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In today’s digital world, the social media experience is about more than sharing updates. It’s a place to pass around ideas, boost stories and concepts, and provide that all-important social proof for consumers.
For this reason, social media can be a powerful tool to grow your business. Whether you’re a small startup or an established company, curating a basic social media experience can enhance customer engagement, build brand loyalty, and drive sales. And you don’t have to invest a ton of time and effort in chasing the latest trends to do so.
In this blog, we’ll cover five basic tips (and maybe a few bonus ones) to help you improve your business’s social media experience. That way, it’ll be more effective and enjoyable for you and your audience alike.
Whether you’re on one of those pillars of social media past like Facebook, or possible trends of the future like Threads, having a social media presence for your business can offer numerous benefits:
Overall, a well-managed social media experience can play a pivotal role in growing your business. It can increase visibility, help you build relationships, and drive conversions.
If you’re already stressed about the time, effort, and resources you’ll need to build even a basic social media experience… don’t worry. You don’t have to be a constant trendsetter to maintain your accounts well. In fact, businesses that try too hard will usually end up looking like try-hards—which can be counterproductive.
In reality, all you have to do is provide a platform for people to interact with you from wherever they already find themselves. That way, you’ll create an accessible portal for prospects and customers to see what your business is all about.
With that in mind, let’s keep things simple so you don’t waste time and effort chasing trends. Here are our five basic tips for creating a social media experience that reflects your brand well and optimizes your online presence.
“But where?” It doesn’t really matter which social media platforms you create your business accounts on. However, we do recommend verifying that you use the platforms with the best—and most current—reach for your audience.
For example, Facebook’s current majority age range is 25- to 34-year-olds. That’s a big contrast compared to the average TikTok user, who is typically aged 16 to 24. And folks ages 35 and younger make up nearly half of the TikTok audience. So if your primary audience is generally outside of this age range, you might look for another platform to start with.
However, if you’re not interested in that kind of research, we understand. At the time of writing, we recommend going with the current top social media platforms that are also used by businesses: Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
Again, you don’t have to post every day or use the top trending filters. Instead, post little bits of on-brand, informational content at regular intervals to show that you’re active on your account. That way, you’ll slowly build a long-term presence. This instills confidence in your audience that you’re dedicated to your work.
Plus, the added bonus of taking your time means that you also get the opportunity to learn what works for your business. Then, you can improve your social media experience over time—without wasting precious time and effort.
Once you’ve got your accounts rolling, you’ll likely start getting engagements. Whether it’s through comments, reactions, or inquiries, take that chance! After all, this is the purpose of your social media experience. Make sure your reactions are platform-appropriate, on-brand, and technically correct.
Overall, however, the most important element is to keep it positive. At some point, everyone who’s online will receive negative, overly critical, incorrect, or seemingly nonsensical comments. But don’t bother to engage negatively with these “trolls”. This will only reflect poorly on your brand—and more often than not, invite more negativity.
Are you a local business? Do you have strong B2B relationships? Where do many of your customers also shop? Find natural connection points and work those together to enhance your social media experience. This can boost both searchability and social proof.
For example, a regional wedding photographer could collaborate with a cute nearby bed-and-breakfast for a joint giveaway contest on their social media pages. To enter, applicants must follow both companies’ pages, as well as comment on the post with tags for three of their friends. The randomly-selected winners receive a free night’s stay and some gorgeous engagement pictures… and both companies get new followers for future marketing. Plus, in the meantime, both the photographer and the venue will likely get more business from the cross-promotion.
If it applies—and you’re willing to go above and beyond—you can get creative and generate some phenomenal promotional campaigns.
Many businesses fail to realize just how much data can be found on social media. However, it can be a customer experience (CX) informational goldmine!
Once you establish your social media experience, start gathering all the data points you can. What patterns can you find? Aggregate that information with what you already know and use that intelligence to improve your CX strategies.
Want to get even more CX data about your online presence? Try a customer survey. With some carefully-structured questions, you can get even more specific information from your users. Learn about customer satisfaction, the cohesiveness of your brand experience, and possible issues that need resolving. A CX agency like CustomerOptix can help you with that.
Arguably, this is the most important advice we can give. Many businesses, especially solopreneurs and smaller companies, fall for the trap of paid social media advertising. Either they’re not ready to provide the quality assets needed for a good return on investment (ROI)... or they don’t have the funding, skill, and patience to see it through. Just because a social media platform has a lot of reach doesn’t mean you should dump your whole marketing budget into it.
In summation, be very careful when purchasing ads.
Curating your business’s social media experience doesn’t have to be overwhelming, time-consuming, or costly. By focusing on the strategies outlined here, you can create a powerful and effective online presence. Choose the right platforms, maintain regular activity, engage positively with your audience, leverage natural connections, and turn interactions into actionable data. Remember, it’s all about quality over quantity.
With a thoughtful and measured approach, you can build a social media experience that complements your brand, engages your audience, and drives meaningful results.
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