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6 Oct 2022

A beginners guide to beginning - Social Media

Social Media – it’s not going anywhere and it’s just how we do things now – and if you’ve been humming and hawing about whether becoming active in the digital space is the best move for your mahi, here’s some tips to help you feel more equipped to begin. Let’s dive in.

It’s all about the goals baby. 

Embarking on social media without a goal is like caving without a head torch – you’ll very easily find yourself lost in the nooks and crannies with little knowledge of how you got there – and even less knowledge of how to get out.

Whatever the goal is – Connection, Community, Sales, Exposure, Fame, Influence – will determine how you set up and continue to engage on your social media accounts – and inform the time you spend online and creating your content. It’s your guiding light.

Some questions to ask yourself before you jump in:

  • What do I want my social media to do for my brand?
  • What is my USP (Unique selling point)? (What do I do that’s unique to my audience?)
  • What do I have to say on Social Media?
  • Do I have a clear brand statement?
  • Who is my target audience and which platform are they active on? 
  • What content styles do I resonate with? 
  • Do I have a body of mahi to share and create content with? 
  • How much time per week am I willing to invest in Social Media?

Once you’re clear on these answers – it’s time to build your strategy 

Strategise with strategic strategies

Understanding your brand and what you want to gain from social media – will inform how you scope your strategy. 

Map out – Who to follow, when to post and how much, what kind of content will best engage your target audiences and where those audiences are currently spending their time online. Think about the content you’re going to prioritise and what’s doable with the mahi you are already creating, and which analytics to keep and eye on to keep you barking up the right tree.

This takes research – get online and learn from what other creators are doing. Choose accounts that already have the outcomes and the active audience you desire, and are in the market you want to break into. 

Here’s some extra in-depth break downs of social media strategy and plans here & here 

(Top tip: Always check the publish dates when searching for tips and info. Social Media has such speedy development that if the info is older than a year or two it’s probably irrelevant now)

Once you’ve developed a strategy….

It’s Content. It’s Content time.

Intuitive and responsive content is great if you’ve got the time to spend creating and posting daily. But I’m sure most would agree that it’s a luxury majority of autonomous creative practitioners just can’t afford. 

This is where knowing your brand, what you want to say, and having an idea of the style and format of content you want to focus on helps you to plan, post and save those precious sands of time.

It’s no secret that video content is the real winner here. It’s the best format to be discovered by fresh faces, the clearest way to tell your story, communicate brand value, and have a higher chance of trending on Instagram and Tiktok. 

The style of content you create will largely depend on your mahi but for all content – make sure what you’re posting is high quality, clear and in the correct formats for the platform you are using. Taking into consideration sight and hearing impaired users with the use of closed captions and alt text. 

It’s increasingly common that the first place someone will look you up is your social media page – before looking at your website – and if you don’t have a website, your social media page IS your website. 

Having a bio that clearly explains what you do, a profile picture that is relevant to your brand, links to your other pages, and consistent content will help herd your audience along a pathway that builds to you achieving those sweet, sweet goals. 

Link tree is a great tool to collate URL links to websites, articles, additional social media pages and reviews to help your audience and potential customers navigate and understand your brand.

In terms of how often to post, it all depends on how quickly you want to see results and again, what your goal is. To speak generally, the more strategic time spent on social media, sharing consistent and brand relevant content, connecting with other accounts through reposts & shares, likes/saves and comments etc, the more likely you will begin to see your desired results.

You know what they say about idle time.

Social presence takes time, persistence and consistency. Building this consistency can be approached as a creation of habit, akin to making your morning coffee, or locking the house when you leave. Once you’ve practised and formed the habit, the simpler and more natural your relationship with social media will become. 

Whatever you can dedicate outside of your creative practice – if you want to see your outcomes achieved, you need to reframe your social media accounts as a similar priority to your financial accounts. As an integral and necessary tool in sustaining, managing and growing your business. And unlike your financial accounts – social media is free!

Despite what it seems – you’re actually in control of what you share and how you navigate Social Media and there are infinite ways to do so that best supports your brand. 

But before we get caught up in algorithms and insights, pivoting, digital politics and real world pay off – just get started and see what works for you. You can always delete and start again.

Brought to you by our Comms and Marketing Manager, Lauren Mann – with further tidbits to come.