Ah, social media. Those two words likely bring up some mixed feelings— but regardless of how you feel about it, the truth is social media is necessary for your business. 

As a Marketing agency, I get questions about social media constantly. I know it can be confusing, intimidating, and flat-out frustrating, which is why I’m writing this in the first place! Having a digital presence is necessary for the long-term growth of your business, especially in 2022. I promise it’s not as scary as it sounds. I rounded up a few questions I get asked over and over again to help you get started.

Which Platform Should I Use?

We get this question a lot, so much we created an entire blog post about it. It’s a fair question— with so many platforms to choose from, it can be overwhelming to even think about creating an account. Keep in mind each platform caters to a different audience, so it’s crucial you understand who your audience is first. Here’s a quick breakdown to answer this question:

• Facebook is great for target audiences ages 35-65. The younger generations are abandoning this platform like a sinking ship, so we wouldn’t recommend Facebook if your target audience was Gen Z. Facebook is excellent for boosting your SEO and creating paid advertisements.

• Instagram is a beast but it’s a mighty one. The platform is predominantly made up of 25-to-34-year olds, closely followed by the 18-to-24-year-olds age group. Instagram is an excellent platform for you if you have a visual brand or sell physical products.

• Yes, I have to talk about this one: TikTok. You might be rolling your eyes already, but plenty of businesses are making this platform work for them! This platform is composed mostly of Gen Z and millennials. If you plan on testing out TikTok, we’d recommend doing some market research of your industry on the app first.

What Should I Post About?

I hear this question constantly, and it makes sense that I do. Business owners are busy enough wearing every hat in the book, which means creating fresh social media content can be a chore often getting overlooked. I’ve been there, and I get it. Here are a few simple ideas you can try today:

Host a giveaway of your product/service

• Showcase your team members or introduce yourself

• Share behind-the-scenes of your workday, or “a day in the life”

• Talk about upcoming projects you’re working on

• Share past projects or portfolio pieces

Remember: no matter what you post, make sure that it makes sense for your audience. For example, as a Marketing agency, it wouldn’t make sense for me to post about National Horse Day (I’m not sure if that’s a thing, but it probably is). If you need more examples to get you started, here are two blog posts I created about content ideas (part one and part two).

What Should I Use To Create Content?

Content creation takes some time and creativity, but thanks to the Internet, there are plenty of tools and resources to make it easy. Here’s a quick list of tools we use and love:

• Canva— We use this to create graphics for pretty much everything. Trust us, you don’t need to be a Photoshop wizard to create professional-looking graphics for your business. 

• MailChimp— This platform is what we use to design, send, and track our email newsletters. They offer a pretty robust free option for business owners on a budget.

• Pexels or Unsplash— These websites provide high-quality, royalty-free photos and videos for commercial use. It’s stock photos sans the cheese. We source images from here for blog posts, social media, email marketing, and our website.

Take a deep breath. Do you feel a little better after getting some answers? If you aren’t sure where to begin when it comes to this stuff, my team and I offer social media services customized to your business. If you’re interested in what a partnership could look like for you or have more questions about social media, let me know! I’m here to take the Marketing to-do’s off your list and start implementing strategies that work (social media included).