You want to use words too but word only posts will not be seen.

5.  In between all of the fun content, you need to post business related content.  Offer up your specials, talk about shows you will be attending and encourage people to stop by to see you.  Draw them in by posting that you'll have a drawing or something at your booth.  Tell them if they mention this post they will get a gift from you.  It can be a % off a purchase or it can be as simple as a bookmark.  People just love freebees.

6.  Tie in something from the fun day you've posted to material in the book, not just what it's about.  For example, on Apple Pie Day, you can post a kids cookbook and a recipe for making pie or talk about the recipe in the book and post a picture of the actual page of the book.  

7.  If you're not already doing so, I would be planning out your year in advance, as much as you're able, to post where you will be, at what event and then start pumping up the marketing for that event a month beforehand.  If you have pics of your booth, which I strongly encourage you to take, post them, even if it's from a previous event, so that people know what your booth looks like, to look for you.

8.  I was in five different direct sales companies over the course of many years.  I can honestly say that more than anything, network, network, network.  Did I say network?  Network on your page.  Use it to ask for recommendations.  Talk about what sets your books apart from the competition without bashing your competition.  Showcase what you have to offer and put out a freebee for someone giving you a referral.  My businesses always ran on referrals.  I would encourage you to step up with your virtual parties and really focus on those to bring you more business.

Hope this helps!

[theroyalctambo]

Mine will be a hot mess haha. I don' really know how to use them, or how to entertain people on the socials.

Ok, so I own a small town Outback Pub, in Australia, and our main schtick is "Ben's Chicken Racing", a show that entertains people and raises money for charity. Our main demographic is "Grey Nomads", caravaners and families passing thru during our tourist season. 

I mainly focus on the Chicken Racing one, as it's our main income, and a small town can only handle so much of the same old same old posts for the pub one. I plan to try and get better over this off season, doing some Chicken keeping related things, some "bad dad jokes" (part of our actual show) etc

Anyway, our links are

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benschickenracing

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/bens_chicken_racing/

TokTik: https://www.tiktok.com/@benschickenracing

The pub is also on there (been slack on this during tourist season)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theroyalcarrangarrahoteltambo

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/royal_carrangarra_hotel_tambo/

Thanks!

[theroyalctambo]

Ironically one of the main issues I have, is that I don't really have a goal for my socials. Apart from just growing "the brand". Obviously it'd be nice to sell some merch, and obviously the overall goal is getting people here, but as most are travelling 1000's of kilometres to get here, I don't think my socials convince them of this per se. 

I think I am better of using socials to build "Brand Ben" and sublty selling merch (by wearing the shirts etc) whilst doing chickeny things, rather then "buy this shirt".

I am an experience, so hard to sell that on socials.

I also have no idea what I am talking about haha

[Pesso]

Oh man, @theroyalctambo , chicken racing sounds incredible. I 100% agree with @DinaLRosenberg to lean into the fun and wacky nicheness that is the chicken racing. Doing bios and glamor shots for the chickens, making the drama a part of it, and all of that. If a chicken race can't do well in social media, nothing can, haha.

I would honestly fill up my feed with videos and pictures of this, hype up with posts of the next race, show merch about it, and all of the above. Go wild and overboard with it! Throw a go-pro video camera on the RC car, do studio-style headshots, shoot every race from 14 different angles so you have a TON of content to keep publishing. 

I think the merch is a really great idea since people who have never been there but see your videos would become fans and want merch that reps the brand and experience. Having merch that emphasizes the gimmick would be great. A mix of "buy this shirt" and just wearing it while doing things are both great strategies!

Definitely start with your goals -- what do you want as your business, even outside of socials? Do you want to grow? Is selling merch profitable and does it make sense for your business? Do you want to expand your audience outside of the gray nomads? Do you want to bring more people in? Do you want to become more of a destination? 

You don't have to know all of this in advance, but it does help. You can just experiment and see what resonates and go from there too. Just have some ideas of what to test first. 

Definitely keep us updated!

[theroyalctambo]

Haha yeah working out what I want to do in regards to goals is the big thing. 

I don't think there is anything we haven't tried in terms of content with the chickens, with Chicken Bios, videos/photos of the races and crowds, photos/videos of crowd with chickens.  One issue is quality but, we haven't been able to get anyone to come remote to do professional video content

Videos of us have gone viral, but not any of ours massively. Just people in the crowd posting their own videos.

We sell a fair bit of merch on site

One of our issues is that Facebook is the older demographic that we have currently, like the content that would neccessairly go viral. So we post "boring" stuff, as that keeps them engaged. 

I find socials constantly frustrating, as we are told we have a product, and it goes well onsite, but struggles online. 

Keep plodding away haha

[DinaLRosenberg]

firstly, this is hysterical... actual chicken racing. Brilliant.

So first I was thinking there has gotta be a way to make this viral.

wouldn't it be fun if you had drinks that went w/ the personalities of the birds?  Like they could become WWE wrestling characters almost.. with entrance songs and their own drinks..

I would do one Reel per chicken... give them each a personality. 

[theroyalctambo]

Yeah we have had a couple videos of us go viral, we got picked up by trendsetter, unliad etc couple years ago, and one that was posted by our wider area tourism mob got picked up. They don't lead to direct benefits though haha, so whilst nice, can be tough.

I have done picture personalities of the chickens and their personalities (they have names and a "backstory", but videos is a good one to try.

We have so much chicken related stuff in the hotel haha, attached is our cocktail list